In this study, a simple and effective method was proposed to minimize electrolytic corrosion on the workpiece during ED-drilling using water as a working fluid. The adhesion of a cover plate onto the surface of the workpiece was greatly effective for suppressing electrolytic corrosion during ED-drilling. The experiment revealed that the adhesion of the cover plate prevented corrosion without causing significant changes in machining characteristics. Using the machining method proposed in this paper, electrolytic-corrosion-free holes can be machined without change in the machinery system. By using corrosion-free hole as a start hole for wire EDM, a lead frame die with high quality was fabricated successfully.

Recently, many studies are being conducted to realize high quality polishing technology, but because of high dependence on field experience and insufficient research for ultra-precision polishing technology, it is difficult to establish standardization of polishing conditions. The purpose of this study is to determine high-efficiency superfinishing conditions which are applicable in the field of machining. To achieve this, we have a developed a superfinishing device and conducted a series of polishing experiments for mechanical materials such as SM45C, Brass, Al7075, and Ti, from the perspective of oscillation speed, the rotational speed of the workpiece, contact roller hardness, contact pressure, and feed rate. From the experimental results, it was confirmed that the polishable superfinishing conditions range and efficient feed rate of polishing film can be etermined.

In mobile robotics, ultrasonic sensors became one of the most popular devices for collision avoidance and navigation primarily due to data robustness, the easy availability of low-cost systems, their compact size, simple circuits, and their ease in interfacing with computers. However, ultrasonic sonic sensors are subject to noise which results in inaccuracy of mapping and localization of the robot. This paper introduces a new approach to enhance environmental maps based on ultrasonic range data using linear interpolation and Newton interpolation. The simulation and experimental results show that the proposed method improves of the accuracy of the map through better distance estimation between the mobile robot and obstacles.

We developed a line standards measurement system using an optical microscope and measured two kinds of line standards. It consists of three main parts: an optical microscope module including a CCD camera, a stage system with a linear encoder, and a measurement program for a microscopic image processing. The magnification of microscope part was calibrated using onedimensional gratings and the angular motion of stage was measured to estimate the Abbe error. The threshold level in linewidth measurement was determined by comparing with certified values of a linewidth reference specimen, and its validity was proved through the measurement of another linewidth specimen. The expanded uncertainty (k=2) was about 100 ㎚ in the measurements of 1 ㎛~10 ㎛ linewidth. In the comparison results of line spacing measurement, two kinds of values were coincide within the expanded uncertainty, which were obtained by the one-dimensional measuring machine in KRISS and the line standards measurement system. The expanded uncertainty (k=2) in the line spacing measurement was estimated as √(0.098 ㎛)² + (1.8×10?⁴×L). Therefore, it will be applied effectively to the calibration of line standards, such as linewidth and line spacing, with the expanded uncertainty of several hundreds nanometer.

This paper presents the analytical stiffness analysis method for a low-DOF planar parallel manipulator. An n-DOF (n＜3) planar parallel manipulator to which 1- or 2-DOF serial mechanism is connected in series may be used as a positioning device in planar tasks requring high payload and high speed. Differently from a 3-DOF planar parallel manipulator, an n-DOF planar parallel counterpart may be subject to constraint forces as well as actuation forces. Using the theory of reciprocal screws, the planar stiffness is modeled such that the moving platform is supported by three springs related to the reciprocal screws of actuations (n) and constraints (3-n). Then, the spring constants can be precisely determined by modeling the compliances of joints and links in serial chains. Finally, the stiffness of two kinds of 2-DOF planar parallel manipulators with simple and complex springs is analyzed. In order to show the effectiveness of the suggested method, the results of analytical stiffness analysis are compared to those of numerical stiffness analysis by using ADAMS.

In this paper, a navigation algorithm is proposed using RFID tags in indoor environments. Firstly, a stochastic sensor model of RFID is derived and the design factors including the maximum identifiable distance, the identification direction and the read success rate are obtained through experiments. The obstacle avoidance algorithm is developed with consideration of those factors for a variety of RFID antenna configurations and different indoor environments. The algorithm is tested by computer simulations and implemented on a mobile robot.

The roll forming process is commonly used for the conventional 'Fe' metal products such as a furniture drawer guide or an up-down slide guide. Recently its applications are variously expanded to the sanitary facilities or electronic devices. It is essentially required the cleanness for the high technology application and any corrosion or rust are not allowed. Therefore, in those applications the stainless steel materials are strongly demanded as the substitution of ‘Fe’ steel. However the mechanical properties of stainless steel are not suitable for forming process compared with those of ‘Fe’ steel. Up to now, the conventional F.E.M.(Finite Element Method) has been used to analyze and design the roll forming process. The purpose of this research is to obtain the proper production process and the shape of rolls to manufacture the high precision slide rails made of stainless steel material. The commercial program, SHARPE-RF, is used to analyze the entire roll forming process. The results show that the rolling process and the roll design by F.E.M. are useful from the good agreement between the shapes of products estimated by F.E.M. and those of the actual products.

In this paper, the gear design program is presented. The profile of gears is created using classical mathematic formulations. In each gear, a kinematic joint is applied and one can define the 2D contact condition between gear pairs. Initial and boundary conditions such as force, torque, velocity, acceleration, etc. can be set. Thus, it is possible to analyze dynamic characteristics of gear pairs such as reaction moment and the variation of angular velocity. In order to find the optimal profile of gear pairs, two optimization methods based on design of experiments are inserted in the program; One is the Taguchi method and the other is the response surface analysis method. To verify the program, the rack & pinion gear is created and analyzed. Simulation results show that the developed program is useful and result data is reliable.

A pressure rise is generated while air bearing stages are moving in high vacuum environment. This study analyzed this pressure rise phenomenon theoretically and verified it experimentally using two different kinds of stages - linear and rotary air bearing stages. Results indicate that the pressure rise was caused by additional leakage resulting from stage velocity, along with adsorption and outgassing of gas molecules from the guide rail surface. Though tilting of the stage due to acceleration and deceleration reached several micrometers, it had a negligible effect on pressure rise because the tilting time was very short. Therefore, a rotary air bearing stage showed much less pressure rise than a linear stage because the rotary stage theoretically has nothing to do with the above causes. Additional leakage caused by stage velocity was inevitable if the stage had movements, but pressure rise caused by adsorption and outgassing could be suppressed by improving the surface quality to reduce real surface area, and by coating the guide rail surface with titanium nitride (TiN) which has less adhesion probability of gas molecules. The results also indicate that the pressure rise increased when the air bearing stage operated under high vacuum conditions.

Fabrication of a three-dimensional (3D) metallic mold for multi-production of a microstructure was studied to settle the problem of long processing time in 3D microfabrication. To date, complicated 3D microstructures including 3D photonic crystals, 3D microlens array, 3D filter for microfludics, and something else were created successfully using the two-photon polymerization (TPP) which was considered as paving the way to fabricate a real 3D shape in nano/microscale. However, for those fabrications, much processing time and efforts were inevitably required. To solve this issue, a simple and effective way was proposed in this paper; 3D master patterns were prepared using TPP, and then counter-shaped Ni molds were fabricated by electroforming process. By using these molds, 3D microstructures can be reproduced with short-processing time and low-effort comparing to the conventional approach, TPP. We report some parameters to fabricate a metallic mold precisely.