The Design and Testing of a Cross-Scale Compliant Rotary Actuator with Minimum Actuation Redundancy and Sub-Microradian Resolution

Solving the common paradoxical problem between sub-micro-arc level resolution and a wide range of rotation angles in rotary actuators, this paper designs a single-drive compliant rotary mechanism (CRM) and develops a cross-scale compliant rotary actuator (CCRA). Specially, the proposed CRM employs a...

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Main Authors: Yingjie Jia, Jinyuan Cao, Zhishen Liao, Wei Wu, Hui Tang, Yanling Tian, Yuzhang Wei
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Actuators
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/14/6/284
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author Yingjie Jia
Jinyuan Cao
Zhishen Liao
Wei Wu
Hui Tang
Yanling Tian
Yuzhang Wei
author_facet Yingjie Jia
Jinyuan Cao
Zhishen Liao
Wei Wu
Hui Tang
Yanling Tian
Yuzhang Wei
author_sort Yingjie Jia
collection DOAJ
description Solving the common paradoxical problem between sub-micro-arc level resolution and a wide range of rotation angles in rotary actuators, this paper designs a single-drive compliant rotary mechanism (CRM) and develops a cross-scale compliant rotary actuator (CCRA). Specially, the proposed CRM employs a single-input–four-output divergent parallel configuration to transform a unidirectional input force into a rotational moment around the rotational center, effectively avoiding asynchronous motion and rotational center shift caused by the multiple actuation. Moreover, the CCRA is developed based on the CRM and a direct-drive rotary (DDR) motor, and adaptive switching between the macro- and micro-combination can simultaneously achieve large rotary range and sub-µrad resolution. After a series of modeling, mechanism optimization, and simulation, a prototype experimental system was built to further test the performance of proposed CCRA. The open-loop and closed-loop characterization experiments showed that the CRM can achieve a rotational resolution of 0.05 <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi mathvariant="sans-serif">μ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>rad and a driving force of 0.78 N·m. In addition, the cross-scale switching experimental results show that the CCRA is able to achieve a static positioning accuracy of 3.5 <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi mathvariant="sans-serif">μ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>rad within a <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>±</mo><msup><mn>5</mn><mo>∘</mo></msup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> rotational range.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2076-0825
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher MDPI AG
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series Actuators
spelling doaj-art-b57e63b99efb45e9ae488d9079716a052025-08-20T03:26:16ZengMDPI AGActuators2076-08252025-06-0114628410.3390/act14060284The Design and Testing of a Cross-Scale Compliant Rotary Actuator with Minimum Actuation Redundancy and Sub-Microradian ResolutionYingjie Jia0Jinyuan Cao1Zhishen Liao2Wei Wu3Hui Tang4Yanling Tian5Yuzhang Wei6State Key Laboratory of Precision Electronic Manufacturing Technology and Equipment, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Precision Electronic Manufacturing Technology and Equipment, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Precision Electronic Manufacturing Technology and Equipment, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Precision Electronic Manufacturing Technology and Equipment, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Precision Electronic Manufacturing Technology and Equipment, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSchool of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UKState Key Laboratory of Precision Electronic Manufacturing Technology and Equipment, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSolving the common paradoxical problem between sub-micro-arc level resolution and a wide range of rotation angles in rotary actuators, this paper designs a single-drive compliant rotary mechanism (CRM) and develops a cross-scale compliant rotary actuator (CCRA). Specially, the proposed CRM employs a single-input–four-output divergent parallel configuration to transform a unidirectional input force into a rotational moment around the rotational center, effectively avoiding asynchronous motion and rotational center shift caused by the multiple actuation. Moreover, the CCRA is developed based on the CRM and a direct-drive rotary (DDR) motor, and adaptive switching between the macro- and micro-combination can simultaneously achieve large rotary range and sub-µrad resolution. After a series of modeling, mechanism optimization, and simulation, a prototype experimental system was built to further test the performance of proposed CCRA. The open-loop and closed-loop characterization experiments showed that the CRM can achieve a rotational resolution of 0.05 <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi mathvariant="sans-serif">μ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>rad and a driving force of 0.78 N·m. In addition, the cross-scale switching experimental results show that the CCRA is able to achieve a static positioning accuracy of 3.5 <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi mathvariant="sans-serif">μ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>rad within a <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>±</mo><msup><mn>5</mn><mo>∘</mo></msup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> rotational range.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/14/6/284compliant mechanismflexible hingecross-scale actuationpiezoelectric actuatorrotary alignment
spellingShingle Yingjie Jia
Jinyuan Cao
Zhishen Liao
Wei Wu
Hui Tang
Yanling Tian
Yuzhang Wei
The Design and Testing of a Cross-Scale Compliant Rotary Actuator with Minimum Actuation Redundancy and Sub-Microradian Resolution
Actuators
compliant mechanism
flexible hinge
cross-scale actuation
piezoelectric actuator
rotary alignment
title The Design and Testing of a Cross-Scale Compliant Rotary Actuator with Minimum Actuation Redundancy and Sub-Microradian Resolution
title_full The Design and Testing of a Cross-Scale Compliant Rotary Actuator with Minimum Actuation Redundancy and Sub-Microradian Resolution
title_fullStr The Design and Testing of a Cross-Scale Compliant Rotary Actuator with Minimum Actuation Redundancy and Sub-Microradian Resolution
title_full_unstemmed The Design and Testing of a Cross-Scale Compliant Rotary Actuator with Minimum Actuation Redundancy and Sub-Microradian Resolution
title_short The Design and Testing of a Cross-Scale Compliant Rotary Actuator with Minimum Actuation Redundancy and Sub-Microradian Resolution
title_sort design and testing of a cross scale compliant rotary actuator with minimum actuation redundancy and sub microradian resolution
topic compliant mechanism
flexible hinge
cross-scale actuation
piezoelectric actuator
rotary alignment
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/14/6/284
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