Ultra-High Reliability, High Displacement, Low Power RequirementsPICA-Stack actuators are specifically designed for high-duty-cycle applications. With our extensive applications knowledge, gained over several decades, we know how to build performance that does not come at the price of reliability. All materials used are specifically matched for robustness and lifetime. Endurance tests on PICA actuators prove consistent performance, even after billions (1,000,000,000) of cycles. The combination of high displacement and low electrical capacitance provides for excellent dynamic behavior with reduced driving power requirements.
Flexibility: PI Ceramic's Strength All manufacturing processes at PI Ceramic are setup for maximum flexibility. Should our standard actuators not fit your application, let us provide you with a custom design. Our engineers will work with you to find the optimum solution for your application at a very attractive price, even for small quantities. Some of our custom capabilities are listed below:
New Production Process, Optimized PZT CeramicsPICMA® piezo actuators are made from a ceramic material in which the piezoceramic properties such as stiffness, capacitance, displacement, temperature stability, leakage current and lifetime are optimally combined. The actuators' monolithic construction and special electrode structure was made possible by advances in production technology. This development is just one reflection of the more than 30 years experience of PI Ceramic with thousands of industrial PZT applications.
Increased Lifetime through Humidity ResistanceThe monolithic, ceramic-insulated design makes polymer-film insulation unnecessary. Diffusion of water molecules into the insulation layer, the major cause of dielectric breakdown, is greatly reduced by the use of cofired, outer ceramic insulation.
AdvantagesPICMA™ Bender piezo actuators offer several advantages over classic bimorph components manufactured by gluing together two ceramic plates (0.1 to 1 mm thick): faster response time and higher stiffness. The main advantage, however, is the drastically reduced (by a factor of 3 to 10) operating voltage of 60 V only. The reduced voltage allows smaller drive electronics and new applications, such as in medical equipment. Additionally these devices offer an improved humidity resistance due to the 100% ceramic insulation.
Long Lifetime and High Performance-Ideal for Dynamic OperationPICMA™ Bender actuators are superior to conventional actuators in high-endurance situations. They show substantially longer lifetimes both in static and dynamic operation, even in harsh environments. The monolithic, ceramic-insulated design makes polymer-film insulation unnecessary. Diffusion of water molecules into the insulation layer, the major cause of dielectric breakdown, is greatly reduced by the use of cofired, outer ceramic insulation.
The high Curie temperature of 320 °C gives PICMA™ actuators a usable temperature range extending up to 150 °C, well above the 80 °C limit of conventional multilayer actuators. At the low end, operation down to a few kelvin is possible (with some reduction in performance specifications).
High Stiffness under High Duty Cycles PICA-Shear actuators exhibit high stiffness, both parallel and perpendicular to the motion direction. Based on the piezoelectric shear effect, PICA-Shear X and XY actuators show almost twice the displacement amplitudes of conventional piezo actuators at the same electric field strength. Consequently they can be made smaller and have higher resonant frequencies. This results in reduced power requirements for a given induced displacement in dynamic X- and Y-axis operation.
Ultra-High Reliability, High Displacement, Low Power RequirementsPICA actuators are specifically designed for high-duty-cycle applications. All materials used are specifically matched for robustness and lifetime. Endurance tests proved consistent performance even after billions (1,000,000,000) of cycles. The combination of high displacement and low electrical capacitance provides for excellent dynamic behavior with reduced driving power requirements.
Flexibility: PI Ceramic's Strength All manufacturing processes at PI Ceramic are set up for maximum flexibility. Should our standard actuators not fit your application, let us provide you with a custom design. Our engineers will work with you to find the optimum solution for your application, at a very attractive price, even for small quantities.
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