A Synopsis of U.S. Micro-Manufacturing Research and Development Activities and Trends

Kornel F. Ehmann(a)(b)(c)(d)
a: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston IL, USA
b: Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, USA
c: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology – Kanpur, India
d: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chung Yuan Christian University, Chung Li, Taiwan

Abstract

Micro-manufacturing in the context of this presentation is defined as the manufacture of components and products in the sub-millimeter to a few-millimeter range with micron size feature characteristics of high accuracy and precision in a wide range of engineering materials by non-lithography based processes. The paper addresses three topics. First, the findings of a worldwide study on micro-manufacturing, conducted by the World Technology Evaluation Center, Inc. (WTEC) will be summarized. This summary will compare U.S. efforts to those in a number of Asian and European countries. Second, a précis of selected ongoing work conducted at U.S. universities with leading programs in the field will be given. Topics to be discussed include the development of miniaturized machine tools for cutting, forming and manipulation as well as the modeling of micro-manufacturing processes. An account of the growing industrial activities related to the development of micro-manufacturing equipment will also be included. Third, emerging directions and challenges in the development of micro-manufacturing technologies will be reflected upon.