A flexure-based five-bar mechanism for micro/nano manipulation

This paper presents the design, fabrication and experimental testing methodologies of a flexure-based five-bar mechanism. Such mechanisms will be indispensable in micro/nano scale operations. To overcome the limited displacement of such flexure-based mechanisms driven by piezoelectric actuators, lever mechanisms are used to increase the working range in Cartesian space. The mechanical design of the flexure-based mechanism is first described and the kinematic model is established. The linearised relationship between the actuation space and the Cartesian space is developed according to the kinematic analysis. The finite element analysis (FEA) is carried out to examine the performance and validate the established kinematic model. The maximum stresses in the compliant mechanism and the amplification factors of the entire system are investigated to guarantee the long-term repeatability, accuracy, and functional requirements. A closed-loop control methodology is established to overcome the hysteresis of the piezoelectric actuators, and to improve the positioning accuracy of the entire system. Experimental investigation is carried out to cross validate the characteristics of the developed flexure-based mechanism.