TY  - JOUR
AU  - Antonelli, Dario 
AU  - Fantoni, Gualtiero 
AU  - Porta, Marcello 
AU  - Santochi, Marco 
PY  - 2010
TI  - A Methodology for the Selection of Micro-Assembly Techniques
JF  - American Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences
VL  - 3
IS  - 4
DO  - 10.3844/ajeassp.2010.718.722
UR  - https://thescipub.com/abstract/ajeassp.2010.718.722
AB  - Problem statement: The study addressed the problem of selecting the appropriate microassembly
techniques according to the micro-part features. Actually, in the micro-domain, the choice of
the correct assembly technique is highly dependent on the micro-part characteristics such as shape,
geometry and material. Approach: Since there was an incomplete and unstructured knowledge about
the micro-assembly, the study proposed a Decision Support System (DSS) as solution for assisting the
designer in the correct selection of the most suitable micro-assembly strategies. The first step was
establishing a structured correlation between micro-assembly techniques and part features. In particular
the phases grasping and releasing were adopted as test-study for their importance in the microassembly
process. The second step was the set up of a multistage model for the selection of the
grasping-releasing technique and the implementation of the model in an Expert System as a set of
rules. Results: The DSS was tested on some common micro-parts producing a scored list of selected
grasping-releasing methods. Conclusion: The DSS proved quite valuable in the selection and the
scoring of the micro-assembly principles that suit specific applications.