抄録
As an advanced control component for practical micromachines using fluid power in millimeter size, the authors have proposed and developed a microvalve using homogeneous electro-rheological (ER) fluid called micro ER valve. By using the homogeneous ER fluid whose viscosity is controlled by the applied electric field strength, a simple-structural control valve composed of fixed electrodes can be realized. In this paper, to mount on in-pipe working micromachines, a compact ER valve-integrated microactuator is proposed and fabricated. First, miniaturization characteristics of the micro ER valve fabricated by micromachining are examined experimentally. Second, a polyimide-diaphragm fluid microactuator is proposed, fabricated and tested. Finally, an ER valve-integrated microactuator is constructed by using above devices with 8mm width, 10mm length and 1.4mm height and the static characteristics are investigated experimentally. Also, as an application, a micro gripper driven by the actuator is demonstrated.
