High Quantity Stack Actuators
CuX High-Performance Piezo Actuators
CuX piezo stack actuators uniquely utilize copper electrodes which deliver humidity resistant, longer lifetime and overall higher performance than traditional piezo actuators.
Unlock precision and durability with CuX piezo stack actuators offered at a value in high quantities.
The CuX series of piezo actuators offers compact, high-efficiency multilayer piezo actuator stacks designed to excel in challenging industrial and scientific applications. These stacks leverage advanced piezoceramic (PZT) materials to provide fast, precise displacement and superior durability across a wide range of operating voltages.
The Precisioneers group is offering these actuators because they deliver superior performance for our customers. Contact us for free application advice, and assistance in designing these actuators into your assemblies, or integrating them with our other precision components.
CuX Piezo Unhoused Actuator Solutions
NEW whitepaper on Housed vs. Unhoused Piezo Stack Actuators. Read why one is a better choice in most applications. Click Here To Download
CuX vs. Traditional Piezo Stacks
NEW whitepaper on the newest iteration of high-performance actuators and how they perform versus traditional piezo actuators. Click Here To Download
Key Benefits:
- Greater Stroke: Achieve up to 20% more displacement with optimized active areas.
- Reliable in Humidity & Cost-Efficient: A copper-based design ensures excellent humidity resistance and a more cost-effective solution.
- Operate at Higher Temperatures: Lead-free metal bonds guarantee durability up to 200∘C without material degradation.
- Exceptional Longevity: Tested for up to 1 billion cycles (83 Hz, 170∘C) and proven to withstand up to 95% humidity, ensuring a longer operational lifespan.
- High-Quantity Availability: Get the CuX stacks you need quickly, with high-volume production and short delivery times.
- CuX piezo stacks offer a clear business advantage beyond their advanced performance. Their extended lifetime and outstanding durability minimize maintenance and replacement needs, leading to a substantially lower total cost of ownership. The unique copper-based design also protects your budget from raw material price volatility, ensuring more consistent and reliable financial planning.
When speed is critical, CuX stacks deliver. They are volume-ready with short delivery times for standard configurations, allowing you to accelerate development and reduce your time-to-market. With scalable production, CuX is perfectly suited for OEMs and high-volume demands.
Ideal for Demanding Applications:
- Semiconductor Manufacturing: CuX stacks offer up to 20% greater stroke and a longer lifespan than conventional piezo stacks. They enable smaller assemblies with higher extension factors, making them perfect for critical semiconductor processes like wafer alignment, lithography, and mask inspection.
- Micro-Dispensing Valves: These stacks provide high-temperature stable bonding (validated up to 200∘C) and exceptional resistance to humidity and aggressive media. This ensures high repeatability and long-term reliability for microdosing and jetting applications – even in harsh conditions.
- Aerospace and Optical Systems: With fast, sub-millisecond response and higher stiffness, CuX stacks are ideal for fine optical adjustments, active stabilization, and lightweight aerospace systems where reliability, compactness, and performance are paramount.
- Microfluidics and Dosing Control: CuX actuators provide precise displacement control and low hysteresis, enabling accurate dosing of small volumes in analytical instruments and lab-on-chip platforms. They deliver repeatable microfluidic control even when temperatures and loads fluctuate.
- Vibration and Noise Control: Featuring high force density and a long cycle life, CuX actuators are well-suited for real-time vibration damping in precision equipment and vehicles. Their rapid actuation and robust construction ensure consistent performance in dynamic and high-frequency environments.
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CuX Piezo Actuators Outperform Traditional Piezo Actuators
CuX piezo stack actuators are engineered for superior performance and longevity, addressing key limitations of conventional designs. They achieve this primarily through an optimized active area that dramatically reduces mechanical stress and enhances overall reliability.
Traditional piezo actuators often concentrate mechanical stress in their inactive regions, making these zones susceptible to cracks—a risk that increases with their size. CuX stacks ingeniously minimize this vulnerability by reducing the inactive layer width to a mere 100 µm. This is a significant fourfold improvement compared to typical designs, which often feature inactive layers around 400 µm. This critical refinement not only lowers internal stress but also extends the actuator’s life, allows for higher operating voltages (up to 180 V), and delivers approximately 20% greater stroke, ultimately maximizing their actuating performance.
Designed with Internal Copper Electrodes there is Increased Efficiency and Humidity Resistance
Standard multilayer actuators commonly use silver-palladium alloys for internal electrodes. However, silver is highly susceptible to migration when exposed to humid conditions and electric fields, often resulting in internal short circuits or complete failure. CuX stacks overcome this critical flaw by utilizing copper electrodes.
Copper offers excellent resistance to ion migration, maintaining electrical integrity even in harsh environments. Beyond its mechanical stability, copper is also significantly more cost-stable than palladium. This makes CuX stacks a smart choice, delivering both superior reliability and enhanced cost-efficiency.
Inner copper-based electrodes provide significant advantages:
- Prevents Silver Migration: Eliminates the risk of silver migration between electrodes.
- Exceptional Durability: Proven to withstand 1 billion cycles at 83 Hz and 170∘ C.
- Superior Humidity Resistance: Offers outstanding protection against moisture.
- Reduced Costs: Eliminates the need for additional moisture protection which saves money.
Lead-Free Bonding: Extreme Durability at High Temperatures
During prolonged operation, an actuator’s joints connecting external electrodes face significant mechanical and thermal stress. Unlike traditional lead-based solders, which often become brittle and fail at high temperatures, CuX stacks use a lead-free, high-melting-point metallic bond.
This advanced bond remains structurally sound and flexible even under extreme thermal conditions. We’ve validated this through rigorous endurance testing: They maintain full functionality after 2,000 hours at 200∘C. In contrast, conventional solders typically fail after just 1,500 hours at 180∘C. This translates to CuX actuators offering superior thermal reliability without compromising environmental safety.
Application & Engineering Support, with Seamless Integration
Every CuX stack is manufactured to strict mechanical and electrical tolerances, and we provide comprehensive dimensional drawings, electrical specifications, and detailed integration guidelines to ensure a smooth setup.
We offer extensive support to get you up and running:
- Customization: We can stack piezos to achieve custom lengths and provide pre-wired solutions.
- Subassembly Integration: Our team can integrate CuX stacks into your mechanical subassemblies, including preload frames and stands wiring.
- System Co-Development: We’re available to co-develop complete system solutions, including control electronics, tailored to your specific needs.
- Ready-to-Use Amplifiers: We offer two feature-rich controllers for ease of use – the NV200/1 and the NV200/2.
To request the Full Datasheet use the button below. Your requested product(s) will be added to the Contact Form which you then can submit with your contact information.
Discover more Ultra-Fine Positioning Products:
in cooperation with:
Piezosystem Jena (PSJ)
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