A Flexible Microassembly Cell for Small and Medium Sized Batches

Abstract

The reason why microsystems are not economically profitable is that assembly is very expensive, if done in small or medium sized batches. We will show that a Flexible Microassembly Cell will allow to assemble small and medium sized batches in an economical way. This cell is based on a high precision robot with an integrated graphic interface that enables the operator to perform step-by-step assembly operations and at the same time saves the parameters used for each action of the process. At a later stage the assembly process can be repeated automatically in a faster way for the remaining microsystems. We will describe the design and operation of the Flexible Microassembly Cell with an example: the assembly of watch plates.