The focus of this research was to create a linear motor that could easily be packaged and still perform the same task of the current DC motor linear device. An incremental linear motor design was decided upon, for its flexibility in which the motor can be designed. To replace the current motor it was necessary to develop a high force, high speed incremental linear motor. To accomplish this task, piezoelectric actuators were utilized to drive the motor due their fast response times and high force capabilities.

The desired overall objectives of the research is to create an incremental linear motor with the capability of moving loads up to one hundred pounds and produce a velocity well over one inch per second. To aid the design process a lumped parameter model was created to simulate the motor's performance for any design parameter. Discrepancies occurred between the model and the actual motor performance for loads above 9.1 kilograms (20 pounds). The resulting model, however, was able to produce a good approximation of the motor's performance for the unloaded and lightly loaded cases.

The phase one design was limited by time constraints so a relatively low risk design was produced. The resulting incremental linear motor produced a velocity of 4.9 mm/sec (0.2 in/sec) at a drive frequency of 50 Hz. The velocity of the motor was limited by the drive frequency that the amplifiers could produce. The motor was found to produce a respectable stall load of 17 kilograms (38 pounds). The stall load of the phase one design was severely limited by clearance losses. An analysis of the motor's performance was conducted, possible improvements and future work recommendations for a phase two design are presented.