Mechanical micromachining: a sustainable micro-device manufacturing approach?

The use of mechanical micromachining to produce micro-devices is a flexible approach that can use any material that can be machined. The energy consumption for micromachining was compared between a conventional CNC and a micro-milling facility and showed that the energy usage for conventional CNC is highly inefficient. An energy footprint that is two to three magnitudes smaller is possible with a custom built micro-milling facility. The rapid increase in the manufacture of micro-devices, which will more than double in the next five years, will require careful planning if a sustainable future is to be envisaged for the use of mechanical micromachining for mass manufacture.