Three piezo motor technologies explained in new PI catalogue

Piezo motors have a number of general advantages. All three types of piezo motors are self-clamping at rest (no energy consumption, very high stability) and the technology is intrinsically non-magnetic and vacuum compatible. These novel motors and actuators are also available fully integrated in precision positioners from miniature linear stages to 6-axis Hexapods and Z/tip/tilt platforms.

Inertial motors (stick-slip) are very compact and economical. Their motion is based on a piezoceramic element that expands slowly and then retracts very quickly. Due to their small size they lend themselves to the integration into miniature positioning stages, such as linear and rotary positioners. The speed of PI's latest generation is up to 10mm/sec, and provides forces to 10N.

Ultrasonic motors (resonant piezo motors) provide the highest velocities, typically from 100-1000mm/sec. Their motion is very smooth, and forces on the order of 5-15N are typical.

Piezo stepping motors (PiezoWalk) are the most complex of the three motor types. They are based on several preloaded actuators performing coordinated motion similar to the way humans walk. PiezoWalk motors are very robust and can provide high forces to 800N. In addition to a long-range step mode, a high dynamics sweep / scanning mode is also available, enabling picometers of resolution and kHz range bandwidth.

To find out more about these piezoelectric motors, download the piezo motor brochure (pdf 3.73MB).