Design and Analysis of a Two-Stage Compliant Amplification Mechanism Based on Bridge-Type and Scott–Russell Structures for Compact Out-of-Plane Actuation

Piezo-driven compliant actuators capable of out-of-plane displacement from the substrate are urgently required in the fields of micro/nano manipulations and active optics, where compact size and low-profile configurations are often critical. In this paper, a two-stage amplification mechanism is deve...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Xianfeng Shi, Shuaishuai Lu, Fei Wang, Pengbo Liu, Guangchun Xiao, Peng Yan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Machines
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1702/13/5/386
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Piezo-driven compliant actuators capable of out-of-plane displacement from the substrate are urgently required in the fields of micro/nano manipulations and active optics, where compact size and low-profile configurations are often critical. In this paper, a two-stage amplification mechanism is developed by orthogonal series connection of a bridge-type mechanism and a Scott-Russell mechanism, for the sake of a large amplification ratio and high stiffness. The low-profile configuration is realized by horizontally mounting the piezoelectric actuator within the planar bridge-type amplification mechanism. The bridge-type mechanism initially amplifies the output displacement of the piezoelectric actuator. A compound guiding mechanism at the output end significantly enhances the equivalent stiffness and constrains parasitic displacements of the bridge-type mechanism. The second-stage Scott–Russell mechanism, further amplifies and converts the in-plane displacement into out-of-plane motion. The kinematic and static model of the developed mechanism is established using the compliance matrix method, enabling precise prediction of the amplification ratio and input/equivalent stiffness. Finite element simulations and experimental tests on the prototype validate the modeling accuracy and mechanical performance of the proposed low-profile amplification mechanism, demonstrating a large amplification ratio of 15.70, a high resonant frequency of 312.50 Hz, and a load-bearing capacity up to 20 N.
ISSN:2075-1702