Hooked Bimorph-Type Piezoelectric Microfinger

Abstract

In recent years, miniaturization of mechanical systems has made remarkable progress. Manufacturing systems for minute parts are necessary to advance miniaturization further. Each such system is composed of sections for material feeding, machining and transferring of parts. The handling technique of these workings is the essential point in system construction. This paper proposes that the handling device consists of a pair of bimorph piezo .members rigidly connected with other in series and fingertips attached to the pointed end, which is like a hooked finger. The device is able to move two-dimensionally by application of an independent voltage to each of the members. It is noted that there is an optimum value for height of the feeding plane and optimum combination of the attaching angle of the device and connecting angle of the members, which enhance quasi-static feeding performance. Experimental results agree well with the theoretical ones.