A stick-slip actuator for suppressing the backward motion by introducing a flexible beam

Stick-slip actuators are in high demand in both scientific research and industrial applications. However, backward motion in stick-slip actuators has greatly limited further development. Therefore, to suppress the backward motion, a new flexible beam actuator is proposed in this paper. Correspondingly, a flexible beam actuator is designed to investigate whether the flexible beam can suppress the backward motion. Firstly, a driving mechanism is designed by employing the finite element and pseudo-rigid body methods. Secondly, experiments are conducted on the actuator. The results demonstrate that the actuator can achieve three different displacement curves at different driving voltages: backward motion, smooth motion, and sudden jump. The contact force of the actuator, which has the highest load capacity of 3.9 N, can be adjusted according to the initial load. The actuator achieved 23.714 mm/s at 400 Hz. Additionally, the dynamics model of the actuator is established for investigating the dynamic characteristics of the actuator. Based on the obtained results, the feasibility of suppressing backward motion by a flexible beam is confirmed in this paper, which will further broaden the scope of the application.