Design and validation of a gripper for the automated assembly of film components in flexible electronics manufacturing

Automation in the manufacturing of electronic products and devices has been increasingly implemented in the last decades, to cope with the growing demand for mass emerging products. However, some niches still exhibit a large room for improvement. Considering flexible electronics production, this work addresses the assembly of film coverlays, which is still conducted manually, mainly due to the technological challenges related to the manipulation of film-based components and the removal of the film protecting the adhesive layer, along with the extreme variability of their shape and dimension. These issues result in stressful and troublesome tasks for the operator, besides preventing the full digitalization of the production process. A multifunctional gripper is presented as the core device to enable assembly automation. The study concerns the full gripper development, from the analysis of requirements and concept definition to design, prototyping and testing. The device was tested installed on a robot arm, demonstrating full reliability for the completion of all assembly process tasks. Moreover, the assessment of positioning performance confirms the fulfilment of process requirements, still providing insights for slight improvements. The gripper represents a scalable solution for the automated assembly of film-based coverlays, ready for validation in industrial settings.