Piezomotor releases ant-sized walking machine

An EMS product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Feb 12, 2009

Piezomotor's Piezo Legs one-piece walking machine is about the size of an ant but almost 1,000 times stronger.

Its four legs can elongate and bend when electrically activated.

By electrically pairing the legs and observing the transition and sequence of movement, two legs remain constantly in contact with the secondary interface, resulting in propulsion of this part.

Piezo Legs is available in different constructions so that a linear or rotary movement can be achieved.

As the motor relies on friction and the legs remain in contact with the interface at all times, high torques can be achieved without the need for a supplementary gearhead.

As a consequence, no unwanted backlash is introduced into the system.

The result is a motor that delivers a step resolution of one nanometre in the linear format and 25 Nanorads in the rotary format.

The friction element ensures the motor remains self-locking, with no power applied, making them ideal for handheld battery-powered devices.

Piezo technology uses few parts and only elementary motion.

Using Piezo motors removes the need for supplementary components, simplifying design and extending lifetime.

Find out more about this article. Request a brochure, download technical specifications and request samples here.

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