Monolithic parallel linear compliant mechanism for two axes ultraprecision linear

motion
Kee-Bong Choi and Doo-Hyeong Kim

Citation: Review of Scientific Instruments 77, 065106 (2006); doi: 10.1063/1.2207368

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 REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS 77, 065106 2006

Monolithic parallel linear compliant mechanism for two axes ultraprecision

linear motion
Kee-Bong Choia and Doo-Hyeong Kim
Intelligent and Precision Machinery Research Division, Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials,
171 Jang-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-343, Republic of Korea
Received 13 February 2006; accepted 1 May 2006; published online 21 June 2006
In this study, a new parallel linear compliant mechanism is presented for two axes ultraprecision
linear motion. The compliant mechanism for ultraprecision motion is chiefly implemented by
monolithically machined flexures. Therefore, considerable interest has focused on a compliant
mechanism structure based on flexures. The design of a parallel linear compliant mechanism for two
linear motions based on flexures requires that the compliant mechanism has a structure to reduce
rotational parasitic motion. In addition, the flexures should be deformed by the bending moment
rather than axial force. In order to satisfy these requirements, a compliant mechanism consisting of
quad-symmetric simple parallel linear springs and quad-symmetric double compound linear springs
is proposed. The compliant mechanism is designed using a mathematical model and analyzed by the
finite element method. The compliant mechanism is integrated with piezoelectric elements for
driving forces and capacitance-type displacement sensors into an ultraprecision stage for two linear
motions. Experiments demonstrate the performance of the ultraprecision stage implemented by the
compliant mechanism. 2006 American Institute of Physics. DOI: 10.1063/1.2207368

I. INTRODUCTION
Ultraprecision stages with nanometer resolution and sev-
eral micrometers traveling range are utilized in coarse-fine
positioning systems, ultraprecision machining centers, wafer
stages, and as scanners for atomic force microscopes. The
typical ultraprecision stage consists of a compliant mecha-
nism with flexures for a motion guide, piezoelectric elements
for actuation, and ultraprecision sensors for displacement
measurement. Since the motion accuracy of the ultrapreci-
sion stage depends on a compliant mechanism, considerable
interest has focused on the structure of the compliant mecha-
nism.
A flexure is an elastic joint, which connects rigid bodies
or links, for small displacement. The flexure is a relatively
slender part as compared to the other parts in a body. The
slender part can be monolithically manufactured by machin-
ing techniques, such as wire electric discharge machining, jig
boring, and etching. Compliant mechanisms, consisting of
rigid bodies and flexures, play important roles in nanoposi-
tioning, nanomachining, and nanomeasuring mechanisms.
Their utility in this regard can be largely attributed to the
characteristics of the flexures, including a linear force-
displacement relation and friction-free, fine, continuous
motion.1
The conventional flexure-based linear compliant mecha-
nism for two axes ultraprecision motions can be classified
into serial and parallel types. In the serial linear compliant
mechanism,2 one axis linear flexure mechanism is attached to
another axis linear compliant mechanism. This type of com-
pliant mechanism has the disadvantages that dynamic char-
a
Electronic mail: kbchoi@kimm.re.kr
acteristics of one axis are different from those of the other
axis, and positional errors produced from each axis are accu-
mulated in the final axis. Therefore, the parallel linear com-
pliant mechanism is preferred over the serial mechanism as it
overcomes the disadvantages of the latter.
In the design of a parallel linear compliant mechanism
for two linear motions based on flexures, it is important that
the resonance frequency of the rotational mode be greater
than twice that of the translational mode in order to reduce
rotational parasitic motion. In addition, the flexure should be
deflected by the bending moment rather than by the axial
force, because the deformation due to the axial force is
smaller than that due to the bending moment when the same
force is applied to the end of the flexure. Conventionally, a
two axes parallel linear compliant mechanism uses quad-
symmetric crab-leg flexures or quad-symmetric compound
flexures. The former have been implemented in piezoelectric
element-driven stages3 and an electromagnetic stage,4
whereas the latter have been implemented in microelectro-
mechanical system MEMS structures.510 Compared to the
former mechanism, the latter can reduce the rotational para-
sitic error. However, the latter mechanism has the disadvan-
tage of limited displacement since some flexures in the
mechanism require tensile extension.
In this study, a parallel linear compliant mechanism is
presented for two axes ultraprecision linear motion. The
compliant mechanism consists of quad-symmetric simple
parallel linear springs and quad-symmetric double compound
linear springs. While the simple parallel linear springs guide
the linear motion of a moving plate, the double compound
linear springs follow the motion of the simple parallel linear
spring as well as compensate for the parasitic motions caused
by the simple parallel linear springs. The linear springs are

0034-6748/2006/776/065106/7/$23.00 77, 065106-1 2006 American Institute of Physics

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 065106-2 K.-B. Choi and D.-H. Kim Rev. Sci. Instrum. 77, 065106 2006

FIG. 1. Simple parallel linear spring.

designed using leaf-type flexures that are deformed by bend-

ing moment rather than by axial force. The compliant mecha-
nism is designed using a mathematical model and analyzed
by the finite element method. The compliant mechanism is
then integrated with piezoelectric elements for driving forces
and capacitance-type displacement sensors into an ultrapre-
cision stage for two linear motions. Experiments demonstrate
the performance of the ultraprecision stage implemented by
the compliant mechanism.

II. TWO AXES PARALLEL LINEAR COMPLIANT

MECHANISM
Consider a simple parallel linear spring as shown in Fig.
1, where two parallel leaf-type flexures are connected be-
tween a moving plate and a fixed frame. When the moving
plate is applied by a force Fx, the flexures undergo a deflec-
tion x and a parasitic error ey generated intrinsically. The
relationship between the parasitic error and the deflection
along the moving direction is1
3x2
ey = , 1
5l
where l is the length of the flexure. Although the parasitic
error produced intrinsically cannot be eliminated, it can be
reduced by long flexures or short displacement.
Figure 2 shows a parallel linear compliant mechanism
for two axes translational motions. This mechanism consists
of a moving plate, quad-symmetric simple parallel linear
springs, and quad-symmetric double compound linear
springs, instead of quad-symmetric auxiliary moving plates
as shown in Fig. 2a. The double compound linear spring is
composed of an inner plate, symmetric outer plates, and leaf-
type flexures. The flexures connect the inner plate to the
outer plates, and the outer plates to the fixed frame. The
inner plate of the double compound linear spring is allowed
to move linearly between two outer plates by only the bend-
ing deflection of the flexures. Thus the double compound
linear spring guides the motion of the moving plate transmit-
ted through the simple parallel linear spring. In addition, the
double compound linear spring compensates for the parasitic
motion generated in the traverse direction of the simple par-
allel linear spring due to the pure bending deflection for the
linear motion. The operation of the parallel linear compliant
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FIG. 2. Parallel linear compliant mechanism for two axes translational mo-
tions. a Structure of parallel linear compliant mechanism. b Operational
principle.
mechanism is shown in Fig. 2b. When forces Fx and Fy are
applied to the moving plate of the parallel linear compliant
mechanism, the moving plate moves x and y. The inner
plates of the double compound linear springs for the x and y
axes then move x ex and y ey, due to the motion of
the moving plate and the parasitic motions of the simple
parallel linear springs.
III. MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF PARALLEL LINEAR
COMPLIANT MECHANISM
Consider a rigid body i connected to multirigid bodies
with multiflexures. The rigid body i is connected to nb rigid
bodies with flexures. The rigid body i and another rigid body
hold nh flexures in common. Figure 3 shows the kth flexure
between the rigid bodies i and j. When only the planar mo-
tions of the rigid bodies are considered, vector dijk is the
displacement from the origin of the rigid body i to the start-
ing point oijk of the kth flexure, which is expressed by
dijk = dxijk dyijkT . 2
Vector hijk is the displacement from the starting point oijk of
the kth flexure to the end point o jik of the kth flexure, which
is expressed by
 065106-3 Parallel linear compliant mechanism Rev. Sci. Instrum. 77, 065106 2006

nh
Kij = DijkHijkKijkDTjik , 11
k=1

where the matrices Dijk and Hijk are

1 0 0
Dijk = 0 1 0 , 12
dyijk dxijk 1

1 0 0
Hijk = 0 1 0 . 13
hyijk hxijk 1
FIG. 3. Two rigid bodies connected by a flexure.
In addition, the stiffness matrix expressed by the reference
coordinate O-XY is
hijk = hxijk hyijkT . 3
Assuming that the mass of the flexure is ignored, the Kijk = RijkKoijkRTijk . 14
equation of motion of the rigid bodies expressed in a matrix where Koijk is the 3 3 stiffness matrix of a flexure, which is
form is expressed by the flexure coordinate oijk-xijky ijk. The stiffness
matrix is expressed by the inverse of a compliance matrix.
Mq + Kq = Q, 4 When the dimensions of a prismatic beam are a and b with
respect to the x and y axes, and the depth is c, the compli-
where the equivalent mass matrix M is
ance matrix Co is given by12

M1 0 0
a
0 M2 0 0 0
M = , 5 Ebc
] ]
]
4a3 6a2
0 0 M nb Co = 0 , 15
Eb3c Eb3c
the equivalent stiffness matrix K is 6a2 12a
0
Eb3c Eb3c

K11 K12 K1nb
where E is the elastic modulus of the material. In addition, in
K21 K22 K2n Eq. 14, Rijk is a 3 3 transform matrix rotated by from
K = b , 6 the world coordinate O-XY to the flexure coordinate oijk-
]
]
xijky ijk as follows:
Knb1 Knb1 Knbnb

cos sin 0
the displacement vector q is Rijk = sin cos 0 . 16
q = q1 q2 qnb , T
7 0 0 1
As shown in Fig. 4, the parallel linear compliant mecha-
and the force vector Q is nism is augmented to amplify the displacement such that it
Q = Q1 Q 2 Q nb T . 8 has 16 rigid bodies and 44 flexures. The rigid body 0 is a
fixed frame and the other rigid bodies from 1 to 15 are mov-
In Eq. 5, the element of the equivalent mass matrix is ing bodies. Bodies 1 and 2 are for a displacement-
amplification mechanism. Since the size of the element ma-

Mi =
mi 0
0 Jz
, 9
trices in the equivalent mass matrix and the equivalent
stiffness matrix of Eqs. 911 is 3 3 and the number of
moving bodies is 15, the size of the equivalent mass matrix
where mi is a 2 2 mass matrix of the ith rigid body and Jzi and the equivalent stiffness matrix of Eqs. 5 and 6 is 45
is the z-directional mass inertia moment of the ith rigid body. 45.
In Eq. 6, the elements of the equivalent stiffness matrix The characteristic equation of Eq. 4 is
are11
I M1K = 0, 17
nb nh

Kii =
k=1
DijkK jikDTijk , 10 where is the characteristic root and I is an identity matrix.
Resonance frequencies can be obtained by solving Eq. 17
j=0
ji as follows:
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 065106-4 K.-B. Choi and D.-H. Kim Rev. Sci. Instrum. 77, 065106 2006

IV. DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF PARALLEL LINEAR

COMPLIANT MECHANISM

After the shapes and the sizes of the moving bodies in

the parallel linear compliant mechanism are fixed, only the
flexures are considered for design. Some constraints are con-
sidered as follows: first, the translational resonance fre-
quency of the moving plate in the parallel linear compliant
mechanism, f T, is bounded for

f 0 f f T f 0 + f , 20

where f 0 is the desired frequency and f is the allowable

frequency deviation; next, the rotational resonance frequency
f R is greater than the translational resonance frequency f T as
follows:

fR cf fT, 21

where c f is a constant over 2; finally, the maximum stress

max is lower than the yield stress Y of the material as
follows:
FIG. 4. Structure of the parallel linear compliant mechanism with
displacement-amplification mechanism. Y
max , 22
Sf

where S f is a safety factor.

fi =
1
i , 18 The maximum stress is generated at the ends of the flex-
2 ures. When the moving plate reaches a maximum displace-
ment, the maximum stress is
where f i and i are the ith modal frequency and the ith char-
acteristic root. b
A static force-displacement relationship is obtained by max = 3KtE max , 23
a2
Eq. 4 when the acceleration vector q is zero. When forces
are applied to the rigid bodies, the output displacement vec- where Kt is the stress concentration coefficient and max is
tor is the maximum displacement of the moving plate.
For calculation of the constraints 2022, the values of
q = K1Q. 19 f 0, f, c f , S f , Kt, and max are chosen as 200 Hz, f 0 / 10, 2.5,

TABLE I. Designed parameters of the parallel linear compliant mechanism.

Parameter Description Value

m 1, m 2 Masses of bodies 1 and 2 20.136 kg

m3 m10 Masses from bodies 310 0.359 102 kg
m11 m14 Masses from bodies 1114 0.512 101 kg
m15 Mass of body 15 0.323 kg
I 1, I 2 Inertia moments of bodies 1 and 2 170 106 kg m2
I3 I10 Interia moments from bodies 310 0.138 106 kg m2
I11 I14 Inertia moments from bodies 1114 26.2 106 kg m2
I15 Inertia moments of body 15 1259 106 kg m2
aS bS cS Dimensions of flexure for simple parallel 20 0.8 20 mm3
linear spring
aD bD cD Dimensions of flexure for double compound 20 0.8 20 mm3
linear spring
aAB bAB cAB Dimensions of flexure connected between 33.3 0.8 20 mm3
mechanical amplification mechanism to
base frame
aAD bAD cAD Dimensions of flexure connected between 10 0.8 20 mm3
mechanical amplification mechanism and
double compound liner spring

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 065106-5 Parallel linear compliant mechanism
FIG. 5. Rotational parasitic motion.
10, 1.1, and 100 m, respectively. Table I shows the de-
signed parameters of the parallel linear compliant mecha-
nism. The translational and the rotational resonance frequen-
cies calculated by Eq. 18 and the parameters in Table I are
198.2 and 826.3 Hz, respectively. These frequencies satisfy
constraints 20 and 21. In addition, the maximum stress on
the ends of the flexures at the maximum displacement of the
moving plate is 47.5 MPa, which satisfies constraint 22.
The translational and rotational stiffnesses of the com-
pliant mechanism calculated by Eq. 19 are 0.734 N / m
and 37.0 kN m / rad, respectively. The gain of the compliant
mechanism can be calculated as the ratio of the output dis-
placement of body 15 over the input forces F1 and F2 applied
to bodies 1 and 2 as shown in Fig. 4. The calculated gain of
the compliant mechanism is 0.454 m / N.
The rotational parasitic motion of the moving plate is
FIG. 6. Modal analyses results analyzed by FEM: a Translational mode
190 Hz, b translational mode 190 Hz, and c rotational mode
518 Hz.
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Rev. Sci. Instrum. 77, 065106 2006
FIG. 7. Static deformation analyzed by FEM.
also calculated using Eq. 19. As forces F1 and F2 are ap-
plied to bodies 1 and 2, body 15 translates with a parasitic
rotation. Figure 5 shows the calculated parasitic rotations of
body 15. When the translations of body 15 are symmetric
along the x and y axes, the parasitic rotation is not induced
by the symmetric structure of the compliant mechanism.
However, as the translations of body 15 are asymmetric
along the x and y axes, the parasitic rotation increases. When
the translation of body 15 reaches 100 m along one axis,
the parasitic rotation of 0.082 rad is produced. However,
the produced parasitic rotation is so small that it can be ig-
nored.
Finite element method FEM analyses were performed
using ANSYS. The geometry of the parallel linear compliant
mechanism was constructed by a two-dimensional model.
SHELL63, a two-dimensional 2D four-node structural shell
element, was chosen for the mesh generation. The meshes of
the flexures should be very fine relative to the moving bod-
ies. The node length on the edges of the flexures was
0.4 mm. Since the mesh for the moving bodies was gener-
ated automatically, the mesh farther away from the flexures
was made coarser. The flexures and the rigid bodies are as-
sumed to be the same material.
The resonance modes of the moving plate are shown in
Fig. 6. The two translational modal frequencies are 190 Hz,
as shown in Figs. 6a and 6b. The rotational modal fre-
quency is 518 Hz, as shown in Fig. 6c. The translational
modal frequency analyzed by the FEM shows agreement
with the translational resonance frequency calculated by the
mathematical model, with error of 4%. However, the rota-
tional modal frequency analyzed by the FEM shows 37%
error for the rotational resonance frequency calculated by the
mathematical model. This error is caused by the deformation
of the moving bodies. Although the moving bodies are as-
sumed to be rigid bodies in the mathematical model, the
FEM result for the rotational mode shows that the inner
plates, bodies 1114, are deformed at the rotational modal
frequency, as shown in Fig. 6c.
An alternative FEM analysis was carried out after the
elastic modulus of the rigid bodies was set to 100 times that
of the flexures without changing the elastic modulus of the
 065106-6 K.-B. Choi and D.-H. Kim Rev. Sci. Instrum. 77, 065106 2006

FIG. 8. Manufactured two axes parallel linear ultraprecision stage.

FIG. 10. Working range of ultraprecision stage.

flexures, so as to decrease the deformation of bodies 1114.

FEM results show two translational modal frequencies of shown in Fig. 8. The mechanism was monolithically ma-
193 Hz and a rotational modal frequency of 788 Hz. The chined by wire electrical discharge machining. The material
differences between these modal frequencies and the reso- of the mechanism is aluminum 7075. The motion of the
nance frequencies calculated by the mathematical model are moving plate is measured by the capacitance-type displace-
less than 5%. Therefore, the modal frequencies analyzed by ment sensors, which are attached to the initial position ad-
FEM results are less than the calculated resonant frequen- justment mechanisms fixed to the base frame, with nanom-
cies. This discrepancy is attributed to the deformation of the eter resolution.
objects, which are assumed as rigid bodies.
The stress distribution was analyzed by FEM when the V. EXPERIMENTS
moving plate reaches a maximum displacement. The maxi-
The frequency response of the parallel linear compliant
mum stress of 44.1 MPa was generated at the ends of the
mechanism was measured by a fast Fourier transform FFT
flexures of the simple parallel linear springs. The analyzed
spectrum analyzer. Figure 9 shows the experimental results
maximum stress is close to the calculated value, with error of
of two resonance frequencies. The measured resonance fre-
less than 10%.
The translational and rotational stiffnesses of the com-
pliant mechanism were analyzed as 0.730 N / m and
36.3 kN m / rad, respectively. When the 100 N forces are ap-
plied to bodies 1 and 2, the compliant mechanism is de-
formed as shown in Fig. 7. Then the gain was 0.451 m / N.
The analyzed values are close to the calculated values.
The parasitic rotation of 0.143 rad was produced when
body 15 reaches 100 m along the x axis by the force ap-
plied to body 1. The analyzed parasitic rotation is a little
greater than the calculated one, but it can be neglected.
An ultraprecision stage is implemented by the two axes
parallel linear compliant mechanism augmented by two
displacement-amplification mechanisms, two stack-type pi-
ezoelectric elements, two capacitance-type displacement sen-
sors, and two initial position adjustment mechanisms, as

FIG. 11. Experimental results of stepwise responses: a x axis and b y

FIG. 9. Experimental results by FFT spectrum analyzer. axis.
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 065106-7 Parallel linear compliant mechanism
quencies are 186 Hz for the translational mode and 432 Hz
for the rotational mode. In the translational mode, the experi-
mental result is very close to the FEM analysis result,
whereas in the rotational mode, the experimental result
shows an error of 17% relative to the FEM analysis result.
The error here is thought to be attributable to the machining
error in the inner plates of the double compound linear
springs.
The working range of the stage was measured by apply-
ing voltage to the piezoelectric elements. When the input
voltage sweeps between 30 and 150 V, the output displace-
ment of the moving plate shows hysteresis behavior with a
working range of about 90 m in the x and y axes, as shown
in Fig. 10. For positioning of the stage, the hysteresis behav-
ior can be compensated by a proportional and integral PI
controller.
Stepwise responses of the stage were measured using the
capacitance sensors, while the stage was controlled by the PI
controller. In the stepwise responses, as shown in Fig. 11, a
resolution of 3 nm was attained in the x and y axes.
The above experimental results indicate that the stage
implemented by the proposed parallel linear compliant
mechanism will be applicable to two axes ultraprecision po-
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Rev. Sci. Instrum. 77, 065106 2006
sitioning systems such as the fine positioning tables in
coarse-fine positioning systems, ultraprecision machining
centers, wafer stages, and atomic force microscope AFM
scanners.
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