A novel piezo-driven nanopositioning mechanism for precise manipulating

A three-degree-of-freedom (3-DOF) novel nanopositioning mechanism was developed. The mechanism utilizes three piezoelectric actuators (PZTs) and ring plate hinges to realize nanopositioning, which are arranged in an equilateral triangle shape. The simplified modeling of the nanopositioning mechanism was discussed. The translational stiffness along z direction and rotational stiffness along x and y direction, and three natural frequencies of the nanopositioning mechanism are deduced in terms of the theory of structural mechanics. Theoretical analysis and finite element analysis (FEA) on static and dynamic behavior of the nanopositioning mechanism are performed and the comparative results of the theory, FEA and experiments show that the accuracy of theory model and the validity of FEA. An apery intelligent PI control algorithm for realizing a closed loop is discussed and a series of experiments were carried out to investigate the static and dynamic characteristics of the mechanism. Using the 3-DOF mechanism, an optical precise assembly is accomplished, which validates the feasibility of the mechanism in precise operating fields.