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The design and qualification of the piezo actuated
19 June 2023
As part of the Lisa Technology Package (LTP) on board the LISA-PATHFINDER spacecraft, the LISAPATHFINDER interferometer is of the heterodyne Mach-Zehnder type. It requires as input two light beams derived from the same source but with a small frequency difference (a few kHz). These two optical beams are produced in the Laser Assembly (LA) via the “Laser Modulation Unit” (LMU). The LMU includes an optical bench, two Acousto-Optic Modulators and two Optical Delay Lines [1].
Voice coil actuators for two MTG instruments
19 June 2023
While Cedrat Technologies has been active in space for more than 20 years with piezoelectric mechanisms, we have also been increasingly involved over the last few years in the development of magnetic actuators for space projects. In this paper, a focus is made on the case of magnetic actuators that are developed in the frame of the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) project. The first one is the Scan Assembly (SCA) actuated by Rotating Voice Coil Motors (RVCM) for the East/West (E/W) axes and the North/South (N/S) axes developed in collaboration with Sener and the second one is the Voice Coil Motor (VCM) developed in collaboration with CSEM for the Corner Cube Mechanism (CCM)
Scanning piezo mechanisms Rosetta Fligth model
19 June 2023
The MIDAS (Micro Imaging Dust Analysis System) instrument jointly developed by IWF Graz (AT) and the Solar Space Division of ESA/ESTEC (NL) will flow on ROSETTA and will analyse the dust of the 46P/Wirtanen cometa using an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM).
Servo piezo tool SPT400MML for fast and precise machining of free forms
19 June 2023
Recent requirements for accuracy and resolution demand higher quality in the machining of precision parts in many industries—such as optics, automotive and aerospace—by free form machining. The required operations are possible by using expensive manufacturing equipment in parallel with several processes such as grinding and polishing. By using a new fast tool servo, the so-called servo piezo tool SPT400MML, driven by a piezoelectric actuator for the precision diamond turning of non-symmetrical surfaces, components can be machined with a fast motion control of the tool (diamond or carbide).
Super amplified piezo actuator
19 June 2023
MICROMEGA DYNAMICS is a spin-off company of the “Université Libre de Bruxelles” (ULB), Department of Mechanical Engineering and robotics of Pr PREUMONT. This department created in 1989, is specialized in the modeling and control of mechatronic systems and in the active control of vibrations.
Rosetta Midas Stage Atila space applications
19 June 2023
The ROSETTA/MIDAS space mission intends to analyze the dust resulting from the Wirtanen comet using an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). To scan the dust, an extremely fine mechanism able to produce displacement’s accuracy in the sub-micrometer range with a limited mass, is required. The only technology which can meet this specification is the piezoelectric
actuator associated to capacitive displacement sensors, which displays several advantages : solid state design, which means no friction, noise limited by the driving electronic, …
