No abstract

This paper presents the design, fabrication, and tests of a piezoelectric pump using hinge-lever amplification mechanism. The proposed hinge-lever amplification mechanism consists of a base frame, a lever with contact steel ball, and a multilayer piezoelectric actuator. The lever is in contact with the piezoelectric actuator through hinged steel ball. The extended piezoelectric actuator pushes the contact steel ball; therefore, a small displacement of piezoelectric actuator can be amplified through the movement of the lever. The amplified displacement of 683 μm was measured at the applied voltage of 100 V. These results show the fact that the proposed hinge-lever mechanism can be obtained the amplification ratio of up to ten times. The piezoelectric pump using hinge-lever amplification mechanism was fabricated and pumping performance was experimentally investigated. The pump achieved no-load flow rate, maximum output pressure of 600 ml/min and 6.8 kPa, respectively, at the applied voltage of 100 V and driving frequency of 250 Hz.

Recently, laser scanners have been used for laser processing such as cutting, welding, and grooving, especially in the automotive industry. The laser scanners need a high-speed driving to minimize cracks caused by thermal shock of brittle materials. Therefore, a novel laser processing system that is composed of a laser source and a piezoelectric-driven tilt mirror to control the reflection angle of the laser beam, and a stage equipped with the tilt mirror has been investigated. In this study, a piezoelectric-driven tilt mirror is designed and analyzed for scanning performance to achieve a beam spot of 30 µm, a pattern width of 1 mm, an overlap ratio of 70% of the circle area, and a scanning speed of 1 m/s. Then, structural analysis of the tilt mirror with three piezoelectric actuators is performed to determine the maximum reflection angle and resonance frequency. Finally, a prototype tilt mirror is fabricated and its basic characteristics are experimentally investigated and discussed.

Owing to the quick response, compact structure, high precision, huge blocking force generation, and ease of operation, piezoelectric actuators are urgently being adopted in the field of advanced dispensing for jetting performance improvement and fulfillment of precision requirements in microelectronics packaging, adhesive bonding, and miniaturization industry. This research focuses on the fundamental design and development of a piezo-electrically driven compact fluid dispenser using the principle of a class-one lever for amplification of needle displacement, and enhancement of application areas of the developed jet dispenser. Using fundamental lever principle, geometry-based modelling is carried out to fabricate a working prototype of a normally closed hinge-lever type dispenser. Preliminary experiments are carried out to witness the workability of the fabricated dispenser to deliver 100 dots of working fluid per second that will provide a novel device for dispensing of various fluids, and the proposed amplification mechanism suits various other piezoelectric applications as well.