Riku Heikkilä

Possibilities of a Microfactory in the Assembly of Small Parts and Products - First Results of the M4-project

The research in mini, micro and desktop factories originates from early 90s and has continued since then by developing the technological basis and different technological building bricks and applications in the field of high-precision manufacture and assembly of future miniaturized and micro products. This has paved the way to mini, micro and desktop factories which are seen as one potential solution for that kind of production by improving space, energy and material resource utilization and answering to the needs of design for postponement and customer-close customization and personalization. The research efforts done during these years are now increasingly leading also to commercialization and real industrial applications. The objective of this paper is to present an overview of the international microfactory research and to introduce in more detail the modular microfactory concept developed in the M4-project.

Logistic and control aspects for flexible and reactive micro and desktop assembly at the factory level

In addition to micro assembly and micro manufacturing micro factories are currently widely studied around the world. However, the research is typically focusing on single machines and not so much on integration of single processes and machines into wider process chains and larger systems with integrated material logistics. This paper discusses issues related to realization of a larger scale integrated micro factory for assembly of multi-part products. Special attention is paid on the logistical aspects and control concepts supporting flexibility and dynamic reconfigurability of the system. A scenario of a microfactory system as a holonic manufacturing system enabling reactivity of the system to sudden changes and failure situations is also presented.

Architectures and Interfaces for a Micro Factory Concept

So far the desktop manufacturing is mainly done as islands of process modules or in some seldom cases the desktop factory is created in form of manufacturing line. Tampere University of Technology has been working on such desktop factory concepts for years and come out a microFactory concept (TUT-μF). The paper discusses architectural aspects and proposes some solutions for them. It specifies also two main mechatronic interfaces used for such modular desktop factories - 1) the cell to cell interface and 2) cell internal process module interface. Main parts of the specifications are represented. These can be utilised for building the desktop production line from easily integrated modules.

Mini assembly cell for the assembly of mini‐sized planetary gearheads

This paper discusses a novel assembly method and system for a commercially available 8 mm diameter miniature planetary gearhead. Our system comprises a commercially available four‐degree of freedom industrial robot, two vision systems, a force feedback system in the robot wrist, and specially designed flexible part feeders. The system has proved successful in assembling planetary gear units independently. Depending on the task, one can select whether to use the high accuracy and repeatability of the robot or alternatively use programmable frequency vibration in the gripper to stochastically align the parts that the robot handles.

Modular microfactory system for gas sensor assembly

This paper represents a case study of assembly of a gas sensor with desktop microfactory environment. The environment is illustrating the TUT Microfactory™ concept developed at Tampere University of Technology / Department of Production Engineering. This paper introduces and reports a case study of a microfactory system making assembly of a gas sensor. The sensor is a commercially available product. The assembly process and modules used including interfaces, controls, etc. are described and discussed.

Using piezoelectric technology to improve servo gripper performance in mini‐ and microassembly

Purpose – Aims to research the possibilities of using piezoelectric technology to improve accuracy and other characteristics of parallel servo grippers.Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents in detail two different kinds of developed two‐fingered servo grippers based on piezoelectric technology with parallel moving mechanics. The first gripper is based on standing wave ultrasonic motors. The other gripper is a traditional gripper, the characteristics of which have been improved with integrated piezoelectric stack actuators. Both servo grippers have been tested and the test results and experiences are introduced in the paper.Findings – It is possible to improve the accuracy and characteristics of a parallel servo gripper with piezoelectric technology.Research limitations/implications – In the future it is necessary to concentrate on the mechanical design of gripper bodies and the fingers. Grasping force feedback signal should be even more linear and noiseless.Practical implications – Piezoelectri...

Micro and Desktop Factories for Micro/Meso-Scale Manufacturing Applications and Future Visions

Micro and desktop factories are small-size production systems suitable for the manufacture of small products with micro and/or macro size features. The development originates in Japan, where small machines were developed in order to save resources when producing small products. In the late 1990’s, the research spread around the world, and since then multiple miniaturized production systems have been developed. However, the level of commercialization and industrial adoption is still relatively low and the breakthrough remains unseen. This paper discusses the potential application areas of micro- and desktop factory solutions. The research has been carried out as a mixed-method research combining extensive literature survey and 18 semi-structured interviews in Europe. The interviewees are both from academia and industry, including equipment and component providers, as well as users and potential users.

Factory Level Logistics and Control Aspects for Flexible and Reactive Microfactory Concept

Micro assembly and micro manufacturing, as well as micro factories are currently widely studied around the world. However, the research is typically focusing on single machines and not so much on integration of single processes and machines into wider process chains and larger systems with integrated material logistics. This paper discusses issues related to the realization of a larger scale integrated micro factory for the assembly of multi-part products. Special attention is paid on the logistical aspects and control concepts supporting flexibility and dynamic reconfigurability of the system. A scenario of a microfactory system as a holonic manufacturing system enabling the reactivity to sudden changes and failure situations is also presented.

Flexible Gripper System for Small Optical Assemblies - Final Tests and Findings

This paper presents our work on developing a flexible, adaptive and multifunctional gripper system for the assembly of camera phone lens modules. Key features of the system include tool change system for different end tools and visual position measurement of the component after grasping. This paper presents the development work and discusses the findings of system tests carried out in order to validate the developed gripper system.

Miniaturization of Flexible Screwing Cell

The research in mini, micro and desktop factories originates from the early 90’s and has continued since then by developing the technological basis and different technological building bricks and applications in the field of high- precision manufacturing and assembly of future miniaturised and micro products. This has paved the way for mini, micro and desktop factories which are seen as one potential solution for what kind of production by improving space, energy and material resource utilisation and answering to the needs of design for postponement and customer-close customisation and personalisation. This paper presents one case application for flexible micro factory. Application area is macro world assembly system in miniaturised form. Current trend in this research is the miniaturisation of macro world machines and systems towards more sustainable production technologies.