Actuators of active piezoelectric or electrostrictive material

摘要

The actuator comprises a number of active blocks (1) of piezoelectric or electrostrictive ceramic material arranged to form a tubular structure. The blocks are arranged so that their polarizations alternate from one to the next, and are spaced by metal separators (2a, 2b). Metal strips (6) are soldered to the separators and are flexed when the active blocks slide relative to each other. An Independent claim is included for a multistep method of manufacturing an actuator according to the invention.