A motion actuator comprises a cylindrical movable shaft and a stage that
contains an expansible/contractible device and two clamps. The
expansible/contractible device can be controlled to drive the axial
motion of the movable shaft, and the two clamps can be controlled to
grip/release the shaft. The two clamps and the expansible/contractible
device are each controlled by a bimorph structure, which comprises a cut
cylindrical piezoelectric tube section in a hole enclosed by a thin wall
in the stage. By sequentially activating the three piezoelectric tube
sections, axial motions of the movable shaft relative to the stage in
small steps are made. Each of the two clamps can be adjusted by a screw,
which presses a spring structure that makes contact with the top surface
of the movable shaft, so that the clamps can grip the movable shaft
firmly when actuated, but not when not actuated. The flat top surface of
the movable shaft is designed to inhibit the possible rotation along its
axis during its axial motion. The shaft is supported by two lines at the
bottom of each of the two clamps to reduce the contact area, which
improves the reliability of the motion.