A flexure hinge mechanism meets the demand for XYθ motion mechanism driven by one piezoelectric element

摘要

This paper presents a novel inchworm type of XYΘ motion mechanism, in which a monolithic flexure hinge mechanism is designed to obtain the three-degree-of-freedom motion in plane with piezoelectric actuation in one direction. The inchworm movement is realized by combination of piezoelectric actuation and solenoid clamp operation. Using different clamps, the mechanism can move in X, Y, and Θ directions, respectively. The principle and the selection of design parameters of the monolithic flexure hinge mechanism are described. The monolithic flexure hinge mechanism is designed symmetrically so as to guide motion well. Applying the mechanism described above, an inchworm type of XYΘ micro stage and a micro planar robot are developed. Because only one piezoelectric element is used, the size of the micro planar robot is within 20 mm×20 mm×12 mm. The open-loop performances are tested. The movement velocity of the XYΘ micro stage is above 6 μm/s and the resolution of the XYΘ micro stage is higher than 0.3μm. The stroke of every long rotational step of the XYΘ micro stage is about 120 μrad.