Actuators, Volume 5, Issue 2 (June 2016) – 8 articles

Industrial robots are most often position controlled and insensitive to external forces. In many robotic applications, however, such as teleoperation, haptics for virtual reality, and collaborative robotics, a close cooperation between humans and robots is required. For such applications, force sensing and control capabilities are required for stable interactions with the operator and environment. The robots must also be backdrivable, i.e., the robot must be able to follow user’s induced movements with the least possible resistance. High force efficiency is also desirable. These requirements are different from the design drivers of traditional industrial robots and call for specific actuators and reducers. Many such devices were proposed in the literature. However, they suffer from several drawbacks, offering either a limited reduction ratio or being complex and bulky. This paper introduces a novel solution to this problem. A new differential cable drive reducer is presented. It is backdrivable, has a high efficiency, and a potentially infinite reduction ratio. A prototype actuator using such a reducer has been developed and integrated on a test bench. The experimental characterization of its performance confirms its theoretical advantages. Full article

Recently various nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes and graphene, have been added to rubbery elastomers, such as poly dimethyl siloxane (PDMS), to enable generation of stress and displacement in response to remote illumination. While the response is primarily due to heat-induced generation of stress; i.e., the thermoelastic effect in rubbers, illuminated samples have shown unexpected deviations between the transient waveforms of sample temperature and induced stress. In this report we have created a new and simple lumped element model to explain the stress behavior of these photomechanical nanocomposites. The model consists of two parameters that describe the spatially averaged steady state temperature rise due to optical absorption of the structure (typically a long strip of pre-strained elastomer) and the spatially averaged convective cooling rate of the strip, together with a time-varying function that effectively represents the temperature distribution and thermal convection along the length of the strip. The model is used to compare two actuators that each have a thin embedded layer of carbon nanotubes, in which the one film consists of randomly aligned nanotubes and the other has a much more ordered alignment. The model not only fits both transient responses, but the differences between the parameters suggests that the ordered film conducts heat across the strip more rapidly than the disordered film, leading to it more rapidly reaching the steady state level of maximum stress. This model should be helpful in future experimental studies that work to observe, delineate and identify possible nanoscale and molecular contributions to photomechanical stress. Full article

Piezoelectric ultrasonic motors offer important advantages for motion applications where high speed is coupled with high precision. The advances made in the recent decades in the field of ultrasonic motor based motion solutions allow the construction of complete motion platforms in the fields of semiconductors, aerospace and electro-optics. Among the various motor designs, the L1B2 motor type has been successful in industrial applications, offering high precision, effective control and operational robustness. This paper reviews the design of high precision motion solutions based on L1B2 ultrasonic motors—from the basic motor structure to the complete motion solution architecture, including motor drive and control, material considerations and performance envelope. The performance is demonstrated, via constructed motion stages, to exhibit fast move and settle, a repeatability window of tens of nanometers, lifetime into the tens of millions of operational cycles, and compatibility with clean room and aerospace environments. Example stages and modules for semiconductor, aerospace, electro-optical and biomedical applications are presented. The described semiconductor and aerospace solutions are powered by Nanomotion HR type motors, driven by a sine wave up to 80 V/mm rms, having a driving frequency of 39.6 kHz, providing a maximum force up to 4 N per driving element (at 5 W power consumption per element) and a maximum linear velocity above 300 mm/s. The described electro-optical modules are powered by small Nanomotion Edge motors driven by voltages up to 11 V AC, providing stall forces up to 0.35 N (power consumption up to 0.75 W) and maximum linear velocity above 200 mm/s. Full article

This paper introduces recent advances on flapping-wing Micro and Nano Aerial Vehicles (MAVs and NAVs) based on Piezoelectric Actuators (PEA). Therefore, this work provides essential information to address the development of such bio-inspired aerial robots. PEA are commonly used in micro-robotics and precise positioning applications (e.g., micro-positioning and micro-manipulation), whereas within the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) domain, motors are the classical actuators used for rotary or fixed-wing configurations. Therefore, we consider it pertinent to provide essential information regarding the modeling and control of piezoelectric cantilever actuators to accelerate early design and development stages of aerial microrobots based on flapping-wing systems. In addition, the equations describing the aerodynamic behavior of a flapping-wing configuration are presented. Full article

Antiferroelectrics (AFE) can exhibit a “shape memory function controllable by electric field”, with huge isotropic volumetric expansion (0.26%) associated with the AFE to Ferroelectric (FE) phase transformation. Small inverse electric field application can realize the original AFE phase. The response speed is quick (2.5 ms). In the Pb_0.99Nb_0.02[(Zr_0.6Sn_0.4)_1-yTi_y]_0.98O₃ (PNZST) system, the shape memory function is observed in the intermediate range between high temperature AFE and low temperature FE, or low Ti-concentration AFE and high Ti-concentration FE in the composition. In the AFE multilayer actuators (MLAs), the crack is initiated in the center of a pair of internal electrodes under cyclic electric field, rather than the edge area of the internal electrodes in normal piezoelectric MLAs. The two-sublattice polarization coupling model is proposed to explain: (1) isotropic volume expansion during the AFE-FE transformation; and (2) piezoelectric anisotropy. We introduce latching relays and mechanical clampers as possible unique applications of shape memory ceramics. Full article

Piezoelectric tube actuators are extensively used in scanning probe microscopes to provide dynamic scanning motions in open-loop operations. Furthermore, they are employed as micropositioners due to their high bandwidth, high resolution and ease of excitation. However, these piezoelectric micropositioners exhibit badly damped vibrations that occur when the input excites the dynamic response, which tends to degrade positioning accuracy and performance. This paper deals with vibrations’ feedforward control of a multi-degrees of freedom (DOF) piezoelectric micropositioner in order to damp the vibrations in the direct axes and to reduce the cross-couplings. The novelty in this paper relative to the existing vibrations feedforward controls is the simplicity in design approach, the minimal number of shaper impulses for each input required to damp all modes of vibration at each output, and the account for the strong cross-couplings which only occur in multi-DOF cases. A generalization to a multiple degrees of freedom actuator is first proposed. Then simulation runs on a 3-DOF piezoelectric tube micropositioner have been effectuated to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method. Finally, experimental tests were carried out to validate and to confirm the predicted simulation. Full article

Piezoelectric transformers (PTs) are solid-state devices that transform electrical energy into electrical energy by means of a mechanical vibration. These devices are manufactured using piezoelectric materials that are driven at resonance. With appropriate design and circuitry, it is possible to step up and step down the voltages between the input and output sections of the piezoelectric transformer, without making use of magnetic materials and obtaining excellent conversion efficiencies. The initial concept of a piezoelectric ceramic transformer was proposed by Charles A. Rosen in 1954. Since then, the evolution of piezoelectric transformers through history has been linked to the relevant work of some excellent researchers as well as to the evolution in materials, manufacturing processes, and driving circuit techniques. This paper summarizes the historical evolution of the technology. Full article