Due to the potential uses and advantages of 3D microelectromechanical systems(MEMS), research has been ongoing to advance the field. The intention of myreasearch is to explore different gripper designs and their interaction with correspondingcomponents to establish a 3D microassembly system. In order to meetthese goals, two grippers were designed using different mechanisms for grasping.At the same time, corresponding parts capable of being constructed into a 3D microstructurewere designed to interact with the grippers. The microcomponentswere fabricated using PolyMUMPS, a part of the Multi-User MEMS Processes(MUMPS), and experimentation was conducted with the goal of constructing a3D microstructure. The results were partially successful in that both grippers wereable to pick up corresonponding parts and bring them out of plane in order to makethem stand up. However, a final 3D microstructure was unfortunately not achieveddue to time constraints. This will be left to future researchers who continue theproject.On the equpiment side a microassembly system was fully integrated using camerasfor vision and motors with micro-resolution for movement. A computer programwas used to control each part of the system. The cameras provided feedbackfrom various views, allowing the operator to observe what was happening to the microcomponents.The grippers were attached to one of the motors and manipulatedto pick up the parts. The final overall system proved sufficient for microassembly,but had some areas that could be improved upon.
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