Design of a Two-Axis Micro-Motion Machine for Precision Alignment

Abstract

In this report, the design procedure of a two-axis micro motion machine prototype is proposed. Not only the fabrication, parts machining and assembly processes, but also the experimental measurement setup, the data collection and analysis procedures are presented clearly. The goals of this project are:

(1) The design provide precision alignment ability; (2) Each axis for the prototype provides a long alignment distance range of ±5mm; (3) Well-decoupling motion in the two axes.

The design is devised base on the metal flexure mechanism and the structure is named multi-stage leaf springs, which allow a precise moving without friction. Two voice coil motors are used to drive the two-axis motion, respectively. The flexure mechanism design is validated through finite-element analysis (FEA) simulation study. And the results confirm that the mechanism can provide over ±7mm without any failure in each axis, which verifies that the design is favorable. Besides, a series of experimental studies are performed on the prototype by using LabVIEW software. Experimented results show that the designed performance of the machine is close to the goal.