A displacement magnifying mechanism is usually employed in a nanopositioning stage to achieve large stage motion. A lever mechanism is the most widely used displacement magnifying mechanism. This study proposes a more reasonable model including flexible levers to estimate the stiffness and displacement of the stage. This paper describes an analytic lever model and its experimental verification. Analytic and experimental results were very similar. The model proposed in this study can well predict the stage motions.

Lever mechanisms are usually used to enlarge output displacements in precision stages. A precision stage employing a lever mechanism and flexure hinges is analyzed theoretically, with bending in the lever considered. Relations between design parameters and magnification ratio, and the optimal values for the parameters to achieve a longer stage displacement are presented. Finite element analysis is used to verify the theoretical analysis. It is found that adjustment oflever dimensions and hinge stiffnesses can increase the stage travel range significantly.