Acoustic levitation facilitates contactless movement of millimetric objects
Acoustic levitation facilitates contactless movement of millimetric objects lead image
Acoustic levitation, which uses the energy of sound to hold objects or liquids in mid-air, has applications throughout industry but is usually limited when it comes to picking up objects. Andrade et al. found a way to harness near-field acoustic levitation, a specific type of levitation where a planar object is held at a small distance from a vibrating surface, to pick up and place small components without contacting them.
The researchers modeled near-field acoustic levitation properties, such as noncontact forces, attraction, repulsion and torques, using computational fluid dynamics simulations and the Finite Element Method. They developed a near-field acoustic levitator for the pick and placement of millimetric, flat components, such as electronic components.
“This device does not touch the component that is picked, thus avoiding contamination and scratching of fragile components. In other methods, when the tweezers or suction cups pick the objects, there is always the risk of cross-contamination or modifying its surface,” said author Marco Andrade.
When activated, the device automatically self-orients and self-centers the chosen object, adjusting the object in a position relevant to the tip. This means chosen components don’t need to be re-oriented manually.
“No scratch or contamination will occur to the components, and at the same time, they can be picked with a high degree of accuracy,” said author Asier Marzo.
In the future, the authors want to enhance the stability and accuracy of the device and study how tip size relates to the size and shape of the picked components. They intend on downsizing the device to make it more integrable with existing production processes.
Source: “Contactless pick-and-place of millimetric objects using inverted near-field acoustic levitation,” by Marco A. B. Andrade, Tiago S. Ramos, Julio C. Adamowski, and Asier Marzo, Applied Physics Letters (2020). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5138598 .
