Enhanced velocity and weight-bearing capability of piezoelectric viscous-slip actuators utilising a pentagonal flexible hinge configuration

Abstract This research presents a novel piezoelectric stick-slip actuator design that is compact and capable of achieving higher speeds and handling heavier loads. This addresses the requirement for improved performance in the precision engineering industry. The symmetrical configuration of the pentagonal displacement amplification flexible hinge structure produces the transverse motion. The pentagon's deformable range is sufficiently broad to amplify the piezoelectric stack's output displacement and convert it into the desired transverse output displacement. To enhance the load capacity of the piezoelectric stick-slip actuator, one can raise the coupling displacement of the driving foot output. The flexible hinge construction undergoes finite element analysis, and the simulation results meet the design assumptions. The structure has been enhanced to mitigate the potential occurrence of jamming. A prototype was constructed and subjected to rigorous testing to examine its performance. The testing results indicate that the highest attainable velocity is 15.8 mm/s, with an impressive precision of 35.9 nm. Despite being subjected to a load of 308 g, the output displacement remains steady at 0.376 mm/s. A comparative study of experimental and finite element simulation findings demonstrates the feasibility of the structural design.