Drives are said to be ideal for nanometric positioning and tracking, because of their compact size to force capability, ultra high vacuum and non-magnetic versions
Nanometric control doesn't get much better than this, says Micromech, for these motors have no mechanical rumble and ultra smooth very low-speed motion down to microns per second.
They also have holding force even with the power off, zero motor inertia, no rotating parts and virtually zero inductance.
Ideal for nanometric positioning and tracking, because of their compact size to force capability, ultra high vacuum and non-magnetic versions, means the application possibilities are causing great excitement.
The clever drives have a number of useful features, they can switch between velocity mode and flexure mode, use most standard servo controllers for closed loop and while stationary the servo loop turns off.
There is 'no position disturbance' on power up and the servo loop can be disabled if required.
The same drive can run multiple motors in parallel in perfect synchronisation.
These results from a major scanning stage manufacturer demonstrate the ultra smooth motion that is present without either servo dither or ballscrew rumble, says the company.
The vertical scaling represents an 'axis tracking error' at 5 nanometres per division, and the horizontal shows a sampling timebase of 0.1 seconds per division with linear speed set at 32 microns per second.
The component system used comprises a Nanomotion motor type HR-4 with 72N preload on the linear stage (motor inertia is zero), it has a maximum force of 2.5 Newtons and top speed of 250mm per sec using a Nanomotion AB2 drive.
The slide is from Schneeberger type NK with roller cages, a Heidenhain glass scale encoder with 5Nm resolution and an ACS Spi plus motion controller.
For straightforward and simple design for linear and rotary stages these motors do not require mechanical end of travel limits opening up many design opportunities particularly for medical and research establishments.
