Modeling and Optimal Design of Membrane Based Fast-Tool-Servo for Freeform Manufacturing of Micro Optical Lens Array

The Fast-Tool-Servo (FTS) is widely used for micro-structure manufacturing especially for micro optical lens. The working principle of FTS presented by Qiang Liu et.al is that, a voice coil motor and a piezoelectric (PZT) actuator are used as the driving elements, and two flexure hinges are developed as the guide mechanisms. However, vertical displacement jump happens when the flexure hinges are driven by a voice coil motor or a piezoelectric actuator. In this paper, a new amplified structure is presented, allowing the horizontal motion while reducing the vertical displacement jump. The working principle is that, the piezoelectric actuator is applied to a beam which has two flexure hinges, one is linked to the frame, and the other is linked to a tool holder which is situated through two parallel membranes. When the piezoelectric actuator deforms, the beam will rotate around the frame, while the displacement is amplified at the other end, causing the tool holder's motion and the membranes are forced to bend, while the vertical motion is restrained by the membranes. As a result, the presented membrane based flexure structure is able to amplify the motion of the piezoelectric actuator. In addition, the vibration frequency of the membrane is easy to be adjusted by the preloaded force. It is important to know when the FTS is working at different frequency. The performance of the presented structure is analyzed by structural dynamics coupled with piezoelectric, and the parameters of the structure are optimized to remain linear relation between the tool holder and the piezoelectric actuator, while the vertical displacement jump is much smaller than the structure presented in reference.