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AAMCO couldn't find this transmission without a microscope, let alone repair it. But MEMS experts assert that the microtransmission recently developed by researchers at Sandia National Labs is far more powerful for its size than any counterpart you'll find at the Indy 500.

It needs to be strong, given the amount of adhesion and stiction that minuscule micromachines must overcome in order to operate. Even minute amounts of water vapor and outgassing can easily keep a microgear from starting, says Jeff Sniegowski, a MEMS researcher at the Albuquerque, NM, site. "Power is needed to overcome that resistance."

The Sandia transmission provides it, in spades. Composed of 29 intermeshing gears, the device takes up less than one square millimeter of area, and yet it is able to increase the power of a micromachine by a factor of 3 million. That's enough force to move a 1-lb object, Sniegowski emphasizes. "We believe this is by far the most force ever generated by a polysilicon micromechanical device," asserts Steve Rodgers, Sniegowski's coresearcher.

Sandia is developing the grain-of-sand-size machines for use as locks on nuclear weapons. Companies and universities may download basic units of the transmission like "clip art," says Rodgers, and use them to design as many intermeshing systems as needed by duplicating and rearranging the basic gear arrangement. Other applications for the micromachines include minimizing payload weight in satellites and developing airplane sensors that can "communicate" with one another.

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