Manufacturing Systems

The sector of manufacturing and other involved sectors generates more than 50 % of the German GNP. For future success of this sector a production research, leaded to permanent top performance in production technology, is necessary. Adaptive manufacturing systems are needed for the fast changing future markets. Digital manufacturing is a knowledge based production, which accelerate the technical planning processes and allows collaborative work in networked production structures. The example of an innovation-cluster “digital production” shows the impact of future manufacturing systems realized through time and cost cutting in the developing processes of products and their production.

Industrial companies as well as small and medium sized enterprises engage themselves more and more in international production networks. Each networkpartner aims on building and maintaining business relationships to the best partner for any specific task. This leads to an increasing amount of goods being transported from partner to partner and leads to an immense logistics effort. These logistics tasks are responsible for major cost blocks in most companies. Organisations will have to react to the increasing demand for on time delivery with organisational as well as technological solutions to maintain their competitive advantage.

Complex production systems in micro production, concerning the manufacturing of miniaturised systems, assemblies and components, are very special. For example Hesselbach [1] stated, that micro production technology (sometimes to be found as (ultra) precision engineering) spans basically all, partly highly specialised production techniques. Kiesewetter [2] points out, that micro production is not just a kind of “shrinked machine building or mechanical engineering”. Mostly the whole manufacturing process chain or at least larger, interrelated section or subsystems and -processes, for example mainly for the manufacturing of miniaturised mechanical modules or assemblies respectively, are basically not examined. The paper discusses and presents topics concerning the planning and operations of micro production manufacturing process chains, against the background of the manufacturing of miniaturised mechanical modules and components.

For micro assembly processes, assembly accuracy in the range of one micron is required. In the following some strategies for enhancement of accuracy in micro assembly are shown by means of two different assembly systems. First, a self-developed assembly system consisting out of a parallel robot for micro assembly, a 3D vision sensor, grippers, magazines and fixtures is presented. Second, a cartesian robot that endues over a 2D vision sensor, a force sensor and a confocal laser scanning microscope is described. On the basis of examples for micro assembly processes the application limitations of both systems are depicted.

The continuous attempt to miniaturize components and structures demands increasing improvements in the field of micromachining technologies. A big challenge for the production technology is to manufacture microsystems and micro parts made of different materials. Processes well suited for three-dimensional machining of many materials are mechanical production technologies. A practicable production technology that is able to structure hard and brittle materials with high surface qualities is micro-grinding. The following article should give an overview about the current state of the technology of micro grinding of hardened steels.

Fast ions produced in so-called broad beam ion sources are established as highly deterministic tools in ultra-precision surface finishing processing. The driving force for this kind of technology is the requirement for highest quality surfaces with ultimate roughness and accuracy in topology. High performance optics which need such surfaces with fabrication tolerances below one nanometer are used for lithography, laser, x-ray or optical satellite communication as well as highly integrated electronics for processors and memory circuits and surface acoustic wave filters. New physical effects of ion beam induced smoothing of surface and nanostructure give rise for new research and development with a high potential of technology exploitation. Scientists and technicians from the Leibniz Institute for Surface Modification do intensive research work in this field and develop ion beam technologies and components mature for application in industry.

The latest developments in the field of nano technology must not mislead to the impression that all challenges in the micro system technology (MST) are solved. As a matter of fact, right now new applications are causing novel technological challenges. In addition, the market of MST is still one of the most dynamic and will continue its growth within the next years. It is expected that the worldwide annual turnover will increase from 3.9 billion US$ (2002) to 8.3 billion US$ (2007) [1].

The development of faster and more powerful computers has led to virtual flood of digital data. Over the decades capacity of data storage devices has continued to multiply. At the same time the dimensions of these digital silos have even become smaller. Year after year better devices and finer write-read-heads are developed. The magnetic bit domains became smaller and smaller. Until one day - they are no bigger than an atom. By using spin-polarized scanning tunnelling microscopy - a method of nanotechnology - it is possible today to determine the individual magnetic orientation of single atoms on surfaces, which means to read magnetic information atom by atom. If the same instrument could be used to write magnetic information in adjacent atoms, it would be possible to store the entire world literature on a space of a postage stamp. This is in the focus of research at the University of Hamburg.

Micro-forming presses are barely to find at the market, especially if it comes apart from high precision and high dynamic to free stroke and force control. The Bremer Institut für angewandte Strahltechnik has developed and built such a press, which is additionally featured with double axis, high stroke and air bearings for high precision force measurement and control.

By Micro Metal Injection Molding (Micro MIM) the manufacturing of miniature parts and parts with microstructured surfaces out of nearly all metallic materials is possible. Single injected parts with dimensions of 300 µm and microsturctured surfaces with details in the range of 20 µm could be achieved. Targeted material selection and process control allow the production of parts consisting of different materials without additional joining techniques. Functionality of parts can be increased by structural properties as micro channels for fluidic applications. On the other hand special material properties as the use of magnetic, bio-active or corrosion resistant materials contribute to further functionalisation. Regarding the trend to smaller components and devices micro MIM offers a cost-effective production technology for the necessary parts.