Design, fabrication, and testing of a three-dimensional monolithic compliant six-axis nanopositioner

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to demonstrate the feasibility for creating a three-dimensional monolithic compliant six-axis nanopositioner. Much of this work was based off of the original two-dimensional HexFlex manipulator created by Prof. Martin Culpepper and a three-dimensional design by Samuel Korb. The compliant mechanism was manufactured from a single sheet of 1/8 inch 5052 Aluminum. The mechanism was designed to be fabricated on the non-precision, abrasive water-jet and to be formed using bending processes. The fabrication process was successful. The entire machining process was on the order of one hour. The forming process was repeated multiple times without failure of the mechanism in all cases. The formed mechanism was tested to characterize its ability to manipulate the positioning stage both in- and out-of-plane. The transmission ratio for in-plane was measured at 6.4 while the out out-of-plane ratio was 6.3. The input deflection vs. output deflection curves display a linear relationship, but there was .0003 inches of hysteresis seen in the out-of-plane data after a max deflection of .0009 inches. This amount of hysteresis is undesirable and leaves further testing to determine its causes.