Rotational elastic micro joint based on helix-augmented cross-spring design for large angular movement

Abstract

A new type of micro-joint based on an elastic design concept is proposed for large rotational movement. The proposed new 3D micro-joint was designed based on a cross-spring that has precise and reliable motion. However, the cross-spring has a limitation in the range of rotational angle. To improve the range of rotational movement, the proposed 3D micro-joint was modified with a helical structure. By adding the helical structure, the modified rotational joint can achieve large rotational movement The micro-joint was fabricated by the two-photon stereolithography process (TPS process). The micro-joint was manipulated by optical trapping force. With the same optical trapping force, the advantage of proposed cross-spring on the large rotational movement was evaluated. And the precise movement of the proposed micro-joint was evaluated by calculating the RMS error. It has been shown that the proposed 3D micro-joint has precise and reliable motion for large rotational angle.