The fabrication of a new generation of high authority strain and force piezoelectric actuator driven pump is proposed. The pump comprises of a pump housing, a suction valve, a delivery valve, a liquid chamber communicating to the suction and delivery ports, and a piezoelectric actuator attached to the outer surface of a vibrating plate for closing the liquid chamber. This pump offers a new generation of high frequency and high strain piezoelectric actuator which vibrates due to the application of an AC voltage. The actuator is designed using a CAD based program and fabricated directly from the Cad file using layered manufacturing process. In this process, the Fused Deposition of Ceramic (FDC) technology will be used. In this method, the actuator is fabricated by depositing PZT powder loaded thermoplastic polymer, layer by layer, along a predefined tool path which is controlled by a computer. After binder removal, sintering, electroding, and poling, the device produces large strain under the application of an electric field.
Keywords: Actuator High Authority Interdigitated Electrodes Layered Manufacturing
