A tiny part of the world is a stage
The nanopositioning expert PI (Physik Instrumente) claims to have developed the word’s smallest translation stage incorporating a low-friction ballscrew drive and non-contacting optical linear encoder. The stage - which measures just 60 x 86 x 20mm - provides 25mm of travel at speeds of up to 20mm/s, and accuracies of 0.1 microns.
Space has been saved by using a folded drive train with the servomotor and preloaded ballscrew mounted side-by-side. The M-122 stage (shown above) is claimed to deliver much better accuracy, repeatability and dynamic performance than stepper-motor-based stages or rotary encoder-equipped servo-motor stages.
The backlash- and maintenance-free recirculating ballscrew is said to be much more efficient than leadscrews.
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