High-precision nanopositioning and nanomeasuring machines for alternative nanofabrication. - In: Proceedings of SPIE, Bd. 12956 (2024), 129560D, S. 129560D-1-129560D-17
For two decades, the Technische Universität Ilmenau has been developing high precision Nanopositioning and Nanomeasuring machines (NPMMs). These have proven their potential for nanometer accurate measurements in large volumes up to 200mm x 200mm x 25mm with 5 axis operation in several fields. As these machines operate according to the highest standards of metrology, offer picometer resolution and nanometer uncertainty, the goal is to transfer their unique precision to fabrication and patterning. So far, the NPMMs have been equipped with laser-based as well as tip-based patterning tools, including one photon and two photon polymerization, nanoimprint, scanning probe lithography and combinations of these technologies. The goal is basic research on these technologies, to tackle the evident challenges and explore the concealed limits to estimate the potential for later use in an industrial scale. In this paper, the specifics and advantages of the NPMMs will be described as well as the micro- and nanofabrication tools that are currently worked on. Focus is on the parameters in measurement mode and the accomplished fabrication results.
https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3010844
Failure mechanisms of Friction stir welding tools related to process control and tool geometry. - In: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, ISSN 2041-3076, Bd. 0 (2024)
Friction stir welding (FSW) is subjected to process-specific challenges including comparatively high process forces and tool wear resulting from thermomechanical stresses. As a result, the acting loads and the geometric-related tool wear can cause tool failure. The tool (shoulder) design, whether it is concave or flat, with or without geometrical elements, is mainly responsible for the related failure mechanism and tool life. Therefore, this study systematically analyzes the failure mechanisms as a function of the process temperature, during FSW of AA-6060 T66 using tools made of H13 tool steel, with different shoulder designs, namely a concave contour and a scroll contour. The mechanism responsible for tool failure was induced by repeated welding at rotational speeds of 4000 rpm and 2000 rpm, at process temperatures within the range of the secondary hardness maximum (552 ˚C and 555 ˚C) and below the temperature of the secondary hardness maximum (488 ˚C and 499 ˚C). The experimental investigation showed that reducing the rotational speed of the scrolled shoulder from 4000 rpm to 2000 rpm resulted in less wear and therefore an increase in tool life from 474 m to up to 1400 m. In this context, it has also been shown that the shoulder geometry affects the mechanism relevant to failure due to the free length of the probe.
https://doi.org/10.1177/14644207241228370
Measurement of the particle distribution around the tire of a light commercial vehicle on unpaved roads. - In: SAE technical papers, ISSN 2688-3627, (2024), SAE Technical Paper 2024-01-5032, S. 1-10
Dust testing of vehicles on unpaved roads is crucial in the development process for automotive manufacturers. These tests aim to ensure the functionality of locking systems in dusty conditions, minimize dust concentration inside the vehicle, and enhance customer comfort by preventing dust accumulation on the car body. Additionally, deposition on safety-critical parts, such as windshields and sensors, can pose threats to driver vision and autonomous driving capabilities. Currently, dust tests are primarily conducted experimentally at proving grounds. In order to gain early insights and reduce the need for costly physical tests, numerical simulations are becoming a promising alternative. Although simulations of vehicle contamination by dry dust have been studied in the past, they have often lacked detailed models for tire dust resuspension. In addition, few publications address the specifics of dust deposition on vehicles, especially in areas such as door gaps and locks. Many authors focus primarily on the environmental impact of vehicles due to non-exhaust emissions, such as tire and road wear particles (TRWP) and brake wear on paved roads. To close this gap, this paper presents an experimental test in which a vehicle drives through a dry dust track. Using special dust measurement techniques positioned in the wheelhouse, we determine the number and size distribution of the dust particle field around the tire circumference. The results of this experiment provide a deeper understanding of the dust dispersion patterns generated by tires on unpaved surfaces and serve as valuable data for boundary conditions and for the validation of CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulations.
https://doi.org/10.4271/2024-01-5032
Practical fatigue strength diagrams for compression springs based on the FKM-guideline “Analytic Strength Assessment for Springs“. - In: Journal of physics, ISSN 1742-6596, Bd. 2692 (2024), 012031, S. 1-7
Today’s helical compression springs are designed according to DIN EN 13906-1. The fatigue diagrams contained there are outdated and essential influences on fatigue strength are not taken into account. In order to resolve these circumstances, endurable stresses were calculated with the FKM guideline “Analytic Strength Assessment for Springs and Spring Elements”, which was published in 2020. The application of the included safety concept results in characteristic curves for permissible stresses that are conservative with regard to real test data. Therefore, the new fatigue strength diagrams can be used directly for standard applications. This article gives an overview of the method and accompanying experiments. The presented results enable spring designers to design competitive springs in a shorter time and with less testing effort according to the current state of research.
https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2692/1/012031
Bio-inspired, adaptive acoustic sensor : Sensing properties in dependence of feedback parameters. - In: AIP conference proceedings, ISSN 1551-7616, Bd. 3062 (2024), 1, 040011, S. 040011-1-040011-10
Pre-processing of the sound signal during sensing is an integral functionality of the cochlea, the part of human hearing responsible for sound sensing. This pre-pocessing, which is integrated into the sensing stage directly, enables the remarkable properties of human hearing. Similarly, integrating some of these pre-processing functionalities in technological speech processing systems strongly improves their recognition performance.We developed a bio-inspired, adaptive acoustic sensor with pre-processing capabilities like nonlinear amplification and frequency filtering functionality. The sensor is composed of a single clamped silicon beam with integrated deflection sensing and thermo-mechanical actuation, subjected to a real-time feedback. While the resonance frequency and bandwidth are determined by the geometry of the sensor beam, its transfer characteristics can be switched dynamically from linear to nonlinear regime by changing the feedback parameters. In the linear regime, the feedback controls the sensitivity and bandwidth of the sensors. Here, we elaborate on the influence of the sign of feedback strength and offset on the sensor behaviour. Changing the sign of the feedback parameters switches between amplification and damping behaviour, enabling the change of sensitivity by 44 dB. Thereby, complex oscillation modes are observed for feedback parameters with similar polarity.
https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0189488
Characterization of a new fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscope. - In: Acta ophthalmologica, ISSN 1755-3768, Bd. 102 (2024), S279, insges. 1 S.
Aims/Purpose: Fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) allows in vivo measurement of autofluorescence intensity decays of endogenous fluorophores in the ocular fundus. So far, only devices from Heidelberg Engineering based on the Spectralis system have been used in FLIO research. Here, we present and characterize a new FLIO device based on the RETImap system from Roland Consult. Methods: The device is based on a confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope (35˚ field, 512 × 512 px). A ps diode laser (BDL-SMN 473 nm, Becker & Hickl GmbH, Berlin, Germany) excites autofluorescence. The fluorescence photons are split into a short (498-560 nm, SSC) and a long (560-720 nm, LSC) spectral channel (one HPM-100-40 detector [Becker & Hickl GmbH] each) and are detected by time-correlated single photon counting (SPC-160, Becker & Hickl GmbH). We determined the maximum laser power (ILT2400, International Light Technologies, Inc. Peabody, MA, USA) and analysed the instrument's behaviour at three different laser power levels (150 μW, 200 μW and max.) in terms of laser spectrum (CAS140CT, Instrument Systems GmbH, Munich, Germany) and instrument response function (IRF). The IRF was determined using a 25 μM Eosin Y solution, mixed with a 5 M solution of potassium iodide, placed in a flat cuvette (110-OS, Hellma GmbH & Co. KG, Müllheim, Germany) in front of the objective lens of the FLIO device. Fluorescence measurements of approximately 1-min duration were performed three times for all three laser powers. The IRF and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) were calculated using FLIMX software (www.flimx.de). Results: The max. laser power was 280 μW. The peak wavelengths of the laser spectra were 467.6 (150 μW), 467.9 (200 μW) and 468.0 nm (280 μW). IRF FWHM in SSC were 298.6 ± 1.1 ps (150 μW), 341.0 ± 2.5 ps (200 μW) and 347.5 ± 6.0 ps (280 μW). In LSC, the IRF FWHM were 290.4 ± 3.8 ps (150 μW), 344.0 ± 3.4 ps (200 μW) and 358.8 ± 1.3 ps (280 μW). Results are mean ± standard deviation. Conclusions: A new fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscope has been characterized. The device offers a high laser power for fluorescence excitation, a large field of view, a high spatial resolution, and a sufficiently high time resolution. Thus, it is suitable for fluorescence lifetime studies.
https://doi.org/10.1111/aos.15921
Volumetric Lagrangian temperature and velocity measurements with thermochromic liquid crystals. - In: Measurement science and technology, ISSN 1361-6501, Bd. 35 (2024), 3, 035301, S. 1-11
We propose a Lagrangian method for simultaneous, volumetric temperature and velocity measurements. As tracer particles for both quantities, we employ encapsulated thermochromic liquid crystals (TLCs). We discuss the challenges arising from color imaging of small particles and present measurements in an equilateral hexagonal-shaped convection cell of height h = 60 mm and distance between the parallel side walls w = 10^4 mm, which corresponds to an aspect ratio Γ = 1.73. As fluid, we use a water-glycerol mixture to match the density of the TLC particles. We propose a densely-connected neural network, trained on calibration data, to predict the temperature for individual particles based on their particle image and position in the color camera images, which achieves uncertainties below 0.2 K over a temperature range of 3 K. We use Shake-the-Box to determine the 3D position and velocity of the particles and couple it with our temperature measurement approach. We validate our approach by adjusting a stable temperature stratification and comparing our measured temperatures with the theoretical results. Finally, we apply our approach to thermal convection at Rayleigh number Ra = 3.4 × 10^7 and Prandtl number Pr = 10.6. We can visualize detaching plumes in individual temperature and convective heat transfer snapshots. Furthermore, we demonstrate that our approach allows us to compute statistics of the convective heat transfer and briefly validate our results against the literature.
https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6501/ad16d1
An integrated approach to developing modular product families in the engineer-to-order sector. - In: Production at the leading edge of technology, (2024), S. 737-746
Nowadays, companies face challenges such as globalization, individualization and shorter product lifecycles, resulting in a constant stream of new product development processes (PDP). Modularized product families represent a powerful concept for reducing complexity and increasing resource efficiency in the PDP and beyond. Despite existing approaches and methods in the development of modular product families, there are deficits in the state of the art regarding their transfer and application to the engineer-to-order (ETO) sector, as well as for neutral indicator-based evaluation. Therefore, this paper derives a generic modularization procedure for the ETO sector and verifies it in an industrial use case. For this purpose, a heuristic swapping algorithm has been developed for grouping the components of a product family into clusters and enabling an objective mathematical evaluation. By integrating modular product structures into organizational processes, ETO manufacturers can strengthen their competitive position as well as increase their resource efficiency.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-47394-4_72
Analytical description of transversally symmetric hinges with semicircular contours. - In: Advances in mechanism and machine science, (2024), S. 502-509
Compliant mechanisms are becoming increasingly important, especially in force measurement and weighing technology, due to their zero backlash, wear resistance, and zero friction. Their deformation under external forces can be analyzed well with analytical calculations and FEM simulations. Analytically, only mechanisms with symmetrical and longitudinally symmetrical hinges are described. This paper presents a method that allows transversally symmetric hinges to be described analytically. The model must be computed numerically due to the built neutral fiber and the nonlinearities in the used calculation method. The developed method is then compared with FEM calculations in a parameter study and considered to be validated. Finally, outlooks are formulated on how the created method can for instance be used to develop load cells for later calculations. Moreover, it is shown to what extent it is possible to implement this method for general calculations of compliant mechanisms.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45709-8_49
Shadow masks as an alternative method to lithography for the structuring of thin film layers on LTCC substrates. - In: IMAPSource proceedings, ISSN 2380-4505, Bd. 2023 (2023), HiTEC, CICMT, Power, S. 1-4
The combination of low temperature cofired ceramic multilayer technology with thin film deposition methods enables new functional principles by expanding the available portfolio of materials. Low-stress integration of micromechanical chips can be achieved, for example, by using reactive multilayers as local heat sources, which can be deposited directly onto the ceramics. Shadow masks are ideal for structuring these multilayers. The technology has the advantage that the layers are patterned without the use of etching chemicals and no residues of masking layers or photoresist remain on the non-coated areas. Flexible polyimide used to cover the non-coated areas can adapt to the surface unevenness of the ceramic. The polymer has excellent temperature stability and is compatible with vacuum coating processes. It is available in various thickness gradations and can be easily structured by laser cutting. The accuracy of the mask fabrication by means of laser cut is studied in this work. Structures with a line width of 30 μm can be precisely cut into 75 μm thick polyimide foils. Mask and chip are mechanically aligned, thus a positioning accuracy of 70 μm and better when using the outer edge of mask and chip for alignment is achievable. Major influences of the laser process on the precision of the mask and the resulting transfer fidelity to the ceramic surface are discussed. The method is suitable for reliably reproducing layers with structure sizes from 30 μm with a pitch of 150 μm.
https://doi.org/10.4071/001c.89092