Chapter 4 Manufacturing Technology Facing the 21st Century 先进制造技术 知识双语-HTC.ppt

On the other hand, smaller machines in history of technology are mostly tools. If smaller machines are easier to make, a variety of such machines should exist, but until modern times, no significant small machines existed except for guns and clocks. This fact may imply that smaller machines were actually more difficult to make. Of course, this does not mean simply that it was difficult to make a small machine, It means that it was difficult to invent a small machine that would be significant to human beings. Some people might say that mankind may not have wanted smaller machines. This theory, however, does not explain the recent popularity of palm-size mechatronics products. The absence of small machines in history may be due to the extreme difficulty in manufacturing small precision parts. (2) Why Micromachine Now The dream of the ultimate small machine, or micro-machine, was first depicted in detail in the 1966 movie Fantastic Voyage. “ At the time, the study of micro-machining of semiconductors had already begun. Therefore, manufacturing minute mechanisms through micro-machining of semiconductors would have been possible, even at that time. There was, however, a wait of over 20 years before the introduction of electrostatic motors and gears made by semiconductor micromachining. Why didnt the study of micro-machining and the dream of micro-machines meet earlier? A possible reason for this is as follows. In addition to micro-machining, the development of micromachines requires a number of technologies including materials, instrumentation, control, energy, information processing, and design. Before micro-machine research and development can be started, all of these technologies must reach a certain level. In other words, the overall technological level, as a whole, must reach a certain critical point, but it hadnt reached that point 38 years ago. Approximately 20 years after Fantastic Voyage, “ the technology level for micromachines finally reached a crit