In-plane vibration measurement for miniaturized actuators

Abstract

The experiments to measure the displacement travelled by a small structure under the driving influence of a vibration motor were conducted to simulate the displacement of the head of a hard disk drive under the driving influence of attached polymeric thermal micro actuators. Test structures made of plastic and brass were crafted for the study of this experiment which were then put under forced excitations from a vibration motor and the subsequent motions were the subject of study. Experiments were carried out using a Laser Doppler Vibrometer, Photonic Sensor and High Speed Camera to detect, measure, track and validate the magnitude of the vibrations.