Compact, Fast and High Precision: Ultrasonic Linear & XY Piezo Motor Stages Combine 10nm Resolution with 200mm/sec Speed
Lightweight, fast, stable and reliable, the unique new ultrasonic motor stages from PI are easy to control and integrate into industrial automation and research applications.
April 30, 2019: Two versions are available: the U-523 single axis stage and the U-723 XY stage, with the same footprint. Both stages are powered by small direct-drive ultrasonic piezoceramic motors. The patented drives provide smooth motion with high resolution and the self-locking motor principle is a significant advantage over magnetic drive technologies: once the motor reaches a target position, it acts like a ceramic brake and locks the platform into place, providing extreme long term stability at zero driving current and heat generation.
Long Travel, Compact, Fast and Quiet, Wide Dynamic Range
The new stages provide more than 0.8” travel per axis with a footprint of only 42x42mm (1.6x1.6”). The low profile and miniaturized design allows for easy installation in tight spaces. In addition to high speed motion up to 200 mm/sec, the low inertia (direct drive, no rotating parts) allows for a very dynamic start-stop behavior with settling times in the millisecond range. Based on the ultrasonic principle with drive frequencies >100kHz - way beyond the human hearing range -, the motors are very quiet. Displacement is generated in continuous sub-nanometric increments, leading to extremely smooth motion with a wide dynamic range from 1µm/sec to 200mm/sec.
10nm Sensor Resolution, Closed-Loop Operation, Precision Motion Controller
Incorporated optical linear encoders provide position feedback with 10 nanometers resolution. Higher resolution stages are also available from PI. Due to the low power requirement of the ultrasonic motor, the new ultrasonic stages can be integrated into mobile test equipment and medical devices. Vacuum compatible versions are also available.
Ultrasonic Motion Controllers, Software Package
To take advantage of the operating principle that provides superior dynamic performance with settling times in the millisecond range while maintaining high resolution and smooth operation, ultrasonic motors benefit from advanced control strategies, such as automatic switchover between several static and dynamic PID parameter sets and adaptive frequency tracking. PI offers a number of ultrasonic motion controllers (C-867 and C-877 product families) available in desktop, rack-mount, and OEM configurations. An ASIC chip containing the motion control algorithms is also available for OEM customers. A comprehensive software package is included: drivers and example programs for LabVIEW, dynamic libraries for Windows and Linux, MATLAB are available. Interfaces include TCP/IP, USB, RS-232 and analog.
