Micromachine Wedge Stepping Motor

摘要

A wedge stepping motor, which will index a mechanism, has been designed and fabricated in the surface micromachine SUMMiT process. This device has demonstrated the ability to index one gear tooth at a time with speeds up to 205 teeth/sec. The wedge stepper motor has the following features, which will be useful in a number of applications: The ability to precisely position mechanical components; Simple pulse signals can be used for operation; Only 2 drive signals are requixed for operation; Torque and precision capabilities increase with device size; and The device to be indexed is restrained at all times by the wedge shaped tooth that is used for actuation. This paper discusses the theory of operation and desi=m of the wedge stepping motor. The fabrication and testing of the device are also presented.