A three-stage amplification piezoelectric-actuated micro-gripper with adjustable output displacement: design, modeling, and experimental evaluation

Abstract With the development of science and technology, the performance requirements of micro-gripper are getting higher and higher. Therefore, this paper designs a new piezoelectric-driven micro-gripper with large and adjustable output displacement, which can adjust the output range and compensate the errors caused by flexible mechanism. By adjusting the output displacement, the micro-components of different sizes can be clamped. The three-stage amplification mechanism is adopted, which utilizes triangle and lever amplification. Using the pseudo-rigid body method, the flexible hinge is analyzed; the statics, kinematics and dynamics models are established. Through finite element method, the magnification ratio of the micro-gripper is obtained, then the structure of the micro-gripper is further optimized. The output displacement and the magnification of the single-arm of the micro-gripper under 135 V are 223.8 μ m and 24.2 times, respectively. This paper provides a basis for the wide application of micro-gripper.