Easily adapted to different specifications and demands
Flexible design allows custom integration without concern of tuning surrounding mechanical structures
Extremely stiff and stable performance make the motor ideal for dynamic positioning applications requiring nanometer precision
High force to size ratio
Easily manufactured in large quantities to reduce cost
Simple drive and control electronics
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Walking Drive
Imagine an electric motor roughly the size of an ant, but 1,000 times as strong. Then, imagine that it moves like an ant, despite being constructed in one solid piece. The motor can actually “walk” using two pair of legs creating a synchronized step-by-step motion. The walking motion creates force used to move an object or to move the motor itself.
What is obvious in nature is not necessarily as obvious to an electric motor. The following animation demonstrates the walking-drive concept.
The Piezo LEGS® linear motor uses a Piezo LEGS® Element to create motion. Consisting of multiple bimorph actuators co-sintered into a single body with four movable legs made out of ceramic “muscles,” the Piezo LEGS® Element has only one part. This simple design makes Piezo LEGS® Elements easy to produce cost effectively in large quantities with a high degree of precision.
Piezo LEGS® Element's “muscles” create motion with no need for gears or mechanical transmission. Using a conventional electric motor requires a rotor, stator, and bearings to create rotational motion, but to create fine resolution linear motion, the system will need a gearbox, ballscrew, and nut. These necessary additions typically increase the system’s complexity, amount of backlash, and manufacturing costs. In addition, unlike brushes, bearings, gears, screws, and nuts, the leg material is virtually impossible to wear out.
With the Piezo LEGS®, you can design a cost-effective and reliable linear-motion system with a minimal number of components.
Reliable Positioning
Accurate positioning means little without reliability. As one pair of legs remains engaged all the time, control of the system exists at all times. Even when de-energized, the legs remain engaged maintaining position until the system regains control. Resistant to wear-and-tear, the system should behave consistently during the usable life.
Amazing Speed Range
The motion dynamics are truly fascinating. With step resolution of a single nanometer, slow moves are easy, but the Piezo LEGS® motor can still travel at several million nanometers per second (i.e. several centimeters per second).
Made to Your Specifications
Flexibility in the design allows modifications to adapt the motor’s properties and performance to suit your application or product. This saves you time and money as you do not have to change your product to fit the motor. The combination of power, speed, precision, and the compact format makes the Piezo LEGS® a great choice while the cost makes it an excellent value.
The Piezo LEGS® motor comes in different versions including models for vacuum and nonmagnetic applications as well as different sizes from one to several hundred Newtons of pulling force. We look forward to working with you throughout the design process.
Simple Control Electronics
The drive electronics required to drive and control the Piezo LEGS® motor are no more complicated than those required for stepper motors. Applying voltage to the ceramic “muscles” synchronizes movement of each pair of legs, enabling them to move forward and backward.
The unique design of Piezo LEGS® makes the motor walk in precise linear motion. By bending a pair of legs, the motor can move with the precision of the order of a millionth of a millimeter (i.e. one nanometer). By taking several thousand steps per second, Piezo LEGS® can reach traveling speeds of several centimeters per second.
By controlling the movement pattern of the legs more precisely, one can also adapt and optimize the motor’s properties to different types of applications.
