Abstract
In order to overcome the disadvantage of the inchworm mechanism that has stepwise motion, a piezo-driven linear motion stage with smooth motion, long travel range and high resolution is proposed. It consists of two clamp piezo-actuators, two feed piezo-actuators and a precise guide using cross roller. The two clamp piezo-actuators are linked with the outer two feed piezo-actuators in symmetry fashion. The moving carriage of the stage is set between the two feed piezo-actuators. To avoid stepwise motion of the carriage, a new sequence of motion procedure is applied for the clamp and the feed piezo-actuators. The procedure includes simultaneous extending and shrinking of the two feed piezo-actuators with opposite polarities in collaborate with clamp and unclamp actions. This mechanism can theoretically generate smooth stage motion and long travel range.
