ANALYTICAL AND LABORATORY EQUIPMENT 31
The advantage of being small
High-resolution positioning systems in miniaturised design. By Steffen Arnold.
T
oday, piezo ceramic drive concepts provide a suitable solution for
practically every task in the field of precision positioning. Te common factors in all of the concepts are the compact dimensions and the high positioning accuracy, which is substantiated by the functional principle. Piezo actuators convert electrical energy directly into mechanical energy and make motion in the sub-nanometre range possible even with short response times and high acceleration.
However, the displacement caused by the piezo effect is only a fraction of 1% of the actual component size. Achieving larger travel ranges can therefore be complex and expensive. PI (Physik Instrumente) has responded accordingly by introducing its Q-Motion range of positioning systems. Te range is based on piezoelectric inertia drives and stands for high resolution in the nanometre range with theoretically unlimited travel ranges, miniaturised design and attractive price.
Piezo-based inertia drives utilise the stick-slip effect: the actuator expands slowly and moves a runner. Due to its inertia, the runner is unable to follow the fast contraction of the actuator and remains at its position. At rest, the piezo-based inertia drives are self-locking and therefore do not consume any power.
Precise positioning of up to six axes
Steffen Arnold is with PI (Physik Instrumente).
www.q-motion.ws
Te functional principle allows easy configuration of the actuators and the control. Te piezo-based drive is deployed as a
module. Tis makes it possible to realise long travel ranges or rotary motion and individual axes can be easily combined with each other. At the same time, it is also possible to realise very compact designs.
Te smallest linear positioning stage currently available is only 22mm wide and 10mm high. It is suitable for travel ranges of 6.5, 13 or 26mm and achieves velocities of up to 10mm/s. At the same time, it develops a feed and holding force of 1N. When equipped with an incremental encoder, it achieves a resolution of up to 1nm. Tere are a large number of typical areas of application for the small precision stage, especially since it is also available as a vacuum version and if required, can be combined with further linear axes or rotary stages and this is possible without additional adapters.
Small yet extremely powerful Te miniature rotation stages have a diameter of only 14mm, achieve resolutions in a range of 1 µrad; the holding force of the linear positioning stage is up to 8N in a de-energised state and the maximum velocity is 10mm/s, rotationally up to 70°/s. For those applications
Precise rotation stage with a diameter of only 14mm.
where samples, detectors, optical components or tools need to be moved and rotated in space, there are six-axis, parallel kinematic positioning systems. Tese SpaceFABs are so small that they can be easily placed on the palm of the hand. Te design is based on combined linear positioning stages and can be quickly and easily adapted to application requirements, for example, even for use in a high or an ultra-high vacuum.
Te stages are being used in numerous applications in both industry and research. Te small form factor and the vacuum compatibility make Q-Motion stages ideal positioning tasks in beamline instrumentation or electron microscopy. Te small form factor combined with the self-locking means that the stages can be integrated in mobile devices for metrology or medical applications.
Te Q-Motion range more than lives up to its tagline of “high resolution, affordable price”. It is finding a growing number of fans in laboratories across the world.
For more information ✔ at
www.scientistlive.com/eurolab www.scientistlive.com
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