In the last decade, piezoelectric bimorph applications worldwide have expanded dramatically. A new class of miniature, highly-specialized instruments, alarms and sound production devices, requiring very low power consumption, are needed in countless emerging applications. Piezoelectric manufactures are now able to provide piezoelectric product solutions to companies that in the past could not afford the steep, upfront design fees, especially for their new products that sometimes take years to ramp up to sufficient production levels. Piezoelectric products are indeed very complex and can be quite difficult to design and manufacture.

Rising to this need to reduce the cost of state-of-the-art piezoelectric products, a new class of piezoelectric companies have now developed innovative production techniques to cost-effectively provide fast-to-market, low-production-run samples of multilayer piezo actuators. These specialized piezoelectric companies can now deliver testable piezo-based production samples in a matter of weeks. In the past, piezoelectric manufacturers needed to charge substantial upfront development fees, forcing companies to find other older, less power efficient solutions, instead of enjoying the incredibly cost-effective and low-power advantages of piezoelectric-based products and multi-layer piezoelectric actuators.

Piezoelectric component manufacturers are now enabling ‘short-runs’ of unique, one-of-a-kind piezoelectric bimorphs, as well as piezoelectric transducers and other classes of piezoelectric products, greatly expanding the total available market.

Piezoelectric bimorphs involve two separate pieces of piezoelectric ceramic put together in such a way that when a voltage is applied, the piece bends. This is a way to greatly magnify the power and range of a piezoelectric actuator, while using very little electrical current. While a single piezoelectric crystal can only shrink or expand by a few millimeters at most, bimorphs can bend well over ten or a hundred times that range at the same voltage. The right piezoelectric company partner can manufacture fast-turn piezoelectric product samples for a wide range of sound production products requiring extremely low power, in smartphones, miniature alarms, sophisticated micro-buzzers, electric cars and many other sound producing devices.

Piezoelectric bimorphs products are integrated into applications in the form of disc actuators, commonly seen in valve, pump, and fan control applications, especially those on a microscopic scale. For instance, in the newest class of inkjet printers, extremely small nozzles with a piezoelectric bimorph at the base are used to deploy ink more precisely than ever before.

When voltage is applied to any given piezoelectric-based component in the printer, the piece quickly flexes, sends a shockwave through the nozzles, efficiently pushing ink out the tips. This is both precise and consistent, as it is easy to control the amount of ink propelled through the nozzle, while reasonable control over the voltage applied results in very consistent movements from the piezoelectric piece. This is just one example of many emerging designs and applications being addressed by piezoelectric manufacturers.

Why Piezo Direct a Best Choice For Small to Medium Piezoelectric Production Runs?

Piezo Direct is an established piezoelectric manufacturer focused in producing and quickly delivering just the right quantities of very high quality, high performance custom piezoelectric products, built precisely to your custom design needs. Complex designs are one of our specialties, combined with extremely competitive prices normally only seen in large production runs.

Please call Piezo Direct to find out more about our wide range of piezoelectric bimorph capabilities, as well as other piezo ceramic solutions that we offer worldwide. Our engineer and design teams, with years of success in piezoelectric manufacturing, guarantees your company the best piezoelectric solution possible. You can find us online at www.piezodirect.com.

Call Piezo Direct today, at our headquarters in Burlingame California, at 650-375-7003.

What are Piezoelectric Bimorphs?

Piezoelectric bimorphs, as the name suggests, involve two separate pieces of piezoelectric ceramic put together in such a way that when a voltage is applied, the piece bends (only actuators do this, of course. Sensors and other applications may vary). This is a way to greatly magnify the power and range of a piezoelectric actuator. While a single piezoelectric crystal can only shrink or expand by a few millimeters at most, bimorphs can bend well over ten or a hundred times that range at the same voltage. These designs are extremely common in sound production; one can often find a piezoelectric bimorph in fire alarms, buzzers, and other sound producing devices.

Why would you use a Piezoelectric Bimorph?

Aside from sound production, piezoelectric bimorphs see applications in the form of disc actuators; these are commonly seen in valve, pump, and fan control, especially on a microscopic scale. An example of such is the inkjet printer. In some designs, extremely small nozzles with a piezoelectric bimorph at the base are used to deploy ink; these form a massive array of nozzles covering a page. When voltage is applied to any given piezoelectric base, the piece flexes quickly and sends a shockwave through the nozzle, pushing ink out the tip. This is both precise and consistent, as it is easy to control the amount of ink propelled through the nozzle, and reasonable control over the voltage applied results in very consistent movements from the piezoelectric piece. Again, this is just one of many many designs and applications of piezoelectric bimorphs.

Why is Piezo Direct the Best Choice?

Piezo direct makes very high quality and high performance pieces to your custom designs. Not only can we handle complex designs, but we can also provide you with very competitive prices for said designs. Quality, price, and customization is all here, and considering the very wide range of applications and designs piezoelectric bimorphs can take, it’s only natural that we are the safest choice. Shape, size, material, you name it, our engineers can guarantee satisfaction without an unreasonable cost.

What are Multilayer Piezoelectric Actuators?

Multilayer piezoelectric actuators, also known as stack actuators, is exactly what it sounds like: it’s a stack of multiple thin piezoelectric actuators. Due to several properties of piezoelectric crystals, this results in a multiplicative effect on the individual components’ output for the same voltage. In other words, where a single actuator may expand by half a millimeter at 50 volts, a stack actuator comprised of 100 of those actuators would expand by 50 millimeters for the same voltage. There are two types of multilayer piezoelectric actuators: discrete stacks and monolithic stacks, and the most important difference is that they have differing operational voltages.

Why would you use a Multilayer Piezoelectric Actuator?

Multilayer piezoelectric actuators allow one to use piezoelectric materials to apply a much wider range of forces and displacements in a similarly wide range of operational voltages. This allows piezoelectric pieces to replace pieces made from other materials in extreme conditions (i.e. vacuums), where the later would be unoperational or implausible. In other words, multilayer piezoelectric actuators amplify the power of piezoelectric actuators and effectively extend their applications.

Why is Piezo Direct the Best Choice?

Multilayer actuators intrinsically require many specifications and customizations. Everything from the operational voltage to the displacement generated can be changed based on engineering choices (i.e. how many slabs are included). Piezo Direct is perfect for that. We provide essentially total customization and specification on our multilayer piezoelectric actuators, which gives you the ability to utilize the flexibility and volatility that these actuators intrinsically have, and all at a very competitive price.