Understanding the Piezo Motor

Piezoelectricity is a term for a transducer association between electric energy and mechanical oscillation. The piezoelectric effect happens in certain materials which have the cabability to create electricity when put through mechanical stress. This material strain-rotating, distorting or compressing-has to be only enough to deform the crystal framework without fracturing it.

Piezo properties are special because they are reversible. This means that materials that show the direct piezoelectric effect, or the creation of electric current when mechanical tension is applied, also exhibit the opposite piezo effect, the generation of mechanical tension when an outside electric field is applied.

Piezoelectricity was detected in the 1800s by the Curie brothers. Then, they were only 21 and 24 yrs old. They observed that quartz crystals produced an electric current when stressed along a primary axis. The definition of piezo is derived from the Greek; Piezein, meaning “to squeeze or press,” and piezo, meaning “push.”

What is a Piezo Motor?

A piezo motor takes advantage of the piezoelectric effect, or the tension that enables a multilayered material, like Rochelle salt or quartz, to bend when charged with an electric current. A piezoelectric motor does not produce or need magnetic fields, and it isn’t influenced by them. In that way, the piezo motor functions more accurately when compared with a standard electric motor unit. It is compact, extremely strong, very quick and it has neither rotors nor gears.

One time I saw a piezo motor that was as tiny as a sugar cube. It could go several centimeters at once and could carry nearly 1,000 times its own weight.

The Insides of a Piezo Motor

The piezoelectric motor has actually been implemented in microchip development for many years, so this is not a new concept. Lead, zirconate and titanate powders are refined, morphed to shape, fired, charged, polarized, and tested. To attain polarization, electrical fields are utilized to align the piezo materials along a primary axis.

This process may seem complex, but the piezo motor works the same way that elements containing iron are magnetized. After electrical energy is applied, the piezoelectric motor employs its poled ceramic shape to create movement with the use of routine, sinusoidal electrical fields.

The ceramic edge is coupled with a precision stage, and the resulting power from the piezo motor creates stage motion. Depending on how the coupling device is constructed, a piezo motor can move both linearly and in a rotational fashion. The periodic nature from the driving current yields limitless travel and smooth motion.

Types of Piezo Motors

The piezoelectric motor continues to be developed in many different ways for a wide range of uses. The traveling-wave piezo motor is used for auto-focus in reflex cameras and the inchworm piezo motor travels linearly. Some piezoelectric motors are utilized in camera sensor displacement technologies, allowing anti-shake capabilities.

The piezo motor can be used in handheld products, medical technology products, the automobile industry and in electronic household electrical devices. The piezoelectric motor is starting to become a lot more cost-effective, even for bulk volume applications in high-precision systems.

Although the piezoelectric motor is one unique application of the piezo phenomenon, plenty of other uses exist. Currently, modern piezoelectric materials are mass-developed for a number of uses-underwater transducers, medical products, and ultrasonic cleansers, for example.