PPOD Experiments with a Textured Plate

Introduction

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As mass produced electronic microparts become more common, creating a reliable method to transport them becomes more important. When the size of the parts approaches the micro scale, the inertial force is overtaken by the adhesion force as the critical component of the parts’ dynamics. Typical parts feeding devices use vibratory driving on a smooth surface. By instead using a textured surface with a saw tooth cross-section, unidirectional parts feeding can occur with symmetric driving vibration. The magnitude of the adhesion force can also be minimized by reducing the contact area between the part and the plate surface.

The Hirai group of Japan recently created an experimental setup, which vibrated textured silicon plates along one axis. The plates had a saw tooth cross-section. Electronic microparts were placed on the plates during vibration and the behavior of the parts was analyzed.

Although Hirai’s paper comprehensively explains the dynamics of a micropart on a saw tooth surface vibrating with one degree of freedom, his group was limited by only being able to move along one axis. The Parts-feeding Programmable Oscillatory Device (PPOD), developed in the LIMS lab at Northwestern University, allows for vibration in all six degrees of freedom. With access to this device, Hirai’s experiments can be replicated, and then generalized to more complicated plate vibrations.

To view a summary of Hirai's results, as well as the results of PPOD experiments with a textured plate, click the link below.