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Design, Modeling, and Experiment Characterization of a Piezoelectric Inchworm Actuator for Long-Stroke and
Xin Li1,2,3, Zijian Jing1,2, Jin Wang4,5,6
1State Key Laboratory of Optical Field Manipulation Science and Technology, Institute of Optics and Electronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610209, China.
Micromachines
|February 27, 2026
Summary
A novel actuator offers both large-stroke stepping and high-resolution scanning modes. This innovative device achieves a maximum speed of 367 μm/s and a resolution of 0.02 μm.
Area of Science:
- Mechanical Engineering
- Robotics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Traditional actuators often face limitations in achieving both large stroke and high resolution simultaneously.
- The development of advanced actuators is crucial for applications requiring precise and versatile motion control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and characterize a novel dual-mode actuator.
- To demonstrate the actuator's capability for both large-stroke motion accumulation and high-resolution scanning.
- To validate the design through theoretical modeling, simulation, and experimental testing.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical modeling and analysis of the actuator's mechanical structure.
- Finite element simulation analysis for optimizing the clamping and driving units.
- Fabrication of a prototype actuator.
- Experimental testing to determine performance metrics such as speed and resolution.
Main Results:
- The proposed actuator integrates stepping and scanning modes for versatile operation.
- Theoretical and simulation analyses informed the design of the clamping and driving units.
- Experimental results confirmed the actuator's performance.
- Achieved a maximum operational speed of 367 μm/s.
- Demonstrated a high resolution of 0.02 μm.
Conclusions:
- The novel dual-mode actuator successfully combines large stroke and high-resolution capabilities.
- The design methodology, integrating theoretical modeling and finite element analysis, is effective.
- The fabricated prototype validates the actuator's potential for advanced motion control applications.
