Development and experiment evaluation of an H-shape linear piezoelectric actuator operated in stepping mode

Abstract An H-shape linear piezoelectric actuator, using one horizontal and two vertical bolt-clamped longitudinal transducers was proposed and tested. Horizontal and vertical modes were utilized to generate elliptical motions of the driving feet. The actuator was designed to achieve stepping motion with resolution of several microns when excited by two intermittent sinusoidal signals. A prototype of the proposed resonant type piezoelectric actuator was fabricated, and its vibration characteristics and mechanical performance were measured. The horizontal and vertical modes were verified by a scanning laser Doppler vibrometer. The optimum oscillation frequency and optimum phase difference were 31.61 kHz and 120°, respectively. A maximum speed of 331.9 mm/s with a carrying load of 827 g was achieved under the excitation voltage of 100 Vp–p. The maximum carrying load was tested to be about 52.70 kg, which was 64 times the weight of the prototype. A step resolution of 0.42 µm was achieved by the prototype.