Design and Modeling of MEMS Microgrippers for Laser-Based Additive Manufacturing

The geometrical constraints and dimensional tolerances lead to specific design issues of MEMS manipulators for biological applications. The target properties become even more important in the case of in vitro manipulation of cells. Several design solutions have been proposed in the literature, however, some issues related to the thermal heating of microgripper tips and to the electric voltage effects still remain unsolved. This paper reports the design for additive manufacturing (DFAM) of micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS) microgrippers. The design limitations imposed by the micro-stereolithography fabrication process are considered. The design solution proposed in this study is based on compliant structures and external actuation; this layout provides the potential elimination of the main issues related to cells micro-manipulators represented by the excessive thermal heating and the voltage exposure of samples. The simulation through finite elements method (FEM) models of the structure in terms of force–displacement relation and stress distribution supports the design evolution proposed.