Design and experiments of a novel micro-displacement mechanism based on piezoelectricity actuator

This paper aims at the design and analysis of a novel micro-displacement mechanism. The micro-displacement adopts a novel flexure hinge as support, which is driven by piezoelectric actuator (PZT). The flexure hinge consists of two flexure foils, which parallel with each other and are combined permanently with connection shaft. The flexure foil structure was analyzed and simplified as simple supported beam, and the mathematical model was established. The flexure hinge was simulated with finite element analysis method. From the simulation results, the new flexure hinge has less maximum strain fluctuation rate under different force directions, compared with traditional flexure hinges. Finally, experiments were carried out on the new flexure hinge. The radial rigidities of different directions were experimentally measured, which indicate close results compared with the above analysis. According to the results, the novel micro-displacement mechanism overcomes the shortcomings of the traditional micro-displacement mechanism, and greatly improves the radial stiffness.