PRECISION X-Y MICROSTAGE WITH MANEUVERABLE KINEMATIC COUPLING MECHANISM

Within modern manufacturing, there is a growing need for microposition ing units with very fine resolution and high repeatability. In this pa per, a new micropositioning system based on the kinematic coupling is developed, and its unique path control is derived. The results show th at such a system can provide the user with the ability to exploit the inherent position repeatability of the kinematic coupling, while maint aining full two-dimensional (2-D) motion control. More importantly, th is mechanism is shown to have a mechanical amplification (leverage) th at can allow for a significant increase in the effective positioning r esolution of the position sensors employed by the actuators driving th e kinematic coupling mechanism. This may drastically reduce the cost f or achieving ultrahigh positioning resolution demanded by industry wit hout using complicated and extremely expensive actuators and position sensors.