1994 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Fundamental Study on the Possibility of Biomachining
| Project/Area Number |
05805013
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
機械工作・生産工学
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| Research Institution | Okayama University |
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Principal Investigator |
UNO Yoshiyuki Okayama University Faculty of Professor Engineering, 工学部, 教授 (20029341)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
TANAKA Yutaka Okayama University Faculty of Professor Engineering, 工学部, 教授 (80032944)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1993 – 1994
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| Keywords | Chemolithotrophic bacteria / Tiobacillus ferrooxidans / Biomachining / Removal rate / Electric fild assisted biomachining / Microrobot |
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| Research Abstract |
The possibility of biological machining that doesn't exist in practical machining techniques is investigated in this study. The experiment of fine and precision machining of metals was done with peculiar bacteria that eat metal. First, the culture of tiobacillus ferrooxidans that is one of chemolithotrophic bacteria was developed. The basic experiment showed that the machining of metals was fundamentally possible. We named this technique "biomachining". In order to define the machining area, the photo-resist was formed on the workpiece using photolithography method. The removal depth increased with the machining time when the workpiece was shaked in the cultured fluid. The removal rate for pure iron, pure copper and brass were 14mum/hr, 20mum/hr and 18mum/hr respectively. Next the effects of electric field or magnetic field were investigated. When the proper electric field was given, the removal rate increased, while the magnetic field had no effect on the removal rate. We named this technique "electric field assisted biomachining". In the electric field assisted biomachining, we can control the removal depth by the electrical condition, which is very useful in practical use. Moreover, it is possible to machine the designated area when the proper tool electrode was used. The above experimental results made clear that the biomachining of metals by bacteria was basically possible. When the genetic explication of the bacteria will be done in future, these bacteria might be self-controlled micro robots in the field of micromachining. Further development of this research is expected.
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