Design, numerical simulation and experimental investigation of an SU-8 microgripper based on the cascaded V-shaped electrothermal actuators

Abstract

This paper presents the numerical simulation results and the experimental investigations of a polymeric microgripper designed using the cascaded V-shaped electrothermal actuators. The microgripper was simulated using electro-thermo-mechanical finite element method (FEM) based on Coventorware 2014 software in order to check the performance of the gripper. As structural material of the microgripper, the SU-8 biocompatible polymer was used during the fabrication process. The metallic micro-heaters were encapsulated in the polymeric actuation structures of the microgrippers to reduce the undesirable out-of-plane displacement of the gripper tips, to reduce the mechanical stress and to improve the thermal efficiency. Experimental testing has been performed to determine the openings of the microgripper tips as function of electrical current. A displacement of the tips of more than 50 pm can be obtained at an electrical current of around 25-26 mA. Over 27-28 mA the heaters are still working but a softening and a damaging status in the polymer were observed.