Linear displacement and force characterisation of a 3D-printed flexure-based delta actuator
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Chen, Xu
Kiziroglou, Michail E
Yeatman, EM
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Piezoelectric beams provide a fast, high-force and scalable actuation mechanism that could offer precise motion control to medical microdevices including invasive micromanipulators, catheters and diagnosis tools. Their small displacement range can be addressed by motion amplification mechanisms. In this paper, a piezoelectric-actuated delta-robot actuator is proposed for probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) microsystems. A prototype is designed and fabricated using three-dimensional (3D) polymer compound printing for a multi-flexure compliant motion amplifier and commercial piezoelectric beams. The flexure material is optimised for maximum linear output motion. The overall robot length is 76 mm and its maximum lateral dimension is 32 mm, with 10 g overall mass, including three piezoelectric beams. An axial motion control range of 0.70 mm and a maximum axial force of 20 mN are demonstrated, at 140 V actuation voltage. The proposed actuator architecture is promising for controlling lens, fibre and micromanipulator components for medical microrobotic applications.
Date Issued
2022-09-05
Date Acceptance
2022-08-16
Citation
Smart Materials and Structures, 2022, 31, pp.1-9
ISSN
0964-1726
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Start Page
1
End Page
9
Journal / Book Title
Smart Materials and Structures
Volume
31
Copyright Statement
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd. As the Version of Record of this article is going to be/has been published on a gold open access basis under a CC BY 3.0 licence, this Accepted Manuscript is available for reuse under a CC BY 3.0 licence immediately.
Although reasonable endeavours have been taken to obtain all necessary permissions from third parties to include their copyrighted content within this article, their full citation and copyright line may not be present in this Accepted Manuscript version. Before using any content from this article, please refer to the Version of Record on IOPscience once published for full citation and copyright details, as permission may be required. All third party content is fully copyright protected, and is not published on a gold open access basis under a CC BY licence, unless that is specifically stated in the figure caption in the Version of Record.
Although reasonable endeavours have been taken to obtain all necessary permissions from third parties to include their copyrighted content within this article, their full citation and copyright line may not be present in this Accepted Manuscript version. Before using any content from this article, please refer to the Version of Record on IOPscience once published for full citation and copyright details, as permission may be required. All third party content is fully copyright protected, and is not published on a gold open access basis under a CC BY licence, unless that is specifically stated in the figure caption in the Version of Record.
License URL
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Identifier
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-665X/ac8a2c
Grant Number
EP/P012779/1
Subjects
Science & Technology
Technology
Instruments & Instrumentation
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Materials Science
piezoelectric
compliant structure
motion amplification
flexure
stiffness gradient
Materials
03 Chemical Sciences
09 Engineering
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2022-09-05