Research on a New Type of Rigid-Flexible Coupling 3-DOF Micro-Positioning Platform

A new type of rigid-flexible coupling three degrees of freedom (3-DOF) micro-positioning platform with high positioning accuracy and high bearing capacity is developed, which consists of flexible drive mechanism and rigid platform. The flexible drive mechanism consists of three sets of symmetrical parallel round flexible hinge structures, each with a wedge structure in the middle of the symmetrical parallel flexible hinge. The rigid platform has an inclined plane with the same angle as the wedge, while the wedge structure is used to achieve the self-locking effect. The flexibility matrix method and ANSYS are used to analyze the statics of the flexible drive mechanism. The first four natural frequencies of the platform are obtained by dynamic simulation analysis. A symmetrical rigid flexible coupling micro-positioning platform experimental system is developed. Output characteristics, positioning accuracy, relationship between frequency and amplitude, and bearing performance of the micro-positioning platform are tested. These experimental results obviously show that the micro-positioning platform has good motion characteristics, high positioning accuracy, large movement distance, and large load bearing capacity performance.