During recent years, there has been a trend towards the miniaturization of the products and of the tools necessary in the industrial processes, including those for micromanipulation. For micromanipulation, the best devices are microgrippers built such as the compliant mechanisms. In this paper, a modular structure for a micromanipulation cell is proposed. The cell has three main modules: a base platform for the working area, a micro-positioning system, and a micromanipulation system. Each module has different design variants which can be combined for specific applications, the FE (finite elements). The analysis and experimental results validate the prototype proposed for this study. In the end, an application of the SiMFlex manipulation cell for an optical microscope is proposed.

Metal powder compaction in rigid dies often suffers from high ejection forces, non-uniform density, and accelerated tool wear. We investigate an elastic-sleeve die concept in which a conical shrink-fit sleeve provides controllable radial confinement during pressing and elastic relaxation during extraction. An extensive experimental program on Fe-based and 316L powders, carried out in parallel with finite element analyses (SolidWorks Simulation version 2021; Marc Mentat 2005), quantified the roles of taper angle (α = 1–4°), axial pretension (Δh = 0.5–1.5 mm), and friction. Contact pressure increased from ≈52 MPa at α = 1° to ≈200 MPa at α = 3°, with negligible gains beyond 3°. For 316L, relative density reached ρ ≈ 0.889 at 325 kN with Δh = 1.5 mm; Fe–Cu–C achieved ρ ≈ 0.865 under identical conditions. The experimental results provided direct validation of the FEM, with calibrated viscoplastic simulations reproducing density–force trends within ≈±5% (mean density error ≈ 4.6%), while mid-stroke force differences (≈15–20%) reflected rearrangement/friction effects not captured by the constitutive law. The combined evidence identifies an optimal window of α ≈ 3° and Δh ≈ 1.0–1.5 mm that maximizes contact pressure and densification without overstressing the sleeve. Elastic relaxation of the sleeve facilitates extraction and suggests reduced ejection effort compared with rigid dies. These findings support elastic dies as a practical route to improved densification and tool life in powder metallurgy.

W artykule zaproponowano oryginalna konfiguracje podatnego minichwytaka do przenoszenia próbek chemikaliów. Opracowano trójwymiarowy model chwytaka i zanalizowano go metoda elementów skonczonych. Wykonano kilka wariantów uchwytów dostosowanych do róznych rodzajów pojemników uzywanych w laboratorium. By otrzymac model funkcjonalny w odpowiedniej skali do charakteryzacji systemu wyznaczono własciwosci materiałów chwytaka i zbudowano stanowisko doswiadczalne do badan systemu z chwytakiem. Na koniec porównano ruchy eksperymentalnego uchwytu, sterowane ruchem siłownika typu mieszkowego, które wyznaczono na podstawie wyników badan eksperymentalnych i numerycznyc

The revolutionary economic potential of micro and nanotechnology is already recognized. Micro and nano-scale technologies that use electrical, magnetic, optical, mechanical, and thermal phenomena separately or in combination are either already in the industrial phase or approaching it. The products of micro and nanotechnology are made of small quantities of material but have high functionality and added value. This paper presents such a product: a system with micro-tweezers for biomedical applications—a micromanipulator with optimized constructive characteristics, including optimal centering, consumption, and minimum size, for handling micro-particles and constructive micro components. The advantage of the proposed structure consists mainly in obtaining a large working area combined with a good working resolution due to the double actuation principle: electromagnetic and piezoelectric.

The paper presents a new approach to solve real life complex management case studies, tested within ProCESS project, that takes into consideration the development of students' SES (sensorial, emotional and spiritual) skills and their implication in solving four complex management cases prepared by a group of four companies. During the first round of solving the cases, different activities were organized, from enterprise meetings, videoconferences, and visits to tailored workshops on developing SES skills. The contribution of this paper consists in presenting the experience and results gained at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca during the first year of the Erasmus + ProCESS project implementation, focusing on the development of students’ SES skills and on the use of these capacities for finding innovative solutions to complex management problems.

The growing demand for precision and miniaturization in micro-scale systems and biomedical applications has driven the need for highly optimized compliant mechanisms. The design of these mechatronic systems requires advanced actuators optimization, synchronizing material characteristics, geometric limitations, and mechanical structure. This study presents analysis results, emphasizing the performance of piezoelectric actuators for compliant mechanisms. Analytical results were presented for two types of actuators: stack actuators and bending actuators. We examined displacement when a different voltage was applied and designed a mini gripper as an application. Finally, experimental results for stack and bending piezoelectric actuators are presented. This study provides a solid framework for integrating simulation findings with experimental requirements in the compliant mechanisms field.