Development of Multi-Stage Molding Methods for Manufacturing of Mesoscopic 3D Articulated Devices

3D articulated devices involve moving parts with significant out-of-plane motion. While manufacturing technologies exist for scaling down 2D articulated devices, a scalable and cost effective manufacturing method does not currently exist for making mesoscopic 3D articulated devices. Even though individual mesoscopic parts can be easily fabricated, assembling them into devices remains a major challenge. We are developing a multi-stage molding process that will eliminate the need for performing post-molding assembly operations during manufacturing of mesoscopic 3D articulated devices. This paper presents an overview of our ongoing project and describes our preliminary results in the areas of adhesion modeling and development of mold designs for realizing mesoscale revolute and universal joints.