Preliminary study on inchworm mechanism using displacement-amplified electromagnetic actuators

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Nabae, Hiroyuki^a

Affiliations: [a] Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ookayama, Tokyo, Japan E-mails: nabae@mes.titech.ac.jp, nabae@ieee.org

Correspondence: [*] Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-I54 Ookayama, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan. E-mail: nabae@mes.titech.ac.jp, nabae@ieee.org

Abstract: Displacement-amplified electromagnetic actuators (DAEAs) have been developed for efficiently using the electromagnetic attractive force by magnifying the motion of the change of a gap in which the electromagnetic attractive force is generated. This method enables us to use the large electromagnetic force with the gap being small for a larger stroke. This study applies DAEAs to an inchworm mechanism to realize motion on waving rails and precise positioning. A prototype was developed, and a fundamental experiment revealed the performance of the proposed inchworm mechanism.

Keywords: Electromagnetic actuator, displacement amplification, inchworm mechanism

DOI: 10.3233/JAE-171026

Journal: International Journal of Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 505-511, 2019