! " # $% & 1 Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada 2 Department of System Design Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada Emails:mshahini@uwaterloo.ca ,wmelek@mecheng1.uwaterloo.ca , jyeow@engmail.uwaterloo.ca : The aim of this paper is to analyze the surface scaling forces which are present at the interface between micro objects and a substrate. Experiments conducted in this work characterize the aggregated micro forces including capillary and van der Waals forces. These forces collectively form the interfacial shear strength in between the flat micro components and a flat substrate during the process of micro scale object pushing. The relationship between the magnitude of surface forces and parameters such as velocity of pushing, relative humidity and temperature, hydrophilicity of the substrate, and surface area are also empirically investigated. This work also proposes an inexpensive experimental setup as a platform to replace Atomic Force Microscopy for force characterization of micro0scale parts. ’ ( Surface forces at the interface between two components that experience a relative motion with respect to one another are an immensely complex phenomenon which has not yet been fully understood. These forces are combination of various phenomena including van der Waals, Capilary, electrostatic forces [104] and are widely referred to as in conventional macro scale mechanics, and or in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). In spite of the fact that friction is not well understood, designers of macro systems are able to reliably predict the behaviour of the system through simulations and models available in literature. This stems from two facts: First, behaviour of mechanical systems in macro scale is dominantly governed by gravitational force, which is a well understood phenomenon. Second, literature is an invaluable resource for plentiful data of empirically characterized friction in various applications [507]. In recent years, design and development of microactuators and micromanipulators have gained much attention. Microactuators must be capable of delivering adequate power and force requirement while maintaining sufficient level of sensitivity and resolution for applications such as micro grippers [8], gene delivery [9] and mechanical response of biological cells [10]. Characterization of force is especially important in assembly of micro components in which positioning and feeding of micro parts is crucial [13]. The dominance of surface forces at such scales makes it inevitable to take the micro forces effects into account when designing microactuators and microsensors. Currently, common practice among MEMS designers is to heuristically estimate the force requirement and nest multiple designs with various dimensional specifications in the fabrication chip [11012]. The aim is that the force delivered from at least one