Precision Assembly Technologies for Mini and Micro Products

Customers increasingly expect products that are smaller, have improved functionality and reliabiltiy, and cost less. Minaturization and integration of mechanical, sensing, and control functions within confined spaces is becoming an important trend in designing new products in the automotive, biomedical, pharaceutical and telecommunications industries in particular. §The International Precision Assembly Seminar (IPAS) is a premier international forum for reporting and discussing key technological developments in the field of mini and micro assembly automation. The contributions to the 3rd IPAS'2006 seminar have been grouped into 6 sections. Part 1 deals with new techniques for the handling and feeding of micro parts. Micro-robotics and robot applications for micro assembly are discussed in Part 2. An overview of different design and planning applications for microassembly is provided in Part 3. Part 4 is dedicated to reconfigurable and modular micro assembly systems and control applications. The economic aspects of microassembly including new business models are discussed in Part 5 while Part 6 presents specific technical solutions and microassembly applications. International Federation for Information Processing§The IFIP series publishes state-of-the-art results in the sciences and technologies of information and communication. The scope of the series includes: foundations of computer science; software theory and practice; education; computer applications in technology; communication systems; systems modeling and optimization; information systems; computers and society; computer systems technology; security and protection in information processing systems; artificial intelligence; and human-computer interaction. Proceedings and post-proceedings of referred international conferences in computer science and interdisciplinary fields are featured. These results often precede journal publication and represent the most current research. The principal aim of the IFIP series is to encourage education and the dissemination and exchange of information about all aspects of computing. §For more information about the 300 other books in the IFIP series, please visit www.springeronline.com. §For more information about IFIP, please visit www.ifip.org. These contributions to the 3rd IPAS'2006 seminar are grouped in 6 sections. Part 1 reviews new techniques for handling and feeding micro parts. Micro-robotics and robot applications for micro assembly are discussed in Part 2. An overview of different design and planning applications for microassembly is provided in Part 3. Part 4 covers reconfigurable and modular micro assembly systems and control applications. The economic aspects of microassembly including new business models are discussed in Part 5 while Part 6 presents specific technical solutions and microassembly applications.