SWISS FOCUS | ARTICLE
<< Figure 1: Mecartex Z axis for microscopy. >>
THE USE OF Flexure in
High-Precision Devices
STEFANO BOTTINELLI,MECARTEX and NICOLETTA CASANOVA, FEMTOprint
In several industrial fields, such as semiconductors, optoelectronics or micro systems in general, the miniaturisation of components has been an on-
going trend for years. The needs of manufacturing require continuously increased precision. High-
precision manipulators have become essential for further development of micro technologies and their limits are often determined by their
mechanical structure. An inappropriate structure for a manipulator can be an insurmountable
limiting factor to its precision. The use of flexure, relying on elastic properties of the material, can help overcome obstacles and get several advantages. One of the best means to
manufacture flexures in the macro or mini scale is electrical discharge machining (EDM), but in the micro scale, the substrate mainly used is silicon and the praxis relies on its manufacturing processes. Today, a new technology called
Femtoprint can also be used to produce flexures- based devices in the micro scale, but instead of silicon, they can be manufactured out of transparent materials such as fused silica.
8| commercial micro manufacturing international Vol 6 No.6
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