Posted to News on 11th Nov 2010, 22:13
ALS2200 positioning stages suit production environments
Aerotech is launching a new range of industrial-grade ALS2200 positioning stages that feature direct-drive linear servo motors and ultra-smooth crossed-roller bearings in a hard-top/side-sealed protection design that offers outstanding levels of positional and geometric precision for harsh production environments. The ALS2200 stages are aimed at high-precision, high-throughput manufacturing applications - such as multi-axis laser micromachining - which typically demand very tight velocity and in-position control combined with exceptionally smooth motion and micron-level straightness and flatness. Free from recirculating bearing elements and with a high-power, cog-free linear servo motor, the stages benefit from almost imperceptible levels drive-induced stage vibration and in outstanding velocity stability.
With a nominal stage width of under 204mm, the range covers a choice of 100mm or 150mm travels with direct load capacities of up to 30kg, HALAR calibrated accuracy to +/-0.75 microns, a bidirectional repeatability of +/-0.2 microns, and speeds to 500mm/s. Positioning resolution is up to 3 nanometres with zero backlash.
The small-footprint ALS2200 contains the linear servo motor, anti-creep precision bearings and encoder feedback completely within the stage's side-sealed protection system. The full-length metal waycover and tensioned side strap design has been successfully applied over many generations of Aerotech stages and is said to offer advantages over bellows-type protection, which can be troublesome to maintain and tend to increase the overall stage profile. The vertical side straps prevent debris from accumulating and are under constant tension to maintain a tight seal. End-mounted motor and feedback connectors facilitate easy installation and dual X-Y stages can include track-type cable trays on the upper axis. The durable aluminium construction includes a scratch-resistant, Teflon-impregnated, hard-coat finish, with steel inserts installed in the tabletop mounting holes to ensure a long thread life.
Aerotech's direct-drive linear servo motors and non-contacting linear encoders are wear-free, providing high reliability; with very low maintenance required, the MTBF for the stage is quoted as greater than 20,000 hours.
Aerotech can provide a choice of PWM digital amplifiers for best acceleration and speed performance, or low-noise linear stage amplifiers for applications requiring no-compromise smoothness and in-position stability. Both amplifier types combine with a choice of Aerotech motion controls to suit standalone or multi-axis tasks with advanced controls such as a Position Synchronised Output (PSO) command that completely synchronises real-time multi-axis positioning with laser firing, camera capture, data acquisition or NDT test triggering to produce high-quality parts or critical accuracy test procedures.
