A novel microgripper hybrid driven by a piezoelectric stack actuator and piezoelectric cantilever actuators

In this study, a novel microgripper hybrid driven by a PSA and two PCAs is proposed, which can be a better solution for the issue, compared with the previous microgripper using PSA-driven multi-stages displacement amplification mechanism(DAM) or using longer and narrower PCAs. A compact one-stage orthogonalDAM is proposed for the PSA in the microgripper, which can enlarge the grasping stroke and realize parallel grasping movement. The proposed orthogonalDAM is a triangulation amplification-based mechanism with undetermined structural parameters. Bidirectional symmetric input forces/displacements are not required in the proposed design. The number of the undetermined parameters and the solution principle are analyzed. Finite element analysis is used to verify the proposedDAM. The gripper arms are designed as two PCAs, for which the grasping and parasitic movements of the free end are modeled. Piezoelectric-static coupling finite element analysis is used to verify the models. The PCAs-driven grasping with considerable parasitic movement can be used in the coarse positioning. The integration of the hybrid-driven microgripper is presented, and its performances are presented and verified by experiments.
Source: Review of Scientific Instruments - Category: Physics Authors: Source Type: research