Aerotech (www.aerotech.com) has introduced a new range of positioning stages suitable for applications where positioning of heavy or large loads over small incremental movements in elevation above a horizontal plane are required — the AVS1000 series stages. These stages offer low profile and precise motion capability making them ideal for use in automated tool alignment, semiconductor manufacturing and inspection, machine vision inspection systems and laser machining applications.
The AVS1000 series positioning stages can withstand large and heavy loads up to 135 kg, as it provide five nm resolution and up to ±1 μm accuracy. The stages also feature five mm of travel, which comes with custom designs, and optional cleanroom and electrostatic discharge protection.
With its moving-wedge design, the AVS1000 series offers precise elevation of a load found in a vertical plane. The horizontal movement from a precision-ground ball screw is converted by the precision machined wedge block into vertical elevation of Aerotech’s AVS1000 series tabletop. Excellent yaw and pitch characteristics over the length of travel reduces the impact of angular errors.
Sealed linear motion guide bearings with built-in wipers are incorporated to deliver long life, excellent payload capability, and smooth, precision motion. The stages guarantee stable and parallel vertical motion without rocking or horizontal deviation of the platform. The careful design of the bearing system and the wedge angle allows the stages to maintain a compact profile while providing submicron resolution.
The vertical lift approach of the stages serves as an alternative to Z-plane oriented stages. Aside from lowering the profile, the AVS1000 series stages can also conveniently access the load from any side, thanks to its large aperture.
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