Design and experimental evaluation of an inchworm motor driven by bender-type piezoelectric actuators

Abstract

Piezoelectric actuators are widely used in ultra-precision detection platforms where nano-precision and non-magnetic features are required. With the development of the semiconductor industry, actuators develop toward the tendency of smaller size, higher precision, and longer travel. However, these demands are difficult to meet merely by virtue of a single piezoelectric actuator or a simple structured inchworm piezo motor, which makes it necessary to develop a new drive mode following a different drive principle. In this paper, a novel inchworm piezo motor with bender-type PEAs in phalanx distribution was proposed, which facilitates in reducing the dimension of the motor and enhances the performance and stability of the piezo motor. For the purpose of accommodating the bender-type PEAs and providing the preloads to the bender-type PEAs, a flexible mechanism housing was designed and the modal analysis was finished, avoid resonance and reduce structural vibration. Experimental results show that the resolution of the developed motor is 2nm or less under the laser interference with an adoption rate of 10MHz and a resolution of 0.1nm, while the maximum stroke is over 19mm at the constant speed of 2.3mm/s, and the maximum output force is 41.6N.

Enhancing sparse regression modeling of hysteresis with optimized PIO algorithm in piezo actuator

“…Nevertheless, the identified unknown parameters need to be determined for this approach, and system linearization is required to facilitate identification [15]. The accuracy of the data-driven approach will be compromised when dealing with complex system models that contain numerous unspecified nonlinear factors [16]. Another data-driven approach involved pure mathematical analysis [14], which relies on a comprehensive dataset and incurs substantial research costs [17].…”

Bionic Stepping Motors Driven by Piezoelectric Materials

“…Piezoelectric materials are a kind of smart functional materials which work with the piezoelectric effects including direct piezoelectric effect and inverse piezoelectric effect [13,14]. The direct piezoelectric effect refers to when deformation occurs under the action of external force, the piezoelectric materials can produce electric charges at the two electrodes [15][16][17]. On the contrary, the inverse piezoelectric effect is that when we supply electricity to the two electrodes, the piezoelectric materials can generate deformations [15][16][17].…”

“…The direct piezoelectric effect refers to when deformation occurs under the action of external force, the piezoelectric materials can produce electric charges at the two electrodes [15][16][17]. On the contrary, the inverse piezoelectric effect is that when we supply electricity to the two electrodes, the piezoelectric materials can generate deformations [15][16][17]. In general, the direct piezoelectric effect enables the piezoelectric materials to be excellent sensing elements, and the inverse piezoelectric effect can be used to develop precision motors.…”

“…In general, the direct piezoelectric effect enables the piezoelectric materials to be excellent sensing elements, and the inverse piezoelectric effect can be used to develop precision motors. As actuation materials, the piezoelectric materials mainly exhibit the following advantages: (1) ultra-high accuracy, up to subnanometer scale; (2) super-fast response, up to microsecond level; (3) large output force and high mechanical stiffness; (4) no magnetic field interference, no magnetic field generation, and unaffected by the external magnetic field; (5) strong adaptability, applicable for the vacuum, and low-temperature environments; (6) no intermediate transmission, no moving pair clearance, and no lubrication required; (7) high electromechanical conversion rate and high energy density; (8) diverse structures, flexible design and easy miniaturization [15][16][17]. Therefore, both in terms of structures and functions, the piezoelectric materials are excellent actuation components for a new generation of motors.…”

“…In recent decades, numerous types of piezoelectric motors have been developed, which have been widely used in the precision drive systems, such as the manipulation of biological specimens, optical element alignment, semiconductor equipment, insect-scaled robots, and micro-positioning stages [15][16][17][18][19]. Meanwhile, strenuous efforts have been made to address the shortcomings of a small strain of piezoelectric materials [18,19].…”