Concepts for a class of novel piezoelectric self-locking long-stroke actuators

The friction-type motor is the most common type in the field of piezoelectric motors. One limitation of friction-type motors is their inability to achieve high output push force or torque. Based on the theory of self-lock, a novel mechanism for the linear piezoelectric motor is proposed. On the basis of the proposed mechanism, three prototype models have been developed. The new motors transfer the force and displacement generated by a piezoelectric actuator to the output directly, whereas the friction-type motor transfers via the induced friction between the stator and the rotor. The achieved positioning precision is within 10 nm, while the push force is up to 1,176 N. The new motors can be applied in cases where both high positioning precision and heavy load are essential.