Minimal Contact Gripper for Silicon Based Medical Sensors
C.R. Chintakindi (TU Delft - Mechanical Engineering)
A. Hunt – Mentor (TU Delft - Micro and Nano Engineering)
F. Alijani – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Dynamics of Micro and Nano Systems)
S.H. Hossein Nia Kani – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Mechatronic Systems Design)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
The precise and damage-free manipulation of fragile chips such as sensors, MEMS devices, or other micro-fabricated components with surface-bound structures demands grippers that can operate reliably within highly constrained assembly environments. These chips often feature delicate surface components that preclude traditional gripping strategies, especially in contexts where clearances are limited to sub-millimeter levels. This work develops and experimentally validates a generalizable framework called the Grasp Analysis Methodology (GAM) that combines Grasp Wrench Space (GWS) analysis with classical force distribution theory to support the design and evaluation of grippers for such applications. The framework is applied to three distinct gripper configurations: an industry-standard surface grasp gripper, a three-point gripper derived from the decomposition of a typical edge-based industrial gripper, and a four-point corner-supported design. Grasp quality is assessed using GWS metrics, which characterize each configuration’s ability to resist external disturbances through its wrench space properties. Concurrently, the mechanical loading experienced by the chip during grasping is estimated using plate theory to understand stress concentrations and risk of damage. To validate these analytical results and hence the gripper designs, a series of experimental tests is conducted. Pull tests evaluate disturbance resistance, while placement trials examine the gripper’s ability to preserve the chip’s orientation from pick up to placement, a critical requirement in precision assembly tasks. Unlike most academic gripper designs, which are either un-validated or unconstrained, this study emphasizes real world feasibility by testing under a spatial clearance of just 0.5mm. The findings demonstrate that the proposed GWS-Force strategy under the developed GAM workflow offers a robust basis for evaluating and optimizing chip grippers in constrained, high-precision environments