Design and Development of a XY Positioning Stage Using Shape Memory Alloy Spring Actuator

This paper demonstrates a working model of a 4PP (prismatic–prismatic) positioning stage where four sliders in the fixed base are associated with shape memory alloy (SMA) spring actuation individually. The end-effector of the robotic system developed has two degrees of freedom, i.e., translational in X- and Y-axis, respectively. The forward and backward movement of the developed platform is accomplished by coupling two sliders with the association of the SMA linear actuators. This model has a fixed part (the wooden base) and a movable part (end-effector). As the Nitinol SMA spring is lightweight in construction and has precise actuation, it has a wide range of applications over the other XY motion platform. Due to the deflection in the springs, the end-effector moves in both X- and Y-axis where the actuation of the SMA springs are studied with respect to the direction, and the workspace study is carried out. After the study, the comparison is done with the designed workspace. It is noted that this 4PP positioning stage has a precise actuation of springs due to the shape memory effect and provides a good workspace. Thus, it has a wide range of use in biomedical and optical applications where the motion stages are the primary requirement.