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Long stroke/High resolution tip tilt mechanism
19 June 2023
Multi degree of freedom (dof) mechanisms are widely required into micro or macro manipulation fields as well as in optronics functions. Commonly available mechanisms may be divided into two main categories. The first is industrial robots (serial or parallel). These offer large range of motion, in rotation and translation. Their resolution is usually limited in the sub-millimeter range. The second category achieves very high resolution motion (sub-nanometer) but is limited to a few decades of microns. A way to combine both long stroke and resolution is to use piezo motors into multi dof mechanisms. The aim of this paper is to present a combination of both advantages into a low volume tripod actuator. The Tripod Actuator by Cedrat Technologies (TrAC) is a 3 dof mechanism offering +/-35° rotation around X and Y axis and a 10mm Z translation stroke into a low volume of Ø50x50mm.
Giant dynamic strains in magnetostrictive actuators and transducers
19 June 2023
Magnetostriction occurs in the most ferromagnetic materials and leads to many effects [1,2]. The most useful one to refer to is the Joule effect. It is responsible for the expansion (positive magnetostriction) or the contraction (negative) of a rod subjected to a longitudinal static magnetic field. In a given material, this magnetostrain is quadratic and occurs always in the same direction whatever is the field direction. Giant Magnetostrictive Materials (GMM), especially Rare earth-iron discovered by A.E.Clark [3], feature magnetostrains which are two orders of magnitude larger than Nickel. Among them, bulk Tb0.3Dy0.7Fe1.9, called Terfenol-D, presents the best compromise between a large magnetostrain and a low magnetic field, at room temperature.
Driving control electronics piezoelectric actuators space applications
19 June 2023
Piezoelectric mechanisms are more and more used in space applications requiring precise positioning functions for scientific payloads or optical functions. Indeed, piezoelectric actuators are generally deemed of being good candidates for driving and control compact mechanisms.
Dynamic strain limits of Amplified Piezo Actuators
19 June 2023
It is well known that the Amplified Piezo Actuators (APA) offer large strains in static conditions and at resonance. Because many applications as shakers, anti-vibration and motors would benefit also of large dynamic strain below resonance, the maximum strain of the APA has been theoretically and experimentally investigated in this wide frequency range. The tested actuator is the APA30uXS currently used in the SPA30uXS new inertial micro piezo motor.
Eddy current sensors on Printed Circuit Board for compact mechatronic application
19 June 2023
In a contact of always smaller and smarter mechatronics devices, the needs of more integrated sensors becomes critical. Particularly, small mechanisms using small actuators like piezo actuators require compact sensors, with performances that measure up to the actuators characteristics.
Electrical Tunable Low frequency miniature suspension
19 June 2023
Optical instruments such as interferometers and optical delay lines are sensitive to external vibrations and require a strong isolation of vibrations. Some products for active, semi active or passive isolation exist but are rather large which makes them much more suitable for lab applications than to embedded applications as meet in Space, Aircraft or Military applications in general, or in the space ICE CNES experiment. These requirements have driven the development of a new type of Electrically-Tunable Low-Frequency Miniature Suspension.
