Journal Pre-proof

High-magnification microgripper with low output

displacement loss

Xiaodong Chen, Zhimin Xie, Renhao Shen,

Xuejiao Feng, Huifeng Tan, Kang Tai

PII: S0924-4247(23)00251-0
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2023.114402
Reference: SNA114402

To appear in: Sensors and Actuators: A. Physical

Received date: 8 February 2023
Revised date: 29 April 2023
Accepted date: 2 May 2023
Please cite this article as: Xiaodong Chen, Zhimin Xie, Renhao Shen, Xuejiao
Feng, Huifeng Tan and Kang Tai, High-magnification microgripper with low
output displacement loss, Sensors and Actuators: A. Physical, (2023)
doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2023.114402
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High-magnification microgripper with low output displacement loss
Xiaodong Chen a,b, Zhimin Xie a, Renhao Shen c, Xuejiao Feng d, Huifeng Tan a*, Kang
Tai b*
a
National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Advanced Composites in Special Environments, Harbin Institute of
Technology, Harbin, 150001, China
b
School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 639798, Singapore
c
Intelligent Science & Technology Academy Limited, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, Beijing 100043, China
d
Shenzhen University Affiliated South China Hospital, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518100, China
Abstract: In order to solve the problem of excessive displacement loss of the traditional
micro-displacement multi-stage amplification mechanism, a parallel-connection-driving concept is
proposed, and a two-stage piezoelectric-driven microgripper based on the
parallel-connection-driving concept was designed. The second-stage mechanism of the
microgripper is driven by the first-stage mechanism, which hinders the displacement output of the
first-stage mechanism, causing the displacement loss of the microgripper, resulting in the actual
magnification being lower than the ideal magnification. In the parallel-connection-driving concept,

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multiple first-stage mechanisms of the same size and configuration drive the second-stage
mechanism simultaneously, which effectively reduces the displacement loss of the mechanism.
Combining the law of energy conservation and flexure beam theory, the impedance value of the

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second-stage mechanism to the first-stage mechanism is obtained, and then the magnification of
the mechanism is accurately obtained. By optimizing the structural size of the mechanism, the
performance of the mechanism is significantly improved. The experimental results prove the
rationality of the theoretical calculation.
-p
Keywords: microgripper; parallel-connection-driving concept; optimizing; impedance value;
1. Introduction
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With the development of precision engineering, material science, biotechnology, aerospace
and modern medicine, micromanipulation has received increasing attention in the past two
decades [1-5]. The microgripper is a typical end effector of the micromanipulation system, which
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determines the success of the micromanipulation task [6]. Compliant mechanism has become an
important realization form of actuator in precision engineering due to its advantages of simple
manufacturing process, no friction, no wear, and no backlash [7-8]. Commonly used actuators for
microgrippers include piezoelectric actuators [9-10], electrothermal actuators [11-13], electrostatic
a

actuators [14-16], electromagnetic actuators [17-19], shape memory alloy actuators [20-22] and
pneumatic actuators [23]. Piezoelectric actuators are widely used due to their high displacement
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resolution, fast response speed, and large output force [24]. However, the hysteresis and creep
characteristics of piezoelectric ceramics make it impossible to achieve linear output. In previous
studies, the nonlinear problem of piezoelectrics was mainly solved by closed-loop control
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techniques at the output [25-26]. However, the input of piezoelectric ceramics was still nonlinear.
In this paper, the linear output of piezoelectric ceramics is realized by pasting a strain gauge on the
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surface of piezoelectric ceramics.

The deformation of piezoelectric ceramics is small, no more than one thousandth of its own
size, and displacement amplification is usually achieved through a displacement transmission
mechanism. Commonly used single-stage amplification mechanisms include lever mechanism,
parallelogram mechanism, bridge-type mechanism, rhombus mechanism and Scott-Russell
mechanism [27-30]. The calculation error of the single-stage bridge-type mechanism designed by
Das et al. [31] based on the geometric model has a relative error of 8.4%. The single-stage
bridge-type mechanism designed based on the mathematical model was introduced by Choi et al.
[32], and the calculation error was 6.8%. Friedrich [33] proposed a modeling method for the
dynamic characteristics of flexure hinges based on the finite element method. The model is used to
establish the mechanical model of the bridge-type mechanism, and the calculated magnification
error is better than 1%. We can find that the theoretical value of the single-stage amplification
mechanism is close to the actual value, and the research on the calculation error of the single-stage
magnification mechanism has been relatively complete. However, there is still a large calculation
error in the two-stage amplification mechanism.
Nowadays, the research on the magnification of multi-stage amplification mechanism is
mainly based on the product of the magnification of each single-stage amplification mechanism,
ignoring the influence of impedance. Zhao et al. [34] designed a three-stage amplification
mechanism based on two lever mechanisms and a bridge mechanism, and its calculation error
reached 482.1%. A two-degree-of-freedom displacement amplification mechanism (DAM) was
reported by Wang et al. [35]. The left side adopts a two-stage amplification mechanism that
connects a parallelogram mechanism in series with the output end of the bridge-type mechanism,
and the calculation error is 99.1%. In order to further reduce the relative error of the mechanism,
Lyu et al. [36] and Wang et al. [37] optimized the structural size of the modeled mechanism, took
the working modal frequency of the mechanism as the optimization objective function, and
increased the natural frequency of the mechanism, and the calculation errors were 18.8% and
24.5%, respectively. Shi et al. [38] introduced an optimization method that uses amplification ratio
as the optimization objective function. By default, the size of the flexure hinges in the mechanism
is the same, and the relative error is 70%. References [34-37] used the pseudo-rigid-body model to
calculate the magnification of the multi-stage amplification mechanism. Reference [38] used the
law of energy conservation to calculate the magnification of the multi-stage amplification
mechanism. However, the influence of impedance on the multi-stage amplification mechanism is
ignored in [34-38].
Accordingly, on the one hand, the impedance value of the two-stage amplification
mechanism is calculated, so as to calculate the magnification of the mechanism more accurately.

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On the other hand, the parallel connection method is adopted. Without changing the method of
calculating the magnification of the mechanism, the actual magnification of the mechanism is
effectively improved, and the related errors are reduced. The microgripper reported in this paper is

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mainly used in the gripping, handling, placement and release of metal microscopic objects.

2. Mechanical design and analysis

2.1. Mechanism displacement loss analysis -p
Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the system motion after simplifying the DAM into springs.
Ideally, when the elongation of the piezoelectric ceramic is Spzt, the magnification of the first-stage
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mechanism is Ramp1, the output displacement is S1, and the second-stage mechanism is driven to
move. The magnification of the second-stage mechanism is Ramp2, and the output displacement is
S2. The ideal magnification of the mechanism is Ramp1Ramp2. In the actual motion process, the
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second-stage mechanism is driven by the first-stage mechanism, which will hinder the
displacement output of the first-stage mechanism, called impedance. Therefore, the actual
magnification of the first-stage mechanism is Ramp11, and the output displacement is S12. It is worth
noting that the output end of the second-stage mechanism has no load, its magnification is Ramp2,
a

the output displacement is S22, and the actual magnification of the mechanism is Ramp11Ramp2.
The magnification of the second-stage mechanism Ramp11Ramp2 will always be smaller than
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Ramp1Ramp2.
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Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the DAM movement.

2.2. Mechanical design in parallel-connection-driving concept
Due to its compact structure and high magnification, the rhombic mechanism is widely used
in the first-stage mechanism of piezoelectric actuator. The compound rhombic mechanism has
higher stiffness than the rhombic mechanism, as shown in Figure 2(a). A three-dimensional model
of the mechanism as defined by the schematic diagram of Figure 2(a) was imported into the finite
element software for analysis. When there is no load, all the work done by the piezoelectric
ceramics will be converted into the elastic potential energy of the flexure arm, and the output
displacement of the rhombic mechanism will reach the maximum value at this time. As the load
value increases, the output displacement of the compound rhombic mechanism gradually
decreases, as shown in Figure 2(b). It can be concluded that the amplification ratio of the rhombic
mechanism is 0 when the required force to drive the second-stage mechanism is 313 N.

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(a)
a lP
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(b)
Figure 2. Compound rhombic mechanism: (a) structure diagram of compound rhombic mechanism,
and (b) output load versus the amplification ratio.
Figure 3(a) shows the structure diagram of the traditional compound half-rhombic
mechanism, and Figure 3(b) shows the structure diagram of the compound half-rhombic
mechanism in parallel connection. Three-dimensional modeling is carried out for Figure 3(a) and
3(b), and finite element analysis is carried out on them respectively. The analysis results are shown
in Figure 3(c), where an input displacement of 10 μm is applied at the input end, and by adjusting
the load force at the output end, it can be concluded that the compound half-rhombic mechanism
in parallel connection has higher magnification than the traditional compound half-rhombic
mechanism.
Based on the law of energy conservation:
Fin Sin  V  Wload (1)
where Fin is the input force of the piezoelectric ceramic, Sin is the input displacement of the
piezoelectric ceramic, V is the elastic potential energy of the flexure arm, and Wload is the work
done by the output force.
Considering Hooke's law, the relationship between the input displacement and the
corresponding conduction force can be obtained:

Fin  kin Sin (2)

Thus
1
kin Sin2  8  k 2  Fload Sout
2
where k is the rotational stiffness of the flexure arm, and Sout is the output displacement of the
output end.
The displacement loss of the first stage mechanism in Figure 3 (a) is:
Wload
S1 

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S1 (3)
V
The displacement loss of the first stage mechanism in Figure 3 (b) is:

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Wload
S1  S1 (4)
2V
It can be seen from equation (4) that the displacement loss can be reduced by increasing the
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potential energy of the first-stage mechanism or reducing the work done by the second-stage
mechanism (load). In the parallel-connection-driving method adopted in this paper, two first-stage
mechanisms operating in the same direction are used to drive the load. It can be seen from
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equations (3) and (4) that the displacement loss of the mechanism using the
parallel-connection-driving method is 1/2 of that of the traditional series drive method. It should
be noted that the linear elastic characteristics of the amplification mechanism in the above analysis
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are unique to all small deformation compliant mechanisms, and are applicable to all two-stage
compliant amplification mechanisms.
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(a) (b)
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(c)

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Figure 3. Compound half-rhombic mechanism: (a) traditional compound half-rhombic mechanism,
(b) compound half-rhombic mechanism in parallel connection, and (c) output load versus the
amplification ratio.
2.3 Modeling and characteristic analysis of microgripper.
-p
Figure 4 shows the schematic diagram of the microgripper, and the size of the mechanism is
35.0 mm × 46.0 mm × 5.0 mm. The mechanism is a symmetrical structure, which effectively
improves the transmission stiffness of the mechanism.
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a lP
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Figure 4. Schematic diagram of the microgriper.

3. Mechanical modeling and optimization design
3.1 Mechanical modeling
The force analysis results of all levels of the two-stage DAM are shown in Figure 5. It is
assumed that the output force generated by the piezoelectric actuator is FPZT, and then drives the
first-stage DAM, the corresponding input displacement is 2ΔxA. Finally, the input displacement is
amplified by the second-stage DAM, and the generated output displacement is 2ΔxD. For the
rhombus amplification mechanism, due to the fully symmetrical configuration, only the
mechanical model of the 1/4 structure needs to be established. The force analysis results of the
first-stage DAM are shown in Figure 5(a), and the force analysis results of the second-stage DAM
are shown in Figure 5(b).

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(a)

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(b)
Figure 5. Mechanical model of two-stage DAM: (a) first-stage amplification mechanism, and (b)
second-stage amplification mechanism.
In the mechanical modeling, the flexure hinges and flexure arms in the second-stage DAM
a

are considered as flexure bodies, and other parts are regarded as rigid bodies. According to the
force analysis diagram in Figure 5(a), the equilibrium equation of axial force and moment of the
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first-stage mechanism are respectively:

FAx  FBx  FPZT / 8 (5)

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FAy  FBy (6)

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M 1   FAx l1 sin 1  FAy l1 cos 1  / 2 (7)

According to the law of energy conservation, the input force of the piezoelectric actuator will
be converted into the tensile strain energy and bending strain energy of the flexure arms, and the
work done to drive the deformation of the next-stage DAM. Therefore, it can be deduced that

Win  Vl  Vm  Wout (8)

where Win is the work done by the input force, Vl is the tensile strain energy of the flexure arm, Vm
is the bending strain energy of the flexure arm, and Wout is the work done by the output force.
According to the load condition of the first-stage rhombus mechanism, it can be deduced
from Eq. (8) that

1 l1 F
FAx xA   AB
 x dx  l1 M AB  x   1 F y
2 2

2 0 2 EAAB 0 2EI AB 2 By B (9)

where FAB (x) is the axial force of the neutral axis of the flexure arm, MAB(x) is the axial bending
moment of the neutral axis of the flexure arm, AAB is the cross-sectional area of the neutral axis of
the flexure arm, E is the elastic modulus, IAB is the inertia moment of the neutral axis of the flexure
arm, and I AB  d1t13 /12 .
For the rhombus mechanism, when the x-axis is specified along the neutral axis of the flexure
arm l1, the axial force FAB (x) of the flexure arm AB and the bending moment MAB(x) at the end
point x can be derived as follows:
FAB  x  =FAx cos 1  FAy sin 1 (10)

M AB  x  =M1  FAx x sin 1  FAy x cos 1 (11)

where x is the distance from any endpoint x on the flexure arm AB to point A.
In the case of small deformation, the elastic beam bending deformation differential equation
is given by:

of
EI  =M  x  (12)

where ω is the deformation of the elastic beam perpendicular to the neutral axis. The deflection of

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the end point B of the flexure arm AB can be derived from Eq. (11) and Eq. (12):

1 l12  FAx sin 1  FAy cos 1 

M AB  x  dxdx 
l1 x
B =
EI AB 0 0 -p 12k 1
(13)

where kθ1 is the rotational stiffness of the flexure arm, kθ1=EIAB/l1.

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According to the geometric relationship between the bending deformation of the flexure arm
and the output displacement, the output displacement ΔyB of the compound rhombus mechanism
can be deduced from Eq. (13) as follows:
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l12  FAx sin 1  FAy cos 1  cos 1

yB =yE = (14)
12k 1
a

Substituting Eq. (10), Eq. (11) and Eq. (14) into Eq. (9), the input displacement of the
compound diamond mechanism can be deduced
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F cos 1  FAy sin 1  l12  FAx cos 1  FAy cos 1  sin 1

2

xA
Ax
= + (15)
FAy kl1 12k 1
u

where kl1 is the tensile stiffness of the composite diamond mechanism flexure arm.
According to the force analysis diagram in Figure 5(b), the equilibrium equation of axial
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force and moment of the second-stage lever mechanism are respectively:

FDy l4 =FFy l5 (16)

 l 
FEy =FDy  FFy  1  4  FDy (17)
 l5 

M 2 =FEy l4 (18)

where L=l4+l5, as shown in Figure 1.

According to the different load conditions of the power arm and the resistance arm of the
second-stage lever mechanism, the segmental integration is carried out.
For DE segment (0≤x≤l4):
EI DF  =M 2  FDy x (19)

For EF segment (l4≤x≤L):

 EI DF  =M 2  FDy x +FEy  x  l4  (20)

where IDF is the moment of inertia of the lever arm DF neutral axis, I DF  d1b13 /12 .
Integrating Eq. (19) and Eq. (20) respectively yields

M 2 2 FDy 3
EI DF  = x  x +c1 x  c2 (21)
2 6

FEy  FDy M 2  FDy l4

EI DF  = x3  x 2 +c1 x  c2 (22)
6 2
where c1 and c2are integral constants.
Substituting the boundary conditions x=0, ω=0 and x=l４, ω＝ΔyE into Eq. (21), x=l４, ω＝
ΔyE and x=L, ω＝ΔyF into Eq. (22). Combining Eq. (21) with Eq. (22) yields

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EI y
c1 = DF F 
 FDy  FEy  L   M 2  FDyl4  L
2

(23)

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L 6 2

c2 =0 (24)

where, ΔyF is the displacement of the lever endpoint F. -p

When the lever arm is regarded as a rigid rod, ΔyF can be expressed as
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M 2L
y F  L   (25)
k CD
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where kθCD is the rotational stiffness of the flexure hinge CD, kθCD=EICD/l4. ICD is the moment of
inertia of the neutral axis of the flexure hinge CD, I CD  d1t13 /12 .
When x=l ４ and x=L, the input displacementΔyE and output displacementΔyF of the
a

second-stage mechanism can be derived from Equation (22) as follows :

2  2l4  3l42  FFy Lk CD FEy l42  FFy Ll4 FFy l4
rn

yE =   (26)
6k DF k CD k CD 6k DF
u

M 2 L LFEy l4
yF  L   (27)
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k CD k CD
By combining Eq. (14) and Eq. (26), the proportional coefficient η21 of the second-stage input
force and the first-stage output force can be obtained. η21 can be used to describe the influence of
the second-stage lever mechanism on the impedance of the first-stage compound rhombus
mechanism :
FBy l13 sin 1 cos 1
21  = (28)
FAx 12 EI AB 1

 l   l2L 
2  2l4  3l42   4  Lk CD l42   4 
where 1 =  l4  l5    l4  l5   l42 l 2 cos 12
 1
6k DF k CD k CD  l4  l5  6k DF 12k 1
Substituting Eq. (28) into Eq. (14) and Eq. (15) respectively, the relationship between the
input displacement ΔxA, the output displacement ΔyB of the compound half-rhombus mechanism
and the input force ＦAxof the first-stage compound half-rhombus mechanism can be obtained:
   cos 1  21 sin 1 2 l12 sin 1  FAx sin 1 21 cos 1  
xA =FAx  +  (29)
 kl1 12k 1 

l12 cos 1  sin 1  21 cos 1 

yB  FAx (30)
12k 1
During the operation of the second-stage mechanism, there is no load at the output end.
Combining Eq. (26), Eq. (27), Eq. (29) and Eq. (30), the displacement amplification ratio of a
two-stage DAM can be calculated by:
y B y F
Ramp =2 (31)
x A y E
Based on the Eq. (26) and Eq. (29), the input stiffness Kin1 and Kin2 of the first-stage and

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second-stage amplification mechanisms are respectively
8FAx 8
K in1 =  (32)

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x A 2

 cos 1 21 sin 1  l12 sin 1  FAx sin 1  21 cos 1 

2

2 
kl 1
+ -p 12k 1
(33)
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8FEy 8  l4  l5 
Kin 2 =  (34)
yE l43
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2  2l4  3l42  Lk CD l4  l4  l5  L  l4

3 =  
6k DF k CD k CD 6k DF
a

3.2 Design optimization

The finite element analysis software ANSYS is used for static analysis of the microgripper.
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The material of the microgripper is 7075 aluminum alloy, the corresponding elastic modulus E=
71 GPa, Poisson's ratio v= 0.33, yield strength σ= 455 MPa, density ρ= 2810 kg/m3. In order to
meet the accuracy and convergence of the FEA results, the microgripper adaptive meshing is
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adopted, and the convergence test of the simulation results is set within the range of 5%.
Constraints are then applied to the microgripper and displacement is applied to the input end.
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Based on the response surface method, the important parameters of the microgripper were
optimized. In order to obtain a larger displacement amplification ratio, Ramp is selected as the
optimization objective function. Referring to Figure 4, select key parameters t1, l 1, t2, l 2, t3, l 3, a, b,
c and d as design variables. The optimization problem includes a constraint that the maximum
stress of the mechanism should be less than the yield strength of the material. The optimization
work is as follows:
(1) Objective function: Maximum displacement amplification ratio Ramp.
(2) Design variables: t1, L1, t2, L2, t3, L3, a, b, c, d.
(3) Constraints:
(a) Constraint equation: σmax≤[σ]/na, na=2.
(b) Parameter range 0.25 mm ≤ l1≤ 1.0 mm，0.15 mm ≤ t1≤ 0.37 mm，1.3 mm≤l2
≤4.0 mm，0.2 mm ≤ t2 ≤ 0.4 mm，0.5 mm ≤ l 3 ≤ 1.2 mm，0.2 mm ≤ t3 ≤ 0.4 mm，
5.5 mm ≤ a ≤ 9 mm，0 mm ≤ b ≤2.5 mm，5.0 mm ≤ d/c ≤ 9.0 mm. (The microgripper
needs to be processed by the low-speed WEDM. Considering the processing accuracy and other
factors, the size should not be too small. Also, considering the compactness of the structure, the
size should not be too large.)
The final optimized size of the microgripper is shown in table 1. It can be concluded that the
calculated magnification of the mechanism is Ramp=48.3.
 Table 1. Optimized dimensions.
Parameter Description Value
l 1 × t1 Flexure arms dimensions 9.10×0.60 mm2
l 2 × t2 Flexure beam dimensions 3.30×0.20 mm2
l 3 × t3 Rectangular flexure hinges dimensions 1.0×0.20 mm2
l4 Lever short arm dimensions 1.84 mm
l5 Lever long arm dimensions 16.56 mm
θ Flexure arms angle dimensions 8°
4. Finite element analysis (FEA)
4.1 Performance analysis
Based on the optimized parameters, the finite element analysis is carried out on the two-stage
amplification mechanism in parallel connection and the traditional two-stage amplification

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mechanism respectively. An input displacement of 10 μm is applied along the positive direction of
the Y-axis at the input end, and the displacement cloud diagram is shown in Figure 6. It can be
seen that the tip amplification ratio of the microgripper with parallel connection design is 23.4.

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The tip amplification ratio of the traditional single-drive design of the microgripper is 19.2, and
the corresponding stress is 186.5 MPa. Compared with the traditional single-drive design of the
microgripper, the amplification performance of the microgripper with parallel connection design is
improved by 21.9%.
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When a force of 1 N is applied to the input end of the mechanism, the maximum output
displacement of two-stage amplification mechanism in parallel connection is 0.051 μm, and the
maximum output displacement of traditional two-stage amplification mechanism is 0.075 μm. We
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can obtain the corresponding stiffnesses as

k1in  Fin Sin  1 0.051  19.61 N  m (35)

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k2in  Fin Sin  1 0.107  13.33 N  m (36)

We can find that the stiffness of the improved mechanism is increased by 47%.
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(a) (b)
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(c) (d)
Figure 6. FEA results of the proposed microgripper: (a) output displacement of two-stage
amplification mechanism in parallel connection, (b) output displacement of traditional two-stage
amplification mechanism (c) stiffness of two-stage amplification mechanism in parallel
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connection, and (d) stiffness of traditional two-stage amplification mechanism
The working bandwidth is an important parameter for evaluating the performance of the
DAM. Based on this, the dynamic simulation of the two types of mechanisms is carried out, and
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the first six modes are taken. The corresponding modal frequencies and mode shapes are shown in
Figure 7. Among them, in the first mode shape of the microgripper with parallel connection design,
the bridge-type mechanism drives the parallelogram mechanism to move inward. It is the same as
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the deformation of the clamping displacement direction of the mechanism jaws, which is the
natural frequency of the mechanism, and its frequency is 489 Hz. In the first mode shape of the
microgripper with the traditional single-drive design. The bridge-type mechanism drives the
parallelogram mechanism to move outward. It is the same as the deformation of the jaw opening
a

and displacement direction of the mechanism, which is the natural frequency of the mechanism,
and its frequency is 411 Hz. The higher the natural frequency of the mechanism, not only can the
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dynamic response of the mechanism be improved, but also external vibration can be isolated.
Among them, the natural frequency of the microgripper designed with parallel connection is
significantly higher than that of the traditional single-drive design of the microgripper.
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(a)
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(b)
Figure 7. FEA results of the first six mode shapes of the microgripper: (a) traditional two-stage
amplification mechanism, and (b) two-stage amplification mechanism in parallel connection.
5. Experimental results and discussion
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5.1. Physical model and experimental verification of microgripper
As shown in Figure 8, the material of the microgripper is 7075-T651 aluminum alloy, and the
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processing method adopts low-speed WEDM，which can improve the processing accuracy. Before
processing, select the working fluid, select and correct the electrode wire, process the wire hole on
the workpiece, and clamp and align the workpiece. Use the keyboard to input the processing
program, and implement a small number of multiple cuts during the processing. The piezoelectric
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actuator is placed inside the mechanism, and the piezoelectric actuator is fixed by preload bolt. Fix
the assembled microgripper on the base through fixing nuts, and fix the base on the precision
positioning platform.
The experimental setup is shown in Figure 9, it mainly consists of an E01 modular
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piezoelectric ceramic controller, a piezoelectric actuator with resistance strain gauges, and an
LVBT micrometer. E01 modular piezoelectric ceramic controller includes amplifier module,
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sensing module and main control module. The piezoelectric actuator (XMT 150/5*5/18) extends
out six wires, drive+ and drive- are connected to the amplifier module, and the remaining four
wires are connected to the sensing module. The LVBT micrometer was used to acquire the output
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displacement of the microgripper, which resolution is 10 nm. In order to eliminate the external
interference as much as possible, all the devices were installed on the high performance vibration
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isolation platform.
To examine the characteristics and performance of the proposed microgripper, an open-loop
control scheme and a closed-loop control scheme for the piezoelectric actuator are presented,
respectively. Figure 10 (a) shows the block diagram of the open-loop control scheme, and Figure
10 (b) shows the block diagram of the closed-loop control scheme. The jaw spacing was defined
as the initial opening when the microgripper was not powered. After the piezoelectric ceramic is
energized, the jaws start to close, and the value recorded by the laser displacement sensor is
defined as the tip output displacement of the jaw.
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Figure 8. Physical model of microgripper

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Figure 9. Experimental setup of the microgripper.

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Figure 10. Control scheme: (a) open-loop control scheme, and (b) closed-loop control scheme.
The open-loop control experiment is carried out. Figure 11 (a) shows the relationship
between the input displacement and the piezoelectric actuator driving voltage, and Figure 12 (b)
shows the relationship between the output displacement and the piezoelectric actuator driving
voltage. The results confirm the nonlinear characteristics and hysteresis of the piezoelectric
material. When the input voltage is 150 V, the maximum output displacement of the piezoelectric
actuator is 8.72 μm, which is larger than the nominal output displacement of the piezoelectric
actuator. Under the condition of open-loop control, when the driving voltage is 30 V, the
telescopic displacement difference of the piezoelectric actuator reaches the maximum value,
which is 0.9 μm. Due to this hysteresis effect of the piezoelectric actuator, the output displacement
of the mechanism is also affected. Figure 11 (c) shows the relationship between the input
displacement of the mechanism and the calculated value, the output displacement of the FEA
value and the experimental value. Among them, the calculated magnification is 48.3, the FEA
magnification is 46.8, and the experimental magnification is 45.2. The values of the magnification
obtained by the three methods are close, which proves the rationality of the design. The rhombic
mechanism has two input ends. In this paper, one end is fixed, and the input displacement is
generated through the other end. Therefore, during the operation of the mechanism, the flexure
beam linking the first-stage mechanism and the second- stage mechanism will bend, and the force
and displacement transmitted through the flexure beam will produce deviations, which is why the
theoretical calculation value is greater than the FEA value and the experimental value. The
machining accuracy error of the microgripper during the machining process and the measurement
error during the experiment are unavoidable, which is why the experimental value is smaller than
the FEA value.

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(a)
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(b)
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(c)
Figure 11. Open-loop control experimental results for (a) input voltage vs input displacement, (b)
input voltage vs output displacement, and (c) input and output displacement relationship.
In order to effectively solve the nonlinear characteristics and hysteresis of the piezoelectric
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actuator, a closed-loop control experiment was carried out. Figure 12 (a) shows the relationship
between the input displacement and the driving voltage of the piezoelectric actuator, and Figure 12
(b) shows the relationship between the output displacement and p the driving voltage of the
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piezoelectric actuator. It can be seen that there is a good linear relationship between the output
displacement and the driving voltage. Under the closed-loop control condition, when the driving
voltage is 15 V, the telescopic displacement difference of the piezoelectric actuator reaches the
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maximum value, which is 0.03 μm. Redoing 60 cycles of driving voltage from 0 V to 150 V to 0 V,
recording a data point every 15 V, as shown in Figure 12 (c). The results show that the developed
microgripper can achieve high-precision motion.
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(a)
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(b)

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(c)
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Figure 12. Closed-loop control experimental results for (a) input voltage vs input displacement, (b)
input voltage vs output displacement, and (c) input and output displacement relationship.
Figure 13 shows the grasping process of a gold wire with a diameter of 100 μm.
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Figure. 13 Grasping the gold wire: (a) initial phase, (b) closing phase, and (c) opening phase.
5.2 Performance comparison
Table 2 shows the actual amplification ratio of similar microgrippers and its error with the
calculated amplification ratio. It can be seen that the calculation error of the mechanism without
optimal design is relatively large ([34] and [35]). The relative error of the mechanism with the
natural frequency as the optimization objective function is small, but it will reduce the
amplification ratio of the mechanism ([36] and [37]). The mechanism that takes the amplification
ratio as the optimization objective function has superior amplification performance, but the
calculated error is larger than that of the mechanism that takes the natural frequency as the
optimization objective function ([38]). In References [34-38], the calculation method for the
magnification of multi-stage amplification mechanism mainly adopts the multiplication of
multiple single-stage amplification mechanisms, ignoring the influence of impedance on
magnification. In this paper, based on the energy conservation method and flexure beam theory,
the impedance value is calculated. The reported parallel driving method effectively improves the
experimental magnification of the mechanism and reduces the calculation error of the mechanism.
At the same time, the amplification ratio and structural stiffness of the mechanism have good
values.
Table 2. Performance comparison with similar microgrippers.
Microgripper Amplification ratio Calculated error Stiffness Amplification stage
Reference [34] 16.8 482.1% - Three-stage
Reference [35] 11.1 99.1% 3.32 N/μm Two-stage
Reference [36] 22.8 24.3% 5.74 N/μm Three-stage
Reference [37] 8.10 18.8% - Three-stage
Reference [38] 30.3 70.0% - Three-stage
Present work 45.2 3.2% 19.61 N/μm Two-stage

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6 Conclusion
On the one hand, based on the law of energy conservation and the flexure beam theory, the

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impedance value of the two-stage amplification mechanism is calculated, and then the
magnification of the mechanism is accurately calculated. On the other hand, a
parallel-connection-driving concept is proposed to effectively reduce the output displacement loss

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of the two-stage amplification mechanism. The piezoelectric ceramics with the strain gauges are
connected with the controller to realize closed-loop control, thereby realizing the linear output of
the piezoelectric actuator. Under the action of a driving voltage of 150 V, the output displacement
of the microgripper is 197.1 μm, achieving a displacement amplification of 45.2 times. The
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calculated, simulated and experimental values are close, which proves the correctness of the
calculation method. The microgripper successfully grabbed a 100 μm gold wire in parallel. The
parallel connection-driven method given in this paper provides a useful reference for improving
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the performance of the microgripper.

Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant
a

No. 11872164), National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No.
2018YFA0702802).
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Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Biographies
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Xiaodong Chen received the B.Eng. degree from Northwest

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University of Technology, Xian, China, in 2017, and the M.Sc.

degrees from Liaoning University of Petroleum& Chemical
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Technology, Fushun, in 2020. He is currently working toward

the Ph.D. degree in Aerospace Institute from Harbin Institute
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of Technology, Harbin, China. From 2022 to 2023, He is a

joint PhD of the national foundation of China, Nanyang
Technological University, Singapore. His current research
interests include compliant mechanism and its control
technology, mechatronics technology.

Zhimin Xie received the Ph.D. degree in Aerospace Institute

from Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China, in 1999.
He is currently a Professor at Harbin Institute of Technology.
He was an associate professor of Tianjin University, associate
professor of South China University of technology in 2002, an
associate professor of Harbin University of technology in 2003, a professor of Harbin University
of technology in 2009, and a doctoral supervisor in 2010. his research directions include rubber
and rubber composite material mechanics, composite material interface mechanics design,
acoustic metamaterials, and space inflatable deployment structures.

Renhao Shen received the M.Sc. degree from Harbin Institute

o f Te c h n o l o g y, H a r b i n , C h i n a , i n 2 0 0 5 .
He is currently engaged in the research and demonstration of
intelligent manufacturing of complex products,
deep learning of big data, multi-modal

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large and system simulation.

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Xuejiao Feng received the M.Sc. degree from Harbin Medical

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Sciences University, Harbin, China, in 2022. She is currently a

doctor at the Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University. Her
current research interests are medical equipment.
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Huifeng Tan received the Ph.D. degree in Aerospace Institute

from Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China, in 1994.
He is currently a Professor at Harbin Institute of Technology.
From 2003 to 2004, He is a visiting scholar of the national
foundation of China, Technical University of Munich,
Germany. He is a deputy director of national key laboratory of science and technology on
advanced composites in special environments, HIT, China. His research interests include new
methods and technologies of flexure materials and structures, exploring innovative solutions for
the construction, functionalization and lightweighting of advance structures.

Tai Kang obtained his B.Eng. (1st Class Honours) in

Mechanical Engineering from the National University of
Singapore in 1990. In 1992 he left to pursue his Ph.D. at the
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in
London, after which he returned to Singapore in 1995 to join

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Nanyang Technological University (NTU) as a faculty
member and he is currently an associate professor there. From

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2001 to 2004 he was concurrently appointed as a faculty
fellow of the Singapore-MIT Alliance, and since 2014 he has
been concurrently appointed as a fellow of the Renaissance
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Engineering Programme at NTU. He is a member of ASME
and ISSMO. His research interests include optimization,
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evolutionary computation, computational geometry, structural
design optimization, mathematical/empirical modeling of industrial processes, and analysis of
risks and vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure interdependencies/networks.
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CRediT authorship contribution statement

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Author Statement: Conceptualization, X.C.; methodology, X.C. and H.T.; software, X.C.;
validation, X.C and K.T.; formal analysis, Z.X. and R.S.; investigation, Z.X. and X.F.; resources,
H.T.; data curation, K.T.; writing—original draft preparation, X.C.; writing—review and editing,
X.C. and K.T.; project administration, H.T.; funding acquisition, H.T.

Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal
relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Graphical abstract

On the one hand, based on the law of energy conservation and the flexure beam theory, the
impedance value of the two-stage amplification mechanism is calculated, and then the
magnification of the mechanism is accurately calculated. On the other hand, a
parallel-connection-driving-method is proposed to effectively reduce the output displacement loss
of the two-stage amplification mechanism.

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Highlights:
(1) A parallel-connection-driving concept is proposed in this paper.
(2) The impedance calculation method of multi-stage mechanism is given in this paper.
(3) A low displacement loss microgripper is proposed in this paper.