Elastic elements for generating a pretension force

In mechatronic machines with a high positioning accuracy (i.e. submicron positioning), it is often necessary to have a stiff connection between the machine components. It can be deduced from the mechatronic model of a machine of this type that a certain connection between components has to be stiff (but not necessarily strong). A defined pretension force between the components is needed to optimise connections for (contact) stiffness. The design principle of a harmonica bush offers an elegant solution.