Linear Motion Tips provides news and information about linear guides, rotary stages, positioning stages and more. Below you will find a variety of articles about rotary stages, linear guides and related topics from industry professionals who are eager to share their knowledge and expertise.

Rotary Stage features Compact Package and Accurate Positioning

RTHM-100 compact rotation stages are designed to rotate optical components and small tooling in the confined spaces of the manufacturing processes for fiber optical components and semiconductor devices, fiber optic alignment, laser diode research, bio-medical applications and inspection systems.

The lightweight design feature low 32 mm profile height and incorporates anodized aluminum body with pre-loaded ball bearings with run-outs of 5 microns. This proprietary bearing design provides smooth rotation with minimal wobble.

A precision ground worm gear produces consistent driving torque to the rotor and eliminates variations in the motor current.

RTHM-100 stages feature an angular resolution 0.1 arc-sec, which may be achieved with either DC Servo or stepper motor controls.

The stages are equipped with a reference home sensor. RTHM-100 stages can run in continuous or start/stop rotation modes and mounted horizontally or vertically.

These stages feature zero backlash, large 50 mm center aperture and can rotate loads of 20 kg over unlimited rotation angle.

IntelLiDrives, Inc.
www.intellidrives.com

New Precision, Multi-axis Air Bearing Gantry System from Steinmeyer

BURLINGTON, MA — Steinmeyer, Inc. announced a new precision, multi- axis air bearing gantry system. This motion system consists of an XY stage utilizing air bearings plus a conventional ball screw driven Z table. It is ideal wherever there is a need for ultra high precision and outstanding dynamic performance.

Typical uses include:

- laser machining
- inspection systems
- pick and place devices
- dispensing systems, and
- gene chip production equipment.

These stages (which may be completely customized) achieve the following standard XY specifications: travel is 600 mm X 600 mm, positional accuracy is 10 microns, positioning repeatability is +/- 1 micron, straightness and flatness is 1 micron. Both X and Y stages are driven by ironless, electrodynamic linear motors with maximum acceleration of 10 m/s² and velocity of 1000 mm/s. Position feedback is accomplished via an incremental linear encoder with a resolution of 50 nm. Typical Z stage performance includes: 25 to 200 mm travel; positional accuracy of 10 microns; and repeatability of +/- 1 micron. A separate motion control option is available based on customer specifictions.

Steinmeyer
www.steinmeyer.com

Servo2Go Expands High Performance Linear Stage Series

Greenville, DE – Servo2Go has just added a new high performance linear stage series to its broad range of positioning systems.

Manufactured by Zaber Technologies Inc., the T-LSM series devices are computer-controlled motorized linear stages with high thrust and speed capabilities and a very compact size. They are stand-alone units requiring only a standard 15V power supply. A potentiometer knob at the end of the unit permits smooth manual control; turn it fully to get maximum speed. These slides connect to the RS-232 port of any computer and can be daisy-chained with up to 254 units per chain. They can also be chained with any other T-Series products. Convenient 6-pin mini din cables on the unit allow for direct interconnection between units in close proximity. For longer distances, a standard cable extension can be used.

Series Overview:

* 25 to 200 mm travel (custom options available)

* Max. centered load 100N

* Built-in controller

* Compact design featuring high speed, high thrust and high accuracy

* Mounts in an XYZ configuration without any additional hardware

* Several units can be daisy-chained to a single serial port

More information on the T-LSM series linear stages can be viewed at – http://www.servo2go.com/product.php?ID=105215

Servo2go
www.servo2go.com

High Speed Piezomotor Rotary Stage from PI

San Francisco, CA — PI (Physik Instrumente) L.P. introduces a new ultra-low profile (0.6”), direct-driven, high-speed rotary stage based on its proprietary PILine® piezomotor drive technology at this year’s SPIE Photonics West conference. The new ultra-low profile (0.6”), direct-driven, high-speed rotary stage is based on PI’s proprietary PILine® piezomotor drive technology.

The M-660 stage reaches top speeds of 720 degrees/sec. and resolution to 40 µrad (8 arcsec). Its self-locking ceramic drive holds the position steady at rest, with no energy consumption and heat generation. A directly coupled precision optical encoder provides phase lag-free, backlash-free feedback to the servo controller.

Read more

Hard-Cover, Side-Sealed Linear Stages from Aerotech

Pittsburgh, Pa. – Aerotech’s PRO Series are low cost, side seal, hard cover, ball-screw-driven linear stages available in 68 standard models with travels from 50 to 1500mm.

The PRO Series features a hard-cover design for protection from debris, while side-seals keep dirt and particulates out of the stage and protect the bearing surfaces from contamination. Aerotech’s vertical side-seal design easily deflects debris away from the stage. The tabletop can be outfitted with an optional brush assembly to remove any particles that collect on the hard cover.

Models are available with either a 5mm/rev, 20mm/rev, or25 mm/rev ball screw with a matched brushless rotary servomotor to provide maximum travel speeds up to 1400mm/sec. Specifications include ±6μm accuracy, ±1μm bidirectional repeatability, and 0.5μm resolution, depending on model, ball screw, and encoder.

These modular stages easily can be combined into custom multi-axis solutions (XY, XZ, YZ, XYZ). In addition, Aerotech’s complete line of single- and multi-axis motion controllers and drives are a perfect complement and can be included to provide a turnkey system.

The PRO Series can be outfitted with English or metric bolt-hole pattern tabletops, and a brake option is available to prevent back-driving the screw when power is removed from the servomotor. A fold-back kit is also available to effectively reduce the overall stage length for space-constrained applications.

PRO Series data sheets are available at http://www.aerotech.com/products/stages/Mechanical_bearing_ballscrew_stages.html

www.aerotech.com

Ultra Narrow Precision Linear Stage from Steinmeyer

BURLINGTON, MA — Steinmeyer, Inc. announced a new precision linear stage, the PA 30×40-SM01. This single axis system is ideal wherever there is a need for an extremely narrow positioning table. Typical uses include miniature robotics, pick and place devices, specimen handling for life sciences and scientific applications where precision positioning is required within a very narrow foot print. This compact, fully enclosed stage is only 30 mm wide and 40 mm high. Available travels range from 25 mm to 150 mm. Positioning repeatability is 1 micron, maximum speed is 50 mm/s and load capacity is 100 newton.

Included inside this precision assembly are a precision preloaded 8 mm diameter Steinmeyer ball screw, miniature size 9 linear guideway, non-contact limit switches and a choice of either stepper motor or DC servo motor with encoder. A separate motion controller is available as an option.

The Steinmeyer group is comprised of two manufacturing divisions located in Germany. August Steinmeyer GmbH & Co. KG (located in Albstadt) has been setting standards for high precision ball screws for over 40 years and prides itself on high quality, innovative designs to meet demanding customer requirements. Our Feinmess Dresden (FMD) division has been producing an extensive line of high precision positioning systems for well over 130 years.

Steinmeyer
www.steinmeyer.com

Motorized Rotary Stage

Greenville, DE - Servo2Go has just added a new high performance rotary stage to its broad range of positioning systems.

Manufactured by Zaber Technologies Inc., the new T-RS60 rotary stage provides precise, continuous 360° rotation in a compact package. The robust bearing design allows the stage to handle up to 45 kg (99 lb) of load. A precision worm gear provides a 120:1 ratio allowing a stage resolution of 0.00023°. The built-in controller makes set-up a snap: just connect the stage to a computer and it is ready to use.

Zaber’s T-RS60 Series of precision motorized rotary stages are stepper motor driven, worm gear rotary stages capable of a full 360° rotation. Each rotary stage has an integrated microstepping stepper motor controller, offering high resolution daisy-chainable operation.

Servo2Go
www.servo2go.com

Nanopositioning Stage for Super-Resolution Microscopy

Auburn, Mass. – The nano1×3 ™ series X-Y and X-Y-Z nanopositioning stages from PI (Physik Instrumente) are multi-axis stages for super-resolution microscopy applications, providing highly accurate motion with closed-loop control for sub-nanometer precision over travel ranges of 200µm in X-Y and X-Y-Z planes.

The stages feature a piezo controller and comes with three, 24-bit digital interfaces (USB, TCP/IP, and RS-232) and a wide-band analog interface for compatibility with all control signals. With 24-bit DAC converters, commanded resolution is improved by two orders of magnitude over the still widely used 16-bit converters. The controller is also compatible with all major image acquisition packages and comes with a wide variety of software drivers and programming examples.

For highly stable, closed-loop operation, piezoresistive sensors are applied directly to the moving structure of the stage and precisely measure the displacement of the platform. The very high sensitivity of these sensors provides optimum position stability and responsiveness as well as sub-nanometer resolution. The proprietary servo circuit significantly improves the motion linearity compared to conventional piezoresistive sensor controllers.

For more information, email info@pi-usa.us.

www.pi-usa.us

SCR Nanopositioning Stage from Nippon Pulse America

RADFORD, VA – The Nippon Pulse America, Inc. (NPA) SCR100 stage is an ultra high precision, compact single-axis stage that integrates a slide guide, encoder, and Linear Shaft Motor. The SCR100 stage offers a wide range of advantages for ultra high performance and accuracy applications. Through complex motion profiles, the SCR series produces extremely accurate results and because of its built-in shaft support yields no stability.

The SCR100 stage is a moving magnet design, which locates all cables and connectors in the stationary base. The resulting absence of any moving cable is clean and compact and eliminates motion errors due to cable forces. The precision ground cross roller way provides high stiffness and smooth motion. Together they are capable of supporting higher torque levels due to offset loads with travels from 50mm to 300mm. The non-contact Linear Shaft Motor and optical linear encoders are self-contained inside the stage, making it a low-profile compact solution. The built-in non-contact optical linear encoder is available with resolutions from 1 micron to 10 nanometers with digital output. The sub-micron resolution results in a high accuracy stage, which is laser tested for optimum performance.

The Linear Shaft Motor is a coreless direct drive linear motor that, because there is no cogging, has a higher resolution, speed, and continuous force than standard stepper motors and piezo servomotors. The Nippon Pulse Linear Shaft Motor has gained a reputation of servicing the very demanding, ultra high precision motion control applications in a number of markets. Those markets include Metrology, Spectroscopy, Digital pathology, Microscopy, Disk drive, Semiconductor fabrication, Biomedical, Pharmaceutical, Life Sciences, Cell Imaging, Particle Analysis, Medical Device, Stent fabrication, National Laboratories, Photonics/Telecom, Aerospace and Defense and Genomics.

The SCR100 stage has the added benefit that any standard digital servo driver can drive the SCR100 stage. Any two SCR stages will bolt directly together to form a very stiff, compact X-Y stage. Two SCR stages can be supplied as an X-Y stage to insure true orthogonal orientation.

Nippon Pulse America, Inc.
www.nipponpulse.com

TechnoMod Gantry Machine from Techno

New Hyde Park, NY – The new TechnoMod Gantry Machine from Techno, Inc. Linear Motion Systems is a multi-axis motion platform complete with controls, cabling, software, and enclosure, all fully assembled. The TechnoMod is available in three different sizes and can be used for pick and place, dispensing, assembly, testing, drilling, routing, welding and general automation applications.

Travel ranges are 650 x 300 x 275mm for the Model 30, 650 x 450 x 275mm for the Model 45 and 650 x 650 x 275mm for the Model 65. Additionally, a 4th or 5th rotary axis can be added to the machine for more complex operations. All drive motors are DC brushless servos providing high torque and precision. The TechnoMod can be delivered with or without electronics as well as a sliding front door with safety interlock. It has a built-in industrial computer and rugged swing arm console which includes a monitor and keyboard.

To view CAD Drawings, catalog specifications or for more information on the new TechnoMod Gantry, visit http://www.techno-isel.com/tic/Catdas/TechnoModGantry.htm.

Or call 1-800-819-3366 to speak with an application engineer.

www.techno-isel.com

Next Page »