Originally Published MPMN July/August 2002

Advanced Semiconductor Engineering to Manufacture NanoMuscle Actuators

Zachary Turke

In a bid to meet customer demand for miniature motion technologies, NanoMuscle Inc. (Antioch, CA; www.nanomuscle.com) has licensed contract manufacturing services from Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) Inc. (Taipei; www.aseglobal.com). A semiconductor packaging and testing company, ASE will produce the NanoMuscle linear actuators at its newly expanded facilities in Korea. According to NanoMuscle CEO Rod MacGregor, the selection of ASE is a logical one. "They have proven experience in the manufacture, assembly, and testing of integrated circuits and modules," he says. "And their Korean manufacturing facilities are capable of producing millions of the high-quality actuators each month for delivery to our customers around the world."

NanoMuscle linear actuators provide silent motion in a miniature package to enable a new generation of medical devices. Replacing motors and solenoids, the actuators harness the power of shape-memory alloys to reduce bulk, noise, and cost. "Our actuators are about the size of a paper clip, and require about one-fifth the power of motors they replace," MacGregor says. Possible applications for the actuators include patient-side instrumentation, diagnostic assays, and implantable devices.

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