Computational parametric analysis and experimental investigations of a compact flexure-based microgripper

This paper presents a flexure-based piezoelectric actuated microgripper for high precision grasping/releasing tasks. The design of the microgripper consists of a three-stage amplification and transmission mechanism, and the parallel grasping technique. A bridge-type mechanism and two sequential lever-type mechanisms are symmetrically connected to amplify the output displacement of the embedded piezoelectric actuator. The parallelogram mechanisms assist in linearizing the output displacement of both jaws of the microgripper. The computational analysis is conducted to investigate the effect of the dimensional parameters on the characteristics of the microgripper. A computational parametric optimization methodology is established to achieve the required attributes of the microgripper. The design optimization resulted in a compact design, a high displacement amplification ratio, and a large output displacement of the microgripper. The experimental studies are conducted to investigate the key characteristics of the microgripper such as the displacement amplification ratio, the output displacement, tracking performance. Further, the parasitic motion, input-end and output-end motion resolution of the microgripper are identified. The experimental results indicate that the compact microgripper can achieve a high displacement amplification ratio and large output displacement with a high positioning accuracy.     

柔性并联微夹取器的动力学分析及试验研究

针对一种具有毫米级操作空间和纳米级位移分辨率的、由直线超声电机驱动的柔性并联微夹持器,进行了动力学建模分析和实验研究。基于筷子夹取物体的操作原理,该微夹持器采用并联双层的结构形式。利用单位向量法,基于万向柔性铰链两端面始终平行的假设建立了微夹持器的运动学模型,表明了电机输入与操作末端输出之间的关系。采用ADAMS软件构建了微夹持器的刚柔耦合动力学仿真模型,由反向动力学仿真分析得到了微夹持器运行过程中几个重要的特征参数;由向前动力学仿真分析得到了操作末端,即探针尖端在给定输入函数下的位移、速度和加速度响应参数。对微夹持器的性能测试和夹取实验结果表明,该微夹持器的运行范围为2332μm×2109μm×20000μm,位移分辨率达到0.1μm,能够实现对微小物体的夹取操作。     

Control and dynamic releasing method of a piezoelectric actuated microgripper

This paper proposes the control and dynamic releasing method of a symmetric microgripper with integrated position sensing. The microgripper adopted in this micromanipulation system is constructed by two L-shaped leverage mechanisms and the fingers of the microgripper is machined much thinner than the gripper body. A combined feedforward/feedback position controller is established to improve the motion accuracy of the microgripper in high frequency. The feedforward controller is established based on rate-dependent inverse Prandtl-Ishlinskii (P–I) hysteresis model. The inertial force generated in dynamic based releasing process is analyzed through MATLAB simulation. Open-loop experimental tests have been performed, and the results indicate the first natural frequency of the microgripper is 730 Hz. Then experiments in high frequency based on the developed combined controller are carried out and the results show the tracking error of a superimposed sinusoidal trajectory with the frequency of 100 Hz, 120 Hz and 130 Hz is 6.4%. Finally, the tiny objects releasing experiments are conducted where the combined controller is used to control the motion amplitude and frequency to achieve inertial force controllable to improve operation accuracy. And the results show that the dynamic releasing strategy is effective.     

压电陶瓷微夹钳迟滞环自适应逆控制研究

针对压电陶瓷的迟滞特性可使微夹钳难以获得良好的位移控制的问题，提出自适应逆控制策略。推导了压电悬臂位移特性的理论模型；采用自适应最小均方算法滤波器建立了压电悬臂的基于Backlash算子的迟滞环正逆模型，并以此为基础建立了微夹钳位移的自适应逆控制系统。样机测试和跟踪实验结果验证了所建立的理论模型和迟滞环模型的正确性，以及控制系统良好的自学习能力和控制效果。     

A new design of piezoelectric driven compliant-based microgripper for micromanipulation

This paper describes the development of a microgripper mechanism capable of delivering high precision and fidelity manipulation of micro objects. The mechanism adopts a flexure-based concept on its joints to address the inherent nonlinearities associated with the application of conventional rigid hinges. A combination of two modeling techniques namely Pseudo Rigid Body Model (PRBM) and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was implemented to expedite the prototyping procedure which leads to the establishment of high performance mechanism. A wire Electro Discharge Machining (EDM) technique was utilized to fabricate the monolithic structure of the gripper mechanism. Experimental studies were conducted on the model prototype to obtain various correlations governing the gripper performance as well as for model verification. The experimental results demonstrate a high level of integrity in comparison to the computational analysis. A high amplification characteristic and maximum stroke of 100 μm can be achieved.     

A modified post-processing technique to design a compliant based microgripper with a plunger using topological optimization

The precision of microobject manipulation is predominantly based on the appropriate design of micromanipulation devices such as microgrippers. A compliant mechanism-based microgripper is an appropriate choice to achieve a highly precise and controlled motion. This research article proposes a refined technique to design a compliant-based microgripper with a plunger. The topological optimization technique has been adopted in this research work to develop the conceptual design of the mechanism. Flexure hinges are introduced in the topologically optimized design to overcome the senseless regions developed during the optimization process which is highly complicated to manufacture. Various flexure hinge contours such as rectangular, circular, and elliptical are introduced in the conceptual design domain, and their effects are investigated. Various parameters of flexure hinges are considered; the stress, the displacements, and the strain energy stored in the mechanism are studied through finite element analysis (FEA). In addition to FEA, experimental verification of the design was also performed. Both results are convincing about the structural performance of the microgripper design. In general, microdevices possess higher surface forces than volumetric forces; hence, this design is introduced with a plunger segment which is used to push the microobject for an active release during micromanipulation.     

Design and analysis of flexure-hinge parameter in microgripper

In the precision engineering field, a large number of applications require precise and microlevel manipulations, and microgrippers are an essential device to achieve precise manipulations. Highly precise movements are, in general, hard to achieve using conventional joints due to manufacturing error and backlash. In this paper, a new two-dimensional, compliant, monolithic piezo-actuated microgripper using flexure hinges is reported. The microgripper is designed, and a comparison study on stress and displacement is done by varying the hinge parameters such as the hinge radius, web thickness, position of flexure hinge, and radius of curvature of hinges. Kinematics of the microgripper is analyzed based on input/output displacement for all the above hinge design variations using FEM, and a kinematic model is arrived at based on the hinge location.     

Development of a microgripping system for handling of microcomponents

This paper reports the development of a semi-automatic microgripping system that consists of a microgripper and an x, y, z positioning system. The microgripper has two 1DOF fingers fabricated by an amorphous, soft magnetic material and is actuated electromagnetically. The microgripper is embedded in the 3DOF positioning system with the help of a stainless steel holder under an angle, which is manually adjusted, in respect to the working field. The position of the microgripper is observed optically and by three digital indicators¹ from Mitutoyo, which offer easy reading and continuous position tracking. All axes are actuated by step motors which allow precise positioning of the microparticles under manipulation. The microgripping system was tested in pick and place cases, under an optical microscope in atmospheric conditions. Optical fibres (125 μm in diameter) and bonding wires (50 μm in diameter) were handled. The temperature on the actuator, on the microgripper fingers and on the microgripper tips during manipulation was measured using K type (Ni/CrNi) thermocouples. The gripping force was evaluated as well.     

毫米级微型机器人操作手的研制和操作特性

采用单晶片型压电悬臂梁制作了一种双悬臂梁结构的微型夹持器,用作毫米级微型机器人的微操作手.该微夹持器整体尺寸为15mm×2mm×2mm,重量为100mg.在分析该悬臂梁操作原理的基础上,选用PbNi_1/3Nb_2/3-PbZrO₃-PbTiO₃三元系压电陶瓷准同型相界的配方作为悬臂梁压电驱动材料,这种压电陶瓷具有高压电常数 (d₃₁) 和机电耦合系数 (K_p).进一步研究了压电微夹持器的操作特性.结果表明:50V电场下,其最大张口距离可以达到40μm,最大夹持力为25.7×10^-3N.     

具有三层结构的SU-8胶V形微电热驱动器

为解决SU-8胶微电热驱动器在工作过程中存在平面外运动的问题,提出了一种具有铜-SU-8胶-铜三层对称结构的新型SU-8胶V形微电热驱动器.采用刚度矩阵方法建立了包含被驱动结构刚度的微电热驱动器力学模型,并针对一种柔性微夹钳,利用该模型对微电热驱动器进行了几何参数设计.利用Ansys仿真软件对所设计微驱动器进行了分析,仿真结果验证了所建模型的合理性.提出了一种新的MEMS加工工艺来制作三层结构微电热驱动器,并测试了它的性能.结果表明,实验结果与仿真结果相差不大,在150mV驱动电压下,所设计微驱动器温度仅升高约32.93℃,并对微夹钳产生约2.5 μm的输入位移,使微夹钳产生126μm的钳口距离改变量.微驱动器仅消耗大约30.35 mW的功率,钳口的平面外运动小于500 nm.最后,利用微电热驱动器驱动的微夹钳成功地对一个长1.2 mm,宽135μm,厚50μm的SU-8胶材料微型零件进行了微操作实验,实验证明了微驱动器实际性能基本满足设计要求.     

A novel driving principle by means of the parasitic motion of the microgripper and its preliminary application in the design of the linear actuator

This paper presents a novel driving principle by means of the parasitic motion of the microgripper. Actuators based on this principle can realize the large displacement range and high speed easily. Also the structure can be simple. A parasitic motion principle linear actuator mainly consisting of two piezoelectric stacks, two microgrippers and a mover was designed. Experimental results indicate that at a low driving frequency of 5 Hz, large velocity over 40 μm/s is obtained with the driving voltage of 100 V. Backward motion was observed and analyzed. Experimental results verify the feasibility of the new principle and it can be used to design new linear or rotary actuators.     

电热微夹钳的热效应分析和数值模拟

介绍了一种新型多晶硅电热微夹钳,该夹钳在V形电热微驱动器的作用下,能够产生近似线性的位移和产生较大的夹持力。在全面考虑了空气对流、辐射、热传导及材料特性等各种因素的情况下,建立了该电热微夹钳的有限元模型,利用该模型分别进行了稳态和瞬态的仿真分析,模拟出输出位移和温度场随电压的变化情况,以及电热微夹钳的热响应时间。对仿真的结果进行了讨论。     

一种整体式力敏微型机械手

介绍一种集成有二维力传感器的整体式微型机械手 ,并建立了该机械手的力学模型。该机械手由三组平行片簧构成 ,能同时测量抓取力和沿机械手轴向的装配力。检测结果表明 ,两个集成在机械手中的力传感器互不干涉。     

Performance characteristics of a therapeutic ultrasound wire waveguide apparatus

Therapeutic ultrasound angioplasty has been investigated, clinically, by a number of researchers and represents a potentially promising therapy for the treatment of atherosclerotic lesions. To date, there has been no detailed analysis of the effect of mechanical design parameters, such as wire geometry or damping characteristics, on wire waveguide performance. An apparatus capable of delivering therapeutic ultrasound down small diameter nickel–titanium (NiTi) wire waveguides is described. The output peak-to-peak (p–p) displacements at the distal tip of a 1.0 mm diameter waveguide were measured experimentally, by means of an optical microscope and image analysis software. The output was measured for a range of waveguide lengths from 118 to 303 mm. Wire waveguide distal tip displacements as high as 98 μm (p–p) at 23.5 kHz were measured. For the range of lengths tested, the experimental measurements show the critical relationship between the length of the waveguide and the output distal tip displacements. A finite element model that can predict the resonant frequencies and distal tip displacements of various wire waveguide geometries and configurations, including the effect of damping, is presented. This numerical model has been validated against the experimental displacement data obtained. This will be a valuable design tool for ensuring the safety and effectiveness of therapeutic ultrasound angioplasty procedures.     

Design and development of compliant mechanisms for electromagnetic force balance sensor

Compared with the lever-type amplifier, the rhombus-type amplifier has attracted more attention by virtue of large displacement amplification ratio, compact structure, and linear output displacement. In this paper, a novel electromagnetic force balance sensor (EFBS) based on the rhombus-type amplifier is presented to measure the mass with high precision. First, the structure and operating principle of the EFBS are described, and the requirements for the design and manufacture of the amplifier are put forward. Then, the analytical models of the two-stage rhombus-type amplifier are given out, and two guiding mechanisms are analyzed and modeled. Furthermore, the validity of the established model is verified by finite element analysis (FEA). Thanks to the theoretical guidance, an electromagnetic force balance sensor based on the two-stage rhombus-type amplifier and double parallelogram flexure mechanism is designed and tested. The experimental results demonstrate that the developed EFBS can measure the mass of the objects with high precision, and also verifies the correctness of the analytical model. This provides a new concept for the structural design of the EFBS.     

复合式MEMS微夹持器研制

研制了一种针对亚毫米微小构件实施稳定夹取及可靠释放的微夹持器,应用MEMS体硅工艺将静电梳齿驱动与真空驱动集成构成复合式驱动,设计了微夹持器静电驱动控制系统以及真空控制系统。在80V的驱动电压下,微夹持器末端夹爪位移25μm。设计了两种尺寸的微夹持器,一种张合量为100µm～150µm,另一种为150µm～200µm。针对100～200µm的小球进行了微操作实验,实验结果证明静电梳齿驱动结合真空吸附能够使夹取操作更加稳定,基于闭环控制的正压气流能有效克服小球与夹爪之间的粘附力,实现了可靠的释放操作。     

横向磁通径向位移传感器研究

横向磁通传感器是一种对转子径向位移进行测量的新型传感器。与传统的涡流或电感式传感器相比,其凭借独特的探头设计,具有高性价比、高精度、高灵敏度、结构紧凑等优点。通过理论分析,研究了影响该传感器灵敏度的若干因素。建立有限元模型,通过仿真明确了传感器探头设计的要点,总结了设计规律。设计并优化实验电路,搭建实验平台完成了对传感器的性能测试,结果表明该传感器具有良好的灵敏度、线性度和极低的X-Y耦合度。将此传感器成功应用于某主动式磁轴承转子的位移检测,实现了稳定悬浮,并且转速达到了12 000 r/min。     

Study of magneto-optic element as a displacement sensor

Displacement sensors are important components in many instrumentation systems, but the existing electrical based systems suffer from electromagnetic interference, noise, low response, etc. In the present paper, a magneto-optic element like Terbium Doped Glass (TDG) has been experimentally studied in double pass mode for its use as a displacement sensor. A high sensitive linear (with in ±0.54%) microdisplacement sensor with improved performance over an appreciable range of 10 mm with a resolution of 5 μm is achieved. The theoretical analysis and experimental results are reported in the paper. The experimental data have been found to be in good agreement with the theoretical study.     

基于μ综合的压电柔性结构振动主动控制

利用模态理论和μ综合方法,对智能柔性悬臂梁进行振动主动控制研究。以压电陶瓷为作动器,电阻应变计为传感器,采用有限元方法和实验模态测试方法建立结构动力学模型,对两种方法所得结果进行比较分析可知有限元模型与实际系统存在误差。考虑外部扰动和量测噪声的不确定性,同时考虑系统固有频率、阻尼比和作动器参数的不确定性,选择模态位移信号为评价量,根据信号的频率特性选择合适的加权函数,利用μ综合方法设计振动控制器。从频域角度分析控制器的有效性,结果表明该控制器能抑制不确定干扰对输出应变的影响,能在系统不确定性情况下满足控制要求,说明控制器具有鲁棒性。进行了振动主动控制实验研究,结果表明,所设计的控制器能有效抑制结构的振动响应。     

超高压水压试验机高压缸体的有限元分析

根据某超高压水压试验机结构主要部件高压缸体的结构特点，利用大型通用有限元分析软件I-DEAS建立其实体装配模型和有限元模型，并对高压缸体进行了静力学的有限元分析，研究了在各种载荷的共同作用下高压缸体结构应力（应变）以及位移（变形）情况。结果表明，应用I-DEAS软件分析计算具有较高的精度，所建立模型和采用的计算方法合理，可进一步用于高压水压试验机结构的优化设计。