Cedrat Technologies, innovation in mechatronics

A Limited Angle Torque (LAT) actuator has been designed by Cedrat upon request of the European Space Agency (ESA) for fine pointing applications based on gimbals assembly. The required angular stroke for this application is 13°. Other required features are controllability, high resolution, no micro vibration. Therefore the selected concept is a coil-redounded electromagnetic actuator using Lorentz force. The functional test shows that the generated torque is linear until 200mN.m, but torques up to 300mN.m are achievable.

The torque measurement usually comes from strain gauges bonded on a shatf. the main concern in this measurement is due to the fact that these gauges are also rotating and the integration of electronic on rotating parts is definitely a blocking point.

In a contact of always smaller and smarter mechatronics devices, the needs of more integrated sensors becomes critical. Particularly, small mechanisms using small actuators like piezo actuators require compact sensors, with performances that measure up to the actuators characteristics.

Recent requirements for accuracy and resolution demand higher quality in the machining of precision parts in many industries—such as optics, automotive and aerospace—by free form machining. The required operations are possible by using expensive manufacturing equipment in parallel with several processes such as grinding and polishing. By using a new fast tool servo, the so-called servo piezo tool SPT400MML, driven by a piezoelectric actuator for the precision diamond turning of non-symmetrical surfaces, components can be machined with a fast motion control of the tool (diamond or carbide).

Actuators are key elements of air- and spacecrafts. In the recent years the concept of the more-electric aircraft pushed the development of electrical actuation systems to substitute hitherto used hydraulic actuators in a broad range of applications such as flight control, landing gear and brake actuation.

Obtaining an integratable, compatible, low-cost mechanical energy source delivering a sufficient quantity of easilyaccessible energy within a miniaturised system has been the challenge of recent decades. Urgent demand for and interest in such systems will continue to increase with the development of portable microsystems.

The presented project ADLAND (AST3-CT-2004-502793) dealt with evaluating the options for adaptive shock absorbers to be applied in aircraft landing gears. Analytical design procedures were developed to simulate different potential design options and a best practice solution determined. The different hardware components regarding adaptive shock absorbers were then developed and tested with regard to adaptive landing gear model. The objectives of the project were: to develop a concept of adaptive shock-absorbers, to develop new numerical tools for design of adaptive absorbers and for simulation of the adaptive structural response to an impact scenario, to develop technology for actively controlled shock-absorbers applicable in landing gears, to design, produce and perform repetitive impact tests of the adaptive landing gear model with high impact energy dissipation effect, to design, produce and test in flight the chosen full-scale model of the adaptive landing gear.