Aerotech announces ABRT Air-Bearing Stage

Aerotech’s ABRT series rotary air-bearing stages provide 360-degree continuous travel with resolution to 0.027 arc sec. Velocity stability and error motion performance are exceptional. Payload capacity is up to 69 kg due to the outstanding radial and axial stiffness. The ABRT is designed to meet the exacting requirements of DVD mastering, wafer inspection, high precision metrology applications, X-ray diffraction systems, optical inspection and fabrication, and MEMS/nanotechnology device fabrication.

Features include: High torque output, direct-drive slotless, brushless servomotor Zero cogging motor for outstanding velocity stability Outstanding error motion and wobble performance Direct coupled, high-accuracy rotary encoder Large diameter clear aperture No mechanical contact

Superior Mechanical Design The ABRT design features large air-bearing surfaces and innovative preloading for high stiffness and load capacity, producing not only excellent axial and radial error motions (asynchronous is <20 nm for each), but outstanding tilt error motion (asynchronous is <0.04 arc sec), as well. The resultant performance is significantly better than other rotary air-bearing tables and spindles, greatly benefiting applications requiring exceptional planar performance. Furthermore, this stage family provides a clear aperture up to 50 mm in diameter that can be used for product feed-through, laser beam delivery, cable clearance, or application-specific requirements.

Brushless Direct-Drive The ABRT series utilizes optimized versions of Aerotech’s S-series slotless, brushless motor to maximize positioning performance. The S-series motor uses an advanced magnetic circuit design to produce high torque output with minimal heat generation. The slotless design is inherently zero-cogging and torque-ripple-free. This makes ABRT stages ideal for applications requiring smooth scan velocities at low or high speeds. Maximum speed is up to 1200 rpm.