Design and control of a new ultrasonic stepping motor

In this paper, a systematic approach to the design of ultrasonic stepping motors (USMs) using spatially shifted standing vibrations is presented, with emphasis on the combination of the order of vibration mode, the number of spatial phase shifts, the number of electrode divisions and the number of sections to excite a mode. Based on the operating principle, the design equations and constraints are mathematically derived, hence proposing the design procedure. The finite element method is also employed to investigate the vibration of the stator. Moreover, by borrowing the idea of electromagnetic stepping motors, the half-step-operation control is newly applied to this USM so that the step size can be further halved. A 80-step USM is prototyped. The proposed design approach and control scheme are well supported by experimentation.