Development of a piezoelectrically actuated two-degree-of-freedom fast tool servo with decoupled motions for micro-/nanomachining

The limited degrees of freedom (DOFs) of servo motions is an inherent deficiency in conventional, fast-tool-servo-(FTS)-assisted, diamond-turning, highly blocking applications of the FTS technique. In this paper, the concept of two-DOF FTS (2-DOF FTS)-assisted diamond turning is proposed and demonstrated. A piezoelectrically actuated 2-DOF FTS mechanism is developed to enable the cutting tool to move along two directions with decoupled motions. A novel guidance flexural mechanism constructed using the newly proposed Z-shaped flexure hinges (ZFHs) is introduced to generate motions along the z-axis, which is based on the bending deformation of the beams of the ZFHs. Additionally, using the differential moving principle (DMP), bi-directional motions in the x-axis direction can be achieved. Using the matrix-based compliance modeling method, the kinematics of the mechanism are analytically described, and the dynamics are also modeled using the Lagrangian principle. The theoretical results are then verified using finite element analysis (FEA). Certain increases in performances over conventional two-DOF flexural mechanisms are achieved: (a) a more compact structure with lower moving inertia, (b) theoretically decoupled motions of the output end, and (c) less than one actuator per DOF. To investigate the practical performance of the 2-DOF FTS system, both open-loop and closed-loop tests are conducted. Finally, the developed 2-DOF FTS technique is implemented to realize an innovative Pseudo-Random Diamond Turning (PRDT) method for the fabrication of micro-structured surfaces with scattering homogenization. The cutting results demonstrate not only the superiority of the concept but also the efficiency of the developed 2-DOF FTS system.