Gripping with low viscosity fluids

At Fraunhofer IPA various adhesive grippers have been developed. The gripper's main features are high flexibility regarding shape, size and material of the units handled. Furthermore adhesive gripping provides a very accurate centring effect as well as a compliance effect. The adhesive used for gripping is a fluid of low viscosity, that evaporates without leaving particles on the unit's surface which influence the function. The surface tension of the fluid attracts the unit to the gripper and builds up forces that can hold micromechanical parts very safely without damaging the breakable surface structures of these parts. The automated adhesive gripping-system can be integrated as a standard tool in handling systems such as for MEMS, for microelectronical devices or for precision engineering products. Theoretical examinations and experimental results concerning process parameters, lifting forces and tolerances of the parts position are presented. Besides the automatic gripper two different manual adhesive grippers have been built and investigated.