Design and testing of track-following controllers for dual-stage servo systems with PZT actuated suspensions

 This paper discusses the design and testing of two track-following controllers for dual-stage servo systems in hard disk drives. The first controller is designed using the μ-synthesis multivariable robust optimal controller design methodology. The second is designed using classical single-input-single-output (SISO) frequency shaping design techniques, based on sensitivity transfer functions decoupling of the dual-stage actuator. The controllers were implemented and tested on a disk drive with a PZT actuated suspension based dual-stage servo system. The position error signal (PES) for the servo system was obtained by measuring the slider displacement using an LDV and injecting simulated track runout. In the experiment, both designs achieved a track-mis-registration (TMR) less than 10 nm. Received: 25 July 2001/Accepted: 1 November 2001     

Design and fabrication of an electrochemically actuated microvalve

A microfluidic valve based on electrochemical (ECM) actuation was designed, fabricated using UV-LIGA microfabrication technologies. The valve consists of an ECM actuator, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane and a micro chamber. The flow channels and chamber are made of cured SU-8 polymer. The hydrogen gas bubbles were generated in the valve microchamber with Pt black electrodes (coated with platinum nanoparticles) and filled with 1 M of NaCl solution. The nano particles coated on the working electrode helps to boost the surface-to-volume ratio of the electrode for faster reversible electrolysis and faster valve operation. To test the functionality of the microvalve, a simple micropump based on ECM principle was also integrated in the system to deliver a microscopic volume of fluid through the valve. The experimental results have showed that an approximately 300 μm deflection of valve membrane was achieved by applying a bias voltage of ?1.5 V across the electrodes. The pressure in the valve chamber was estimated to be about 200 KPa. Experimental results proved that the valve can be easily operated by controlling the electrical signals supplied to the ECM actuators.     

Design of an electro-thermally actuated cell microgripper

The study of cells mechanical properties is of great interest both in medicine and biology to recognize and prevent some diseases causing alterations in cellular behaviour and resistance. Biological micro electro-mechanical systems allow the application of extremely small and precise forces increasing, as a consequence, the number of results possible per experiment and the number of experiments that can be performed simultaneously. The presented work deals with the analysis of an electro-thermally actuated microgripper for single-cell manipulation. Specifications and targets impose several limitations and difficulties in micro manipulators design and these obstacles are even more important when the target of microgripping are biological particles (e.g. living cells). The main parameters that have to be taken into account while designing a cell micromanipulator are, aside from its actuation principle, its kinematics, its fingertips shape, its releasing strategy and its material biocompatibility. More specifically in thermal actuation also thermal stability, insulation and high temperature in the device have to be considered to ensure the cell’s integrity during its micromanipulation.     

Design of a dual stage actuator tape head with high-bandwidth track following capability

As tape recording density increases, high-frequency track following capability of the tape head actuator becomes more important. This paper details the mechanical design and experimental analysis of a dual state actuator tape head. The dual stage actuator design combines a traditional voice coil motor for low frequency track following with a piezoelectric actuator for high-frequency track following. Non-parametric and parametric modeling techniques are used in the analysis of the dual stage actuator. The performance of the dual stage actuator head shows good correlation with the model and will enable improved track following capability for future high-performance tape drives.     

Design of an electrically actuated lower extremity exoskeleton

Human exoskeletons add the strength and endurance of robotics to a human's innate intellect and adaptability to help people transport heavy loads over rough, unpredictable terrain. The Berkeley lower extremity exoskeleton (BLEEX) is the first human exoskeleton that was successfully demonstrated to walk energetically autonomous while supporting its own weight plus an external payload. This paper details the design of the electric motor actuation for BLEEX and compares it to the previously designed hydraulic actuation scheme. Clinical gait analysis data was used to approximate the torques, angles and powers required at the exoskeleton's leg joints. Appropriately sized motors and gearing are selected, and put through a thorough power analysis. The compact electric joint design is described and the final electric joint performance is compared with BLEEX's previous hydraulic actuation. Overall, the electric actuation scheme is about twice as efficient and twice as heavy as the hydraulic actuation.     

Design and UV-LIGA microfabrication of an electro-statically actuated power relay

A novel type of micro power relay has been designed and fabricated using UV-LIGA technology. The relay is based on electrostatic actuation and SU-8 was used as a functional material. The unique character of this novel power relay is that other than two SU-8 strips used both as electrical insulators mechanical connectors, all other components are made of metal or alloys. Because UV-LIGA technology has the advantages of broad material selection and the capability of making high aspect ratio microstructures, the technology is best suited for fabricating micro electro mechanical system power relays. A multi-step, multi-layer UV-LIGA process has been successfully developed and a prototype relay has been successfully fabricated.     

Design, control, and energetics of an electrically actuated leggedrobot

To study the design, control and energetics of autonomous dynamically stable legged machines we have built a planar one-legged robot, the ARL Monopod. Its top running speed of 4.3 km/h (1.2 m/s) makes it the fastest electrically actuated legged robot to date. We adapted Raibert's control laws for the low power electric actuation necessary for autonomous locomotion and performed a detailed energetic analysis of our experiments. A comparison shows that the ARL Monopod with its 125 W average power consumption is more energy efficient than previously built robots.     

Tracking control of a piezo‐actuated stage based on a frictional model

The tracking control accuracy of a piezoelectric actuator (PEA) is limited due to the actuator's inherent hysteretic nonlinearity. Direct drive of PEA on a positioning stage with friction force will cause control problems. An approximated dynamic model of PEA with consideration of friction force is novel synthesized for control. This model is based on a second‐order transfer function with two parameterization terms. The first time delay term consists of the hysteresis of piezo effect combined with frictional force lag with varying velocity. The second term is comprised of both presliding and sliding regimes. The H‐infinite tracking controller is designed to compensate for the structural uncertainty associated with time delay and the unstructured frictional force in the PEA stage. Iterative Learning Control is implemented to reduce the unmodeled repetitive error by a factor of 20. Numerical simulations and experimental tests consolidate the root mean square (RMS), positioning error close to the hardware reproducibility and accuracy level. Experimental results show the controlled stage can be potentially used for precise positioning. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd and Chinese Automatic Control Society     

Design and simulation of a thermally actuated MEMS switch for microwave circuits

The design, modeling, and optimization of a novel, thermally actuated CMOS‐MEMS switch are presented in this article. This series capacitive MEMS switch solves the substrate loss and down‐state capacitance degradation problems commonly plaguing MEMS switches. The switch uses finger structure for capacitive coupling. The vertical bending characteristic of bimorph cantilever beams under different temperatures is utilized to turn the switch on and off. A set of electrical, mechanical, and thermal models is established, and cross‐domain electro‐thermo‐mechanical simulations are performed to optimize the design parameters of the switch. The fabrication of the switch is completely CMOS‐process compatible. The design is fabricated using the AMI 0.6 μm CMOS process and a maskless reactive‐ion etching process. The measured results show the insertion loss and isolation are 1.67 and 33 dB, respectively, at 5.4 GHz, and 0.36 and 23 dB at 10 GHz. The actuation voltage is 25 V and the power consumption is 480 mW. This switch has a vast number of applications in the RF/microwave field, such as configurable voltage control oscillators, filters, and configurable matching networks. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2009.     

Design,fabrication and characterization of a piezoelectrically actuated bidirectional polymer micropump

We present the design, fabrication and characterization of a new, piezoelectrically actuated fully polymeric three chamber peristaltic micropump. An optimized bimorph bending actuator has been designed to deform the polymer membranes in an optimal and most-efficient way. The piezoelectric actuators of the micropump are driven with actuation voltages of ±260 V. The pump has a total size of 46 × 18 × 4 mm, is produced by hot embossing and is assembled in a very simple way. The presented design is able to pump water with a flow rate of 4.8 ml/min and achieves a maximum back pressure of app. 200 mBar.     

Design, fabrication and characterization of an externally actuated ON/OFF microvalve

A magnetic microfluidic valve has been designed, fabricated and tested. Operation relies on the use of a permanent magnet which interacts with an electrodeposited layer of Co–Ni (soft magnetic material) on a V-shaped cantilever beam. The deflection caused by the magnetic forces opens or closes the fluid flow. The microvalve performance has been optimized by means of finite element analysis (FEA). The FEA model has been experimentally validated using confocal microscopy and used to improve the magnetic circuit. Then, a fluidic cell has been built and the microvalve has been demonstrated to work as a check-valve or as ON/OFF valve when being magnetically actuated. Fabricated prototypes were evaluated in a flow of N₂at the flow rate of 20 sccm. The operational applied pressure was 50 mbar. The microvalve has a leaking rate in the order of 1.75 sccm at 50 mbar.     

Design process and simulation testing of a shape memory alloy actuated robotic microgripper

Microgrippers are commonly used for micromanipulation of micro-objects with dimensions from 1 to 100 µm and attain features of reliable accuracy, low cost, wide jaw aperture and variable applied force. This paper studies the design process, simulation, and testing of a microgripper which can manipulate and assemble a platinum resistance temperature probe, made from a 25 µm diameter platinum wire, a 20 mm diameter tinned copper wire, and a printed circuit board type connector. Various microgripper structures and actuator types were researched and reviewed to determine the most suitable design for the required micromanipulation task. Operation tests using SolidWorks and ANSYS software were conducted to test a parallelogram structure with flexible single-notch hinges. The best suited material was found to be Aluminium alloy 7075-T6 as it was capable of producing a large jaw tip displacement of 0.7 mm without exceeding its tensile yield strength limit. A shape memory alloy was chosen as a choice of actuator to close the microgripper jaws. To ensure a repeatably accurate datum point, the final microgripper consisted of a fixed arm and a flexible arm. An optimisation process using ANSYS studied the hinge thickness and radius dimensions of the microgripper which improved its deflection whilst reducing the experienced stress.

     

Simulation and experimental analysis for hysteresis behavior of a piezoelectric actuated micro stage using modified charge system search

The main goal of this study is to investigate the hysteresis behavior of a piezoelectric actuated micro stage. The hysteresis of piezoelectric actuators (PA) is formulated using the generalized Duhem model (GDM) and a modified charge system search (CSS) is proposed to identify the hysteresis model. Different from the present CSS method, the proposed method applies a construction factor to prevent converging to a local optimum. The modified CSS is used to evaluate the parameters of the GDM to compare with the particle swarm optimization (PSO). The use of MCSS-based optimization is superior to the CSS and the PSO for identification of the GDM. The experimental result also validated the modeling correctness using the proposed method.     

Multiple Views: different meanings and collocated words

We report on an in‐depth corpus linguistic study on ‘multiple views’ terminology and word collocation. We take a broad interpretation of these terms, and explore the meaning and diversity of their use in visualisation literature. First we explore senses of the term ‘multiple views’ (e.g., ‘multiple views’ can mean juxtaposition, many viewport projections or several alternative opinions). Second, we investigate term popularity and frequency of occurrences, investigating usage of ‘multiple’ and ‘view’ (e.g., multiple views, multiple visualisations, multiple sets). Third, we investigate word collocations and terms that have a similar sense (e.g., multiple views, side‐by‐side, small multiples). We built and used several corpora, including a 6‐million‐word corpus of all IEEE Visualisation conference articles published in IEEE Transactions on Visualisation and Computer Graphics 2012 to 2017. We draw on our substantial experience from early work in coordinated and multiple views, and with collocation analysis develop several lists of terms. This research provides insight into term use, a reference for novice and expert authors in visualisation, and contributes a taxonomy of ‘multiple view’ terms.     

Design enhancement of a chevron electrothermally actuated microgripper for improved gripping performance

In this paper design modifications are proposed in microgripper design using two in-plane chevron electrothermal actuators. The design modifications are, converting free–free gripping arm into a clamped-free gripping arm and inclusion of the heat sinks in the shuttle. The modified design provides reduced temperature at the gripping jaws and higher gripping force. The proposed microgripper is modelled analytically and numerically using MEMS CAD tool CoventorWare. The performance of the microgripper such as displacement, force and temperature for the voltage range of 0–1.2 V is evaluated through numerical and analytical simulation. The results demonstrate the feasibility of fabrication. Further the gripper is made of polysilicon which allows operating the gripper at lower voltage.     

剪切型压电喷头驱动电源的设计与实现

喷头驱动电源是压电喷头的核心部件之一。针对厚度剪切型压电喷头致动器结构特征,分析了0.11~0.32μm范围内的致动壁位移随驱动电压在20~60 V范围内近似线性增大的关系,推导出致动壁15 k Hz的谐振基频数值,结合喷墨通道三循环驱动方式时序,设计了一种基于直流变换原理的开关式驱动电源,实现了32路喷墨通道分组喷射,其最大输出电压范围±60 V,正负脉宽和设置时间在15~200μs内在线可调,单路输出电流大于6 m A,脉宽最大误差小于3%。初步测试实验了该驱动电源的可行性。     

Design and evaluation of an actuated exoskeleton for examining motor control in stroke thumb

Chronic hand impairment is common following stroke. This paper presents an actuated thumb exoskeleton (ATX) to facilitate research in examining motor control and hand rehabilitation. The ATX presented in this work aims to provide independent bi-directional actuation in each of the 5 degrees of freedom (DOF) of the thumb using a novel flexible shaft-based mechanism that has 5 active DOF and 3 passive DOF. A prototype has been built and experiments have been conducted to measure the allowable workspace at the thumb and evaluate the kinematic and kinetic performance of the ATX. The experimental results show that the ATX is able to provide individual actuation at all five thumb joints with high joint velocity and torque capacities. Further improvement and future work are discussed.