Analysis and comparison of the effect of different drive feet on the output performance of stick–slip piezoelectric actuators

In recent years, researchers have conducted many investigations on load capacity and structural optimization. However, the backward motion is still not sufficiently investigated. Therefore, a new piezoelectric actuator with different drive feet is presented in this paper. Different working requirements can be met by varying drive feet. Firstly, the amplification ratio of the flexible driving mechanism is obtained by the flexibility matrix method. Secondly, the piezoelectric actuator is dynamically modeled and numerically analyzed via AMEsim, and systematic analysis of the backward motion mechanism, smooth motion, and sudden jump is provided. Finally, an experimental investigation is conducted on the piezoelectric actuator. Under the same pre-displacement, it was observed that the large stiffness of the drive foot 1 is suitable for low speed and high load. On the other hand, the lower stiffness of drive foot 2 is suitable for high speed and low loads. Lastly, the medium stiffness of the drive foot 3 is suitable for medium speed and medium load. Repeatability of experiments for three different drive feet is conducted to verify the proposed method for the alternative drive feet. Compared with previous studies, the designed actuator achieves alternative drive foot, high speed, large load, and smooth motion.