Will piezo technology replace magnetic technology?
No. Fundamentally, magnetic technology is based on a force which arises ‘at a distance’, without physical contact. Piezo technology is based on physical contact and elastic coupling. On an application by application basis one is usually better than the other. Take solenoid actuators as an example. Piezo actuators can be designed to replace almost any solenoid but they always come out bulkier and often heavier so it is unlikely that full scale replacement will ever occur. On the other hand, they always take much less power to operate; so in any application where power consumption is an issue, piezo actuators are preferred.
