Trajectory and Conveyance Validation of a Micro Conveyor Based on a Digital Electromagnetic Actuators Array for the Micro-Factory

Abstract

Micro-factories are characterized by high modularity, reconfigurability and mobility. To achieve this, the micro-factory needs a conveyor which is able to transport objects in as many degrees of freedom (DoF) as possible, executes optimal trajectories of these objects in terms of energy and precision and is robust to withstand possible malfunctions. In this article, we present the planar conveyance of objects on a digital actuation array following trajectories generated by an adapted A* algorithm. The A* algorithm exploits the predictions of a developed dynamic model of the system to find the optimal paths (in terms of energy) on the conveyor surface. The dynamic model predictions were compared to experimental measurements, obtaining low root-mean-square-errors for all conditions. Uni-dimensional conveyance tests characterized the influence of the control parameters. Then, bi-dimensional motions characterized the conveyor’s performance. From the bi-dimensional test, a position root-mean-square-error of 20 μm was measured for a 1109 μm open-loop controlled trajectory. The modular nature of the array allows easy scaling and avoiding possible malfunctioning zones, increasing the robustness of the micro-conveyor. The experimental tests demonstrate that the proposed device is an interesting alternative for the micro-factory.