A 3D printed sandwich-type piezoelectric motor with a surface texture

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Mechanical Engineering
• Additive Manufacturing

Background:

• Polymer-based piezoelectric motors offer advantages like light weight and corrosion resistance.
• 3D printing enables complex structures for piezoelectric motors.
• Additive manufacturing provides custom solutions for polymer motor development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a 3D printed polymer-based sandwich-type piezoelectric motor.
• To analyze the motor's dynamic characteristics using vibration and analytical models.
• To enhance motor performance through polymer surface texturing.

Main Methods:

• Developed a 3D printed polymer piezoelectric motor operating in a single longitudinal mode.
• Established vibration decomposition and analytical models incorporating polymer viscoelasticity.
• Utilized polymer surface texturing on contact points to increase friction.

Main Results:

• The surface-textured contact tip achieved a friction coefficient of approximately 0.16, a 45.5% increase over smooth surfaces.
• The motor exhibited a resonance frequency of 28.648 kHz.
• The maximum no-load speed reached 54 revolutions per minute (r/min) at 300 V_p-p.

Conclusions:

• 3D printed polymer-based piezoelectric motors are feasible and offer promising performance.
• Surface texturing is an effective method to enhance the friction coefficient in polymer motors.
• This research highlights the potential of polymer materials in advancing piezoelectric motor technology.