Principal Investigator Martin Culpepper
In general, compliant mechanisms are single-state devices, meaning there is a one-to-one relationship between the inputs (actuation) and outputs (mechanism motion). This is particularly troublesome in precision mechanisms which offer limited flexibility in performance characteristics for high cost. In this work we've demonstrated a method to make a six-axis compliant mechanism with reconfigurable performance characteristics. Experimental results show that (1) mechanism transmission ratio can be reconfigured between negative and positive numbers (2) that dynamic mode shapes may be changed and (3) that natural frequencies may be independently reconfigured. As a result, one nanopositioner (typically more than $100 000 US) may be reconfigured to do the job of several nanopositioners.