Chapter 11 – Micro-Mechanical-Assembly

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an introduction to micromechanical assembly and proposes a classification and characterization of micro-mechanical assembly methods. Micro-mechanical assembly is defined as assembly methods on a micro-scale, where the relative position of components is retained by exchange of contact forces provided by mechanical constraints. Manual micro-assembly procedures are extremely demanding on the human operators performing them, time-consuming, costly, and frequently they give rise to quality problems in terms of uniformity. Mechanical micro-assembly methods are among the most highly relevant in micro-manufacturing. They allow the assembly of different materials, primarily non-silicon, and potentially they can incorporate possibilities for disassembly. The challenges related to micro-mechanical assembly include the almost total lack of guidelines (i.e. standards, best practice) and the need for tailor-made tools for the processes.