A multifaceted approach to Grasping Force estimation of CSFH-Based Electrostatic Microgrippers

Microgrippers are miniaturized tools designed to manipulate micro-objects, and they are becoming increasingly important in a variety of industrial fields. This paper focuses on electrostatically driven microgrippers, explaining their working principle, potentiality, limitations, as well as their applications in areas such as microassembly and microproduction. The ultimate goal is to develop even smarter and more robust devices for use in Industry 4.0 and IoT environments. It is crucial to evaluate the force that these devices can apply, and the present work aims to provide a thorough assessment of the grasping force by blending analytical models, numerical simulations, and experimental tests. Based on the results, the microgripper prototype under test can apply a maximum force of 1.04 ± 0.13 μN on the manipulated object.