PICMA® Bender Actuators From PI Ceramic Can Be Easily Customized

Optimum reliability and minimum dimensions make them ideal for use in medical technology

PI Ceramic (PIC): Thanks to a new type of production technology, multilayer bender actuators can be manufactured in large quantities with almost any desired contours and dimensions. Even unusual shapes such as trapezoid and internal holes with a full ceramic insulation are thus possible. The piezo actuator is protected against humidity and has a high insulation strength, which considerably increases the lifetime in comparison to conventional polymer-insulated actuators.

The height of the active layers is variable starting with a minimum height of 15 μm, so that even piezo voltages of only 10°V can be used. PICMA® bender actuators can therefore be produced in even the smallest dimensions of only a few millimeters, e.g. with a 4 x 10 mm edge length.

As a result of their flexible size and operating voltage, the PICMA® bender actuators are ideal for integration in mobile devices such as hearing aids. Here the piezo element functions as an acousto-mechanical transducer, and the sound transmission takes place e.g. via bone conduction.

In addition to reasonable prices for customized versions, PIC offers optimum support from prototypes to later series production. Since 1992, PI Ceramic (PIC) has been developing and manufacturing piezo ceramic materials and components for standard and OEM solutions: piezo components, ultrasonic transducers, actuators and system solutions. The PICMA® multilayer actuator technology, which received an award for its reliability, is one of many inventions of PIC. PI Ceramic, a subsidiary of Physik Instrumente (PI), is located in the city of Lederhose, Thuringia, Germany.