Harvard’s Microrobotics Lab is publishing some amazing work regarding a MEMS fabrication technique for creating 3-dimensional millimeter-scale robots from 2-dimensional multi-layer components.
Harvard’s Microrobotics Lab is publishing some amazing work regarding a MEMS fabrication technique for creating 3-dimensional millimeter-scale robots from 2-dimensional multi-layer components.
Recently, I published an article in MicroManufacturing Magazine about the challenges of designing microparts for manufacture. Not unlike any collaborative process, good communication is the key to a successful project.
A good designer must often think like a manufacturer. The question, “Can this be made?” is asked over and over again during the design process. Shortly thereafter, the question also becomes, “Can this be made cheaply?”
I was recently interviewed for an article regarding the state of rapid prototyping as it pertains to micro-scale manufacturing and product development. From what I’ve seen, the prototyping processes are just not down to the micro-scale, yet. Granted, the micromanufacturing industry is still pretty young, and it’s been growing so quickly in size and capabilities that I expect to see more rapid prototyping solutions soon.
At Key Tech, we’ve been designing micro-scale parts for some time, but finding vendors capable of manufacturing such parts has been difficult. I went to the SME MicroManufacturing conference to better understand the state of the entire micromanufacturing industry as well as identify vendors with specialized capabilities. I think the conference was a success on both counts.