How does the Piezoelectric Effect Work for Motion? Piezo Mechanisms for Motion Control by

Piezo BLOG: What is the Piezoelectric Effect, how does it work? What are the applications in motion control? “Piezo” is related to the Greek word for pressure. The “direct piezo effect” (pressure creates an electrical charge in certain crystals) and was discovered in the late 19th century by the Curie brothers. The direct piezo effect is used in sensor applications and for energy recovery. The “inverse piezo effect” (an applied voltage creates a change in shape in certain materials) is important for motion, positioning, sound and ultrasound transducers generation. Today most piezo applications are based on PMN ceramic materials, but other electro-ceramics such as PMN (electrostrictive materials) are also available. The inverse piezoelectric effect enables precision motion and is employed in piezo mechanisms for ultra-precision p