Pneumatic actuators, and especially cylinder actuators are widely implemented in industrial and medical applications. In order to suppress leakage, these actuators require seal rings which unfortunately introduce friction, which affect the positioning accuracy and output force. In this article, ultrasonic vibration is investigated as a way to reduce this friction. A compact cylinder pneumatic actuator with a bore diameter of 5 mm and a stroke of 10 mm was fabricated. The cylinder was designed to accommodate two piezoelectric actuators. The latter are used to excite vibration modes in the cylinder in order to reduce friction. Measurements showed a 32% reduction of the original friction at a driving frequency of 106 kHz and an input voltage of 3.5 V in the piezoelectric stacks.
展开▼
