Piezoelectric Rotary Tube Motor

A custom rotary SQUIGGLE(Registered TradeMark) motor has been developed that sets new benchmarks for small motor size, high position resolution, and high torque without gear reduction. Its capabilities cannot be achieved with conventional electromagnetic motors. It consists of piezoelectric plates mounted on a square flexible tube. The plates are actuated via voltage waveforms 90 out of phase at the resonant frequency of the device to create rotary motion. The motors were incorporated into a two-axis postioner that was designed for fiber-fed spectroscopy for ground-based and space-based projects. The positioner enables large-scale celestial object surveys to take place in a practical amount of time.