Ultrasonic standing waves-driven high resolution rotary table

The paper reports the results of the development and investigation of a rotary table actuated by a cylinder-type piezoelectric transducer, transforming resonant ultrasonic standing wave oscillations into a continuous or a start–stop motion of a rotor. An integrated optical encoder is used to detect the angular position of the table. FEA and experimental research indicate that the average displacements of the three contact zone elements attain the maximal amplitude values in the X (tangential) and Z (axial) directions. The values almost coincide at the resonant frequency of approximately 125 kHz. The average motion trajectory of the induced standing wave vibrations in the X and Z directions of the contact zone elements is defined by an elliptical shape curve. Rotary table angular resolution equals approximately 8 μrad in both directions.