Zero-Wear Flexure Actuators

Name: Zero-Wear Flexure Actuators
Brand: PI (Physik Instrumente) LP, Motion Control, Air Bearings, Piezo Mechanics

PI (Physik Instrumente) LP, Motion Control, Air Bearings, Piezo MechanicsRequest Info

For Biomedical Applications and Optics Instrumentation

AUBURN, Mass., Jan. 14, 2008 -- Flexure-based piezo actuators such as the P-601 series provide up to 10 times larger travel ranges than classic piezo stack actuators in a low-profile package and with virtually unlimited resolution and lifetime, according to the manufacturer, PI (Physik Instrumente).

The stiff construction allows for fast response with rise times much shorter than one millisecond. The design involves no friction, no lubricants and no wear. Because of the many advantages over motor/leadscrew-driven positioners, more and more flexure actuators are used in fast-focusing mechanisms and for other precision positioning tasks, ranging from data storage to pharmaceutical and biotech applications, PI said.

Typical applications for zero-wear flexure-based piezo actuators include medical instrumentation, nanotechnology, cleanroom manufacturing, autofocus, high throughput screening, high-speed valve control, nanoliter pumps and laser and spectrometer tuning. In life science applications, piezo actuators can be used for microdispensing and valve control applications, or for scanning and fast optical adjustments in drug screening apparatus, the company said.

Features & Advantages:

Flexure Guidance for Frictionless, Ultrastraight Motion
Low Cost, OEM Piezo Driver Modules Also Available
Low Profile, High Stiffness, Travel Ranges to >1000 µm Feasible
Closed-Loop Control, Resolution Better Than 1 nm
PICMA Long-Life Ceramic Encapsulated Piezo Actuators
Optional Vacuum and Nonmagnetic Versions
Fast Response, < 1 ms Feasible

The lifetime of the actuators depends mainly on the integrated piezo-ceramic "motion engine." Here, the latest ceramic encapsulated low-voltage multilayer piezo stacks provide protection from humidity and moisture, and deliver up to 10 times longer service life than the still widely used epoxy-coated multilayer piezo stacks, PI said. A preload protects the ceramics from tension forces during dynamic positioning.

The latest flexure actuators already incorporate a precision frictionless guiding mechanism and require no lubricants. When integrating the actuators into a positioning system, no extra linear bearings or roller bearings are needed, saving further cost and space. If ceramic encapsulated piezo ceramics are used (no outgassing / high bakeout temperatures) they are ideal for ultrahigh vacuum applications; nonmagnetic designs are also available, according to the company.

For more information, visit: www.pi-usa.us; e-mail: [email protected]

PI (Physik Instrumente) LP
16 Albert St.
Auburn, MA 01501
Phone: (508) 832-3456
Fax: (508) 832-0506

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Photonics.com
Jan 2008

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Zero-Wear Flexure Actuators