FEATURE Drives, motors & controls
Aerotech presents its new hexapod, the HEX150-125L. Simon Smith, European Director, provides an overview of the
positioning system’s new, improved design features
The XA4 and iXA4 PWM drives and below, the HEX150-140HL (left) and the HEX150-125HL (right) All pictures: source Aerotech
IMPROVING POSITIONING SYSTEM PERFORMANCE IMPROVING POSITIONING SYSTEM PERFORMANCE T
he HEX150-125HL is suitable for high-precision positioning and motion tasks down to the nanometre range. Compared
to its predecessor, it has a more compact design and a lower height. In addition, the Hexapod 150-125HL has undergone design improvements which, according increases in performance.
solution for users who need to position workpieces with high dynamics and precision. Thanks to its special design, the parallel kinematic hexapod is robust and rigid. It is therefore particularly suitable for use in automation solutions and is ideal for measuring and testing technology in quality assurance, for example. Aerotech also sees a wide range of applications for the HEX150-125HL automotive, mechanical engineering and medical technology. Compared to its predecessor, the HEX150-140HL, the new HEX150-125HL features a number of enhancements: a reduced height of 125mm and a base diameter of 150mm with medium Z travel, a cable reduction to a total of just two cables, one cable for motor power and one cable for feedback, a more robust joint construction. “The joints are incorporated directly into the base and moving platform, which increases the rigidity and load capacity of the miniature positioning system,”
16 May 2025 | Automation
said Simon Smith, European Director at Aerotech. “What’s more, our users get more performance for less money: our new HEX150-125HL will cost 30 per cent less than its predecessor.”
The advantages over other positioning freedom, which enable precise translation in the X, Y and Z directions as well as rotation around each of these axes, while at the same time ensuring exact positioning. With a movable working platform of 130mm diameter, the HEX150 can handle loads of up to 12kg vertically and 5kg horizontally with travel ranges in X of 42mm, in Y of 44mm and Z of 17mm. It also 35mm. The new Hexapod also increases the number of available positioning paths with a minimum incremental movement of speeds in the X and Y directions of 30mm/s and in the Z direction of 8mm/s compared to its predecessor, as well as improved load capacity.
The HEX150-125HL can be moved using the new XA4-DC-AX2 and AX4 drives from Aerotech. These compact single and multi-
axis servo drives are designed for installation into a control cabinet. The XA drive series is an integral part of Aerotech’s user-friendly Automation1 motion control platform, which controlled. The platform has its own software- based motion controller, which makes it easy to control the servomotor drives. The XA drives support multiple feedback device types and have on-board memory for high-speed data acquisition and process control. With the integrated Automation1 controller, up to twelve HyperWire motion axes can be controlled and up to nine user tasks can be executed simultaneously. The HEX150-125HL can be mounted in a standard 19-inch rack, under a machine base or on another panel. Smith concluded: “With the new HEX150- 125HL, we are once again setting new combination with the XA drive technology and the Automation1 motion control up a wide range of possible applications. Our most important design goal was to improve the motion performance while friendliness of our products.” The latest videos on Aerotech’s Hexapod technology are also available on YouTube:
https://www.aerotech.com/3d-metrology- hexapods/
Aerotech
uk.aerotech.com
automationmagazine.co.uk
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