Compact Planar XY Air Bearing Stage Provides Vibrationless High-Precision Motion, Introduced By PI

Frictionless air bearing stages are highly stable, since there is no wear and the performance characteristics should not change over the life of the system, unlike mechanical bearing systems.

Auburn, MA (PRWEB) - Nanopositioning specialist PI (Physik Instrumente) L.P., a leader and solution provider in motion control and positioning components and systems, recently released the new A-311 PIglide IS Series compact, planar air bearing stage, designed to deliver extremely precise and vibration-free motion. Planar scanning stages are ideal for wafer inspection, laser marking, optical metrology and other precision motion applications.

Air Bearings vs. Mechanical Bearings 
Air bearings replace mechanical contact by a thin air film. The fully preloaded air bearings in the A-311 PIglide IS provide frictionless motion, resulting in negligible hysteresis or reversal error, and zero-wear of mechanical components. Due to the air bearing’s surface averaging effect, pitch/yaw/roll and straightness/flatness are significantly better than with conventional mechanical bearings, motion is vibration-free, and velocity can be controlled at very high constancy.

Planar Stages vs. Stacked XY Stages 
The compact, single base plate design provides a lower profile compared to stacked XY stages and makes integration in tight spaces easy. In addition, error-causing bending moments introduced in stacked stages when the load on the top stage moves off-center are not an issue with planar stages. By eliminating the height and overhung loads of an XY stack design, the A-311 PIglide IS stage achieves 0.1 µm/inch straightness and flatness and roll/pitch/yaw errors of 1 to 2 arc-seconds.

Watch Video: 
https://www.youtube.com/embed/_0frYXPpLEw?rel=0

Linear Motors and Encoders for High Speed and Acceleration 
Smooth motion with no cogging or attractive forces is provided by ironless linear motors; position information down to 1nm resolution comes from integrated linear encoders. The powerful linear motors reach velocities up to 1m/sec and acceleration to 1g, a prerequisite for fast scanning and automation applications.

Specifications, Datasheet, More Information: 
http://www.pi-usa.us/products/Air_Bearing_Stages/index.php?onl_prweb#XY_Planar

Applications of the Cleanroom Compatible IS Planar Stage 
Wafer inspection and scribing applications, microscopy, scanning

Features & Advantages 

• Low profile, high precision
• Optical linear encoders to 1 nanometer
• Travels up to 200mm x 200mm
• Load to 15kg max
• Velocity to 1m/sec, Acceleration to 1g

PI (Physik Instrumente) L.P. l 16 Albert Street l Auburn, MA 01501 l http://www.pi-usa.us l info(at)pi-usa(dot)us 
USA / Canada 
East     
(508) 832-3456 
Midwest     
(508) 832-3456 
West      
(949) 679-9191 (LA Area & Mexico) 
(408) 533-0973 (Silicon Valley/Bay Area)

About PI 
PI is a leading manufacturer of precision motion control equipment, piezo motors, air bearing stages and hexapod parallel-kinematics for semiconductor applications, photonics, bio-nano-technology and medical engineering. PI has been developing and manufacturing standard & custom precision products with piezoceramic and electromagnetic drives for 4 decades. The company has been ISO 9001 certified since 1994 and provides innovative, high-quality solutions for OEM and research. PI is present worldwide with eleven subsidiaries, R&D / engineering on 3 continents and total staff of 800+.