Self-assembly based manufacturing refers to a controlled process of using

self-assembly Self-assembly is a process in which a disordered system of pre-existing components forms an organized structure or pattern as a consequence of specific, local interactions among the components themselves, without external direction. When the ...

and programmable matter to manufacture a product on an industrial scale. In traditional manufacturing and fabrication, there are physical and precision limitations on a workpiece; namely, lower minimal dimension of a workpiece has been a major challenge in modern manufacturing. Engineering self-assembly methods have a significant potentials in overcoming the dimensional limitation of a workpiece. In general, there are three key ingredients in most of self assembly applications: geometry (order), interaction, energy. To improve the efficiency or take shape in self-assembly based manufacturing, it must utilize one or more than one of these three ingredients. This is an emerging market with few examples to date. However, this field shows a strong potential to revolutionize many industrial markets from

nanoelectronics Nanoelectronics refers to the use of nanotechnology in electronic components. The term covers a diverse set of devices and materials, with the common characteristic that they are so small that inter-atomic interactions and quantum mechanical ...

to bio-engineering.

Successful processes

Automated reel to reel fluidic self-assembly machine

Many processes have been successfully developed at laboratory scale and show promise for future expansion into large-scale industrial manufacturing. * Sequence-specific molecular lithography on single DNA molecules * Direct molecular assembly on metal surfaces * Amyloid fibers and selective metal deposition: NM protein fibers have been demonstrated to create nanowires useful in connecting electrodes in laboratory testing. * Surface-tension-directed-self-assembly of electronic components. One example is the automated reel to reel fluidic self-assembly machine demonstrated by University of Minnesota researchers. The machine was designed to produce lighting panels using

Light-emitting diode A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corre ...

s. Assembly was performed at twice the hourly rate of commercially available pick and place machines for

SMT placement equipment Surface-mount technology (SMT) component placement systems, commonly called pick-and-place machines or P&Ps, are robotic machines which are used to place surface-mount devices (SMDs) onto a printed circuit board (PCB). They are used for hi ...

, 15,000 chips per hour compared to 8,000 chips per hour. At the same time, the self-assembly exceeded the accuracy rate of the pick and place machine as well.

Potential future applications

Fabrication of materials used in most extreme environments, such as space, high altitude, free-fall scenarios, or deep sea. environments have advantageous conditions for allowing increase in self assembly interaction with less or minimum energy consumption. Applications in these environments often require high precision and have more difficulties; however, it has less constraints in existing construction.

References

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