A few steps past the foot of the escalator into the exhibit hall of the world’s largest multidisciplinary photonics event, PI’s booth displays the latest state-of-the-art precision motion technologies. PI motion control engineers are on-hand to answer questions and propose solutions for precision motion projects in industry, research, and science.
Image Credit: PI (Physik Instrumente) LP
High-Speed Precision Automation: Linear Motor Stages, Air Bearings, Piezo Flexures
New industrial linear motor stages, specifically developed for industrial automation, help photonics and laser processing engineers design better performing motion systems. New piezo flexure-guided linear positioners offer excellent precision and responsiveness with step and settle typically in the millisecond range with billions of cycles of service life. Cost-effective and small footprint options are available for easy integration into applications such as image scanning, fast autofocus, interferometry, and super-resolution microscopy. Air bearings with linear motor drives provide the highest performance when long travel vibration-free motion is required, highly constant velocity control is crucial, together with angular repeatability and geometric performance.
High-Speed Photonics Alignment Engines: Hexapods and Linear Motor Systems
PI’s SiP photonics alignment stages product line addresses the requirement of aligning multiple optical paths with multiple interacting inputs and outputs, each requiring optimization. The automated alignment engines include 3 to 12-axis mechanisms, controllers with firmware based alignment algorithms, and the software tools to meet the high accuracy demands of different markets such as packing, planar testing, and inspection. Hexapod 6-axis parallel positioning systems are instrumental to fast SiP alignment due to their lower inertia, improved dynamics, smaller package size, higher stiffness, and programmable pivot point. Fast, linear-motor-driven, compact systems based on Ehtercat / ACS industrial motion controllers will also be shown.
Fast Steering Mirrors / FSM for Free Space Optical Communication
PI provides piezoelectric and voice coil driven fast laser beam steering mirrors, multi-axis tip-tilt systems for multiple applications in laser processing, image stabilization, and optical communication.
Microscopy Imaging and Bio-Nanotechnology Solution Packages
Industry leading new fast-focus drives based on piezo and voice coil technology are now available to provide better resolution, speed, and longer travel ranges than ever before. Researchers make use of the sub-atomic resolution and extreme responsiveness of piezo stages and nanopositioners to create higher-quality images faster. PI provides a large variety of fast XYZ piezo stages and microscope lens positioners for 3D imaging (Z-stack acquisition), deconvolution, and fast auto-focusing applications. A line of ultra-stable long-travel XY microscope stages with self-locking piezo motors is also available.
Miniaturization: Finger-Tip Sized Actuators and Positioners
The ongoing miniaturization of instruments requires opto-mechanical alignment, positioning, and assembly on a smaller scale. New miniature linear and rotary stages based on voice coils and piezo technologies, even with air bearings, now take less valuable space in your research and industrial automation application.
See Product Demos and Applications of PI Automation and Nanopositioning Products
Read Application Articles in PI’s Tech Blog
Working with You
PI’s in-house engineered solutions have enabled customers around the world to increase their productivity and technological advantage for 5 decades. With a large basis of proven motion technologies and methodologies, PI is in the position to quickly modify existing designs or provide a fully customized OEM solution to fit the exact requirements of your application from sensors and piezo transducers to microscope nano-focus units, fast photonics alignment systems to multi-axis automation sub-systems.
Source: https://www.pi-usa.us/en/