Cedrat Technologies, innovation in mechatronics

The MICA linear actuator technology (Moving Iron Controllable Actuator) is being continuously improved at CEDRAT TECHNOLOGIES (CTEC) for applications needing high controllable stroke, force, and power. The MICA20CS Proof Mas Actuator is a new actuator model, which is now completing the CTEC Proof Mass Actuator family together with the MICA300CM.

The current trend in the market to solve long boring bar related chatter problems are passive dampers integrated in the boring bar, which has derived in patents and commercial products; This solution, however, is not feasible in very slender bars or trepanning operations, due to small space available in the tool. Active damping has been tested and indus-trialised in different applications, including machine tool structures, but never in internal turning tools. The application of active damping on boring bars has been proposed in several researches...

SYNJET3C is a CleansKy2 development project aiming at improving the efficiency of Synthetic Jet Actuators (SJA), with a consortium composed of major European actors to this technology which are ONERA, FRAUNHOFER, TRISITEC, and CEDRAT TECHNOLOGIES (CTEC).

This review presents CEDRAT TECHNOLOGIES (CTEC) solutions developed for more than 20 years for Fast & fine Steering Mirrors (FSM) as required in air, space, defence & other embedded or demanding applications: Typical appli-cations are for example Lidar, free space optical communication (FSO) and Laser interferometry.

CTEC and F4E have improved and pre-qualified a MSPA piezo motor, based on a secret material and able to operate in vacuum,, non-magnetic or high temperature and sustain radiations. Its high reliability, precision and operating lifetime makes this new piezo motor perfectly suitable for space, healthcare and nuclear applications.

For more than 20 years, CTEC has been involved in various space missions, delivering products designed for severe environment conditions (vibrations, shocks, vacuum, humidity, wide thermal range including cryogenic). Eddy current sensor (ECS) technology, using printed circuit board (PCB) for printed coils, provides both a good resolution/accuracy and a good robustness against temperature variations.These sensors are available commercially off the shelf (COTS).

Free-Space Optics (FSO) for optical communication request new compact low-power high-stroke high-bandwidth Fast Steering Mirrors (FSM). To address this need, CEDRAT TECHNOLOGIES has developed a Magnetically-actuated Fast Steering Mirror called M-FSM, taking heritage of its MICA™ actuators. This FSM offers Rx Ry strokes larger than +/- 2° with a 250Hz bandwidth when tilting a 31mm diam mirror. Requested power is minimized leading to low heating. Vibration tests have been performed to define first limits and conditions for the M-FSM to bear external vibrations. Large bandwidth closed loop control is achieved using integrated eddy current sensor and a state feedback-based controller.