Do tools to make working on tiny things easier exist? (multi-DOF motion reduction?)

[Elizabeth Greene]

I need a tool to make working on tiny things easier and I don't know if it exists. Search engines aren't great at finding obscure gizmo when you don't know the proper name so I thought I'd ask here before I go invent one.

I need to carefully position an iPad home button connector (0.25-inch x 0.125-inch rectangle) with <0.01-inch positional accuracy and hold it in place. Complicating that, I have hand tremors. It's normally a manageable condition but working at this scale is extremely difficult.

Is there a device that will reduce my motion inputs by some multiplier to allow careful positioning of parts at microscopic or near-microscopic scales?

Thanks

[WmRMeyers]

I need a tool to make working on tiny things easier and I don't know if it exists. Search engines aren't great at finding obscure gizmo when you don't know the proper name so I thought I'd ask here before I go invent one.

I need to carefully position an iPad home button connector (0.25-inch x 0.125-inch rectangle) with <0.01-inch positional accuracy and hold it in place. Complicating that, I have hand tremors. It's normally a manageable condition but working at this scale is extremely difficult.

Is there a device that will reduce my motion inputs by some multiplier to allow careful positioning of parts at microscopic or near-microscopic scales?

Thanks

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_manipulator

also called a Waldo, or a robotic arm. Described by Robert A. Heinlein in 1942: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldo_(short_story)

I'm getting interested in this, myself. My dad spent the last decade or so of his life with Parkinson's, and my hands are doing a bit of shaking, and have been for a few years now. Could be the caffeine intake, could be Parkinson's' starting up. I can't seem to do without caffeine long enough to get a clue, and the last time I came close to making it seems to be when the shaking started for me. Note that the first wiki article mentions hydraulic power, and that (or perhaps pneumatic power) might be a way to dampen some of the shake.

Bill

[Frank S]

I was thinking you might be asking about a Motorized Force-Sensing Micro-Forceps with Tremor Cancelling and Controlled Micro-Vibrations

[Elizabeth Greene]

Thank you both for the replies. Digging into these (and the patents behind them) I think I'm on the right track. One more search keyword for posterity is "Micro-manipulator".

From what I've seen so far all are fairly complex and expensive. I'm going to have a go at making a cheap and simple 3d printable alternative. Wish me luck!

[WmRMeyers]

Thank you both for the replies. Digging into these (and the patents behind them) I think I'm on the right track. One more search keyword for posterity is "Micro-manipulator".

From what I've seen so far all are fairly complex and expensive. I'm going to have a go at making a cheap and simple 3d printable alternative. Wish me luck!

Take a look at Thingiverse.com, and the other 3d printer repositories. GrabCad might be a good one, also. Seems to me OnShape has open access to everyone's designs as part of the TOS for using their software, too.

And of course, report back here!

Bill

[mklotz]

During a two week hiatus at Bell Labs I used a micro-manipulator to weld thin gold wires to power transistor elements and the case leads.

Basically, it was a three dimensional pantograph with a fractional motion ratio such that a relatively large hand motion produced a minute probe movement. You might want to experiment with a 2D version first; should be able to construct a trial version fairly quickly.

Or, if you're rolling in money, there's always the professionals...


https://micromanipulator.com/

https://www.wpiinc.com/applications/...n/manipulators

[WmRMeyers]

During a two week hiatus at Bell Labs I used a micro-manipulator to weld thin gold wires to power transistor elements and the case leads.

Basically, it was a three dimensional pantograph with a fractional motion ratio such that a relatively large hand motion produced a minute probe movement. You might want to experiment with a 2D version first; should be able to construct a trial version fairly quickly.

Or, if you're rolling in money, there's always the professionals...


https://micromanipulator.com/

https://www.wpiinc.com/applications/...n/manipulators

the guy with the giant furnace on the front page of the group, Rob Bonifacio has a 2D pantograph build on his website, might be worth looking at. https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...cio+pantograph His design is set to do one-to-one copies of patterns with a plasma cutter, but it might give you some ideas on how to build what you need. And he sells a kit. I don't expect too many people who hang out on a homemade tool website can afford commercial special purpose tools. I know I sure can't. I mostly buy broken stuff and try to fix it, myself. Of course, I'm also a cheap bastrich.

Bill

[mklotz]

... I don't expect too many people who hang out on a homemade tool website can afford commercial special purpose tools. ...

Probably true but it's still worth checking their equipment for DIY ideas.

[WmRMeyers]

Probably true but it's still worth checking their equipment for DIY ideas.

No argument there! I recently acquired a couple of Unimat lathes, and I've been haunting Ebay for photos of the stuff I want, since I can't afford most of it. If you know what an object is in the photo, you can scale the parts off of it, and figure out how to make it without ever actually laying hands on it. If you have an idea how something works, and the object it fits on, you can probably figure out how to do what to you need to make something fit it. Won't say I'm great at this, but I am starting to get a clue. And sometimes, it really does make sense to just buy the stinking thing, too.

Bill

[mklotz]

... I recently acquired a couple of Unimat lathes, and I've been haunting Ebay for photos of the stuff I want, since I can't afford most of it. ...

The Unimat is a wonderful little machine. It's been a starting point for many aspiring amateur machinists.

Here...

Customizing a Unimat

are shown some of the improvements I made to mine.

But the real king of Unimat improvements and modifications is Paul Jones. The easiest way to view his work is to use the forum's "advanced search" function and search on the word "unimat" with his name in the user name window. Take a lunch :-)