Zero-force rectilinear flexure-based translation stage: Experimental validations
Compliant mechanisms can advantageously be preloaded by buckled beams in order to reduce their motion stiffness, and therefore also their actuation forces. However, preloading compliant mechanisms has the side-effect of modifying the deformation of their flexural elements, thus resulting in altered motion trajectories. In this paper, the case of a flexure-based translation stage is treated taking into account both issues at the same time, leading to a design benefiting from a preloaded buckled beam simultaneously for stiffness reduction and motion rectilinearity improvement. The studied mechanism is a compliant planar four-bar rectilinear stage based on four Remote Center of Compliance (RCC) pivots, called 4-RCC, manufactured in aluminum alloy by Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM), equipped with a buckled beam made of hardened spring steel. The mechanism is dimensioned based on analytical and finite element models to obtain simultaneously a near-zero stiffness and a quasi-rectilinear translation. Experimental results show that the buckled beam reduces the translational stiffness of the stage more than 98%, while decreasing the parasitic shift of the stage by more than 85%. In absolute terms, over a total translation stroke of 8 mm, a parasitic shift below 0.95 µm and a restoring force below 0.1 N were measured. This study validates the proposed design approach and paves the way for the use of such 4-RCC mechanism for precision positioning applications requiring high-straightness motion and low-power actuation.
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