Design of a linear piezomotor with ultra-high stiffness and nanoprecision

An ultra-stiff nanoprecision linear piezomotor was recently designed for grinding application. This piezomotor consists of three high-voltage piezoelectric actuators integrated by a monolithic flexure frame. This monolithic frame was designed to have multiple functions such as protecting and pre-loading three piezoelectric actuators and withstanding all the shearing forces during operation. The monolithic frame as a motion mechanism eliminates the backlash problem. The stiffness distributions in certain directions over the frame were designed using the finite-element method.