Precision Gimbal Mount, Astronomy, Microscope Stage, Motorized
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TOPICS ISSUE 46 PIEZO NANO POSITIONING NEXLINE® Technology for the Large Binocular Telescope Precision Gimbal Optical Mount for Astronomical Interferometry GimbalGimbal mirrormmirror mountmount withwith NEXLINENEXLINE® drivedrive andand matchinmatchingg drive electronics (picture: PIPI)) ContentsContents PagePage For the Large Bino- drives from PI which direct- cular Telescope (LBT) in ly act on the pivot points of the NEXLINE® Technology for the tilt axes. The result is a tip/tilt mirror LargeLarge BinocularBinocular TelescopeTelescope 1 – 2 Arizona, the Max Planck Institute system whose resonant frequency of Precise andannd Stable: M-687M -687 for Astronomy (MPIA) in Heidelberg 125 Hz is more than four times higher MicroscopeMicroscope StaStagesges with Direct Drive 2 than that of conventional mirror mounts. Assembly LineLine ProductionP roduction in Va Vacuumcuum 3 has developed alternative tip/tilt The resolution is 0.3 arc seconds (closed- C-872 Universal Driver for PILine® 4platforms for dichroitic mirrors in a loop), and the position stability is better N-664: For step sizes in the nanometer critical optical path. range 5 than 0.15 arc seconds. Miniature Piezo Amplifi er Module The NEXLINE® piezo drives combine Classic kinematic mirror mounts with for Individual Multi-Axis Control 5 large travel ranges with high stiffness standard actuators were not able to E-712: The Smart Way to a Millionth and better than 0.1 nm resolution. of a Millimeter 6 pro vide the necessary stability, resonant PICMA® Bending Actuators 7 frequency and resolution in the limited Expansion of PIs Management 8 space conditions. The innovative design uses piezoelectric NEXLINE® stepping Continued on page 2 1 WWW.PI.WS TOPICS PIEZO NANO POSITIONING Continued from page 1 The Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in Brief: Piezoceramic longitudinal and shear elements act on a moving rod coupled Astronomy is one of the oldest natural the birth of planetary systems are the to the payload. This allows an arbitrarily sciences and at the same time it is one objects of scientifi c curiosity. “Is Earth small position resolution that only of the most modern. This is proven by the only populated place in space?” depends on the stability of the control the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy is one of the burning questions in voltage signal. While the rod can be in Heidelberg. Here, researchers solve research. But the Max Planck astrono- moved in full-step mode at maximum the mysteries of the universe with mers are also present in the depths velocity over long distances, the nano- high-tech instruments, manufacture of space and time, examining active stepping mode allows uniform motion clever accessories and detectors for galaxies and quasars to get a picture at a constant velocity. When de-energi- telescopes and satellites which exam- of the beginning and development ine the light from strange sources by of the now so richly structured uni- zed, the drives provide maximum hold- every trick in the book. New stars and verse. ing force with a nanometer stability, irrespective of their position. Precise and Stable: M-687 Microscope Stages with Direct Drive With the M-687 PI offers a new, fast, DC motors with large lead screw, ducts micrometers per second the movement high-precision XY positioning system do not increase the footprint. This facili- is constant and very smooth. It can still tates the integration of the stage under be observed under the microscope at optimized for applications with in- the microscope and offers an unhindered 1000-fold magnifi cation. verted microscopes. access to the specimen. The PILine® By combining a PILine® drive with a motors transmit the force directly to the high-resolution position sensor, a stiff moving platform and thus keep the The M-687 XY stage provides travel and high-precision stage has been de - position stable, even when powered ranges of up to 100 × 75 mm, and its signed which can reach positions repeat- down with no heat generation. M-687 large clear aperture of up to 160 × 100 mm edly with sub-micron accuracy. This is stages provide maximum closed-loop can accomodate specimen holders as particularly useful for imaging methods velocities of up to 250 mm/s.Their behav- well as Z-specimen scanners. The cur- such as tiling and stitching which are ior is optimized, i.e. settling takes place rently available models can be used required for large specimen. for Olympus IX2 series and for Nikon within a few milliseconds. On the other Eclipse TI inverted microscopes.The hand, a slow movement is also of impor- M-687 stage is driven by integrated tance for users: Even with only a few PILine® piezoceramic linear motors which, in contrast to fl anged stepper or Dynamic and precise: The combined stage, consisting of a motorized XY stage with a travel range of 100 × 75 mm and a Z stage for specimen scanning, fi ts on inverted microscopes of the Olympus IX2 series and Nikon Eclipse TI without using an adapter 2 (picture: PI) WWW.PI.WS tion. In addition to several modifi cations of the standard SpaceFAB design, cus - tom three-phase servo motors ensure the necessary dynamics. A vacuum- com patible holding brake was also redesigned since the solutions on the market did not meet the requirements of this application regarding material properties and heat dissipation. PI miCos also assumed responsibility for the con- trol software of the sandwich assembly process, the integration of the sensor and camera measurements as well as for the monitoring of the gripper mag- nets. The vast experience and fl exibility of the PI miCos team have turned this complex multidisciplinary high-tech project into another success story. miCos GmbH was founded in 1990 in Eschbach, near Freiburg, and it is now known as PI miCos after joining the Parallel kinematics from PI miCos integrated in a fully automated vacuum production PI group in late 2011. With currently process (picture: PI miCos) more than 50 employees, the company develops, produces and markets inno- vative motion systems and compon- ents for high-precision positioning Assembly Line Production applications throughout the world. A main focus is on optical measurement in Vacuum technology in research and industry. For this purpose, PI miCos offers cus- tomized system solutions with multi ple A special challenge for the Eschbach take no longer than 10 seconds, could axes in addition to a comprehensive engineers was a precision assembly line only be achieved with a 6-degree-of- standard program. Wide-ranging appli- under vacuum conditions of 10–6 mbar. freedom positioning system. For the cation know-how guarantees the im - The fully automated assembly of a desired travels of 50 mm in the direction plementation of technically demand- precision foil sandwiched between a of assembly and 20 mm perpendicular ing solutions. Flexible positioning carrier and a counter holder had to be to this, a SpaceFAB was recommended systems for ultra-high vacuum appli- integrated in the production process. cations with parallel-kinematics and due to its low height. The 1 m² foil has to be positioned with six degrees of freedom, as well as an accuracy of ±20 μm in relation to the The system developed for this applica- systems with linear motors and air carrier. Since the position of the carrier tion can easily move loads of 100 kg, bearings are but a few examples of PI varies, the assembly process, which can fast and very precisely with low vibra- miCos’s capabilities. 3 TOPICS PIEZO NANO POSITIONING Drive electronics for fast ultrasonic piezomotors: the C-872 from PI (picture: PI) Fast and Efficient Positioning Drives Universal Driver for Ultrasonic Piezomotors The PILine® series includes complete multi-axis positioning systems but also Drive systems that are based on ultra- ultrasonic piezomotors for OEMs. The operation of ultrasonic piezomotors sonic piezomotors offer advantages over classic rotary motor drive systems in requires specifi c drive electronics that generate high-frequency AC voltage to respect to dynamics as well as velocity, excite the piezoelectric oscillations. start-stop behavior and installation space. They also outperform magnetic The C-872 universal drive electronics quency tracking improves performance linear motors when the target position was especially designed for OEMs. It is and effi ciency. Velocity is controlled via has to be kept stable without the drive optimized for low heat generation and an analog interface by input signals in being energized or in the presence of power consumption and the active fre- the range between ±10 V. strong magnetic fi elds. 4 WWW.PI.WS High-resolution positioning system for incremental motion in the nanometer range Perfectly Aligned Precision With the new N-664 linear positioning incremental resolution. The N-664 is nal brakes. The drive does not have to stage, PI has succeeded in developing equipped with precision-aligned high- be supplied with current and does not load crossed-roller bearings made of heatheat up.up. a groundbreaking reference-class posi- stainless steel. The PIOne linear encoder tioning system combining long travel is based on an interferometric meas- with the advantages of piezo preci- urement principle capable of providing sion, speed and stiffness. very precise measurement results in the subnanometer range even at high posi- A NEXACT® piezo linear drive replaces tioning speeds. the usual stepper or DC servo motor in ® The self-clamping NEXACT piezo-walk The N-664 micropositioning stage com- the N-664, making sub-nanometer reso- motor direct drive keeps the position bines long travel, speed to 10 mm/s lution feasible. Closed-loop position stable even when powered down, reduc- and laser-interferometer documented feedback is provided by the novel PIOne ing energy consumption, heat dissipa- incremental motion of 2 nm (picture: PI) optical linear encoder featuring 0.5 nm tion and eliminating the need for exter- Cost-Effective and Compact: Miniature Piezo Amplifi er Module for Modular Multi-Axis Control Smaller, more powerful, and more dy - a large number of PICMA® multilayer modules, PI also offers compact DC/DC nam ic: The E-831.05 piezo amplifi er piezo actuators.