ABL1500Z Air-Bearing Direct-Drive Lift Stage
Description
Design Features
- Designed for high-performance scanning and inspection
- Active air preload on all air-bearing surfaces
- Linear encoder feedback provides subnanometer resolution
- High stiffness for heavy loads and excellent geometrical performance
- Four models with travels from 50 to 200 mm
- Integral counterbalance
The ABL1500Z is a vertical translation version of the ABL1500 series air-bearing stage. The ABL1500Z is ideally suited for applications with large offset loads and where extreme accuracy is required.
Leading-edge manufacturing, particularly in the semiconductor and data storage industries, demands positioning tolerances beyond the capability of conventional ball-screw and mechanical-bearing positioning systems. The ABL1500Z, with its fully active preload, exceptionally high stiffness and excellent geometric characteristics, was designed specifically to meet those demands.
Air-Bearing Design for High Dynamic Performance
The ABL1500Z incorporates an air-on-air preload on both the vertical and horizontal surfaces. The opposing thin-film pressure maintains the bearing nominal gap tolerance. This design, in addition to the large air-bearing surface that distributes the load over a large surface area, results in a stage with outstanding stiffness that is ideal for heavy or offset loading.
Aerotech's proprietary manufacturing techniques result in a stage with unsurpassed geometric characteristics, which maximize performance by yielding superior pitch, roll, yaw, straightness and flatness specifications.
Zero-Cogging Linear Motor Drive
The driving force behind this stage is Aerotech's BLMC series brushless linear servomotor. The BLMC utilizes an ironless forcer, which means there is zero cogging and no attractive forces, resulting in unsurpassed smoothness of motion.
No Maintenance
Our totally noncontact air bearing, noncontact linear motor drive and noncontact feedback device ensure years of maintenance-free operation at the high performance levels expected of Aerotech equipment. Because there is no mechanical contact between moving elements, the ABL1500Z experiences no wear or reduction in performance over time. Service life is virtually unlimited and because there is no lubrication – only clean, dry gas – air bearings are ideal for cleanroom and medical applications.
Cable Management
We carefully optimize the cable bend radius to ensure years of trouble-free operation. In the unlikely event of failure, Aerotech's modular design makes cable replacement quick and easy with minimal downtime.
We include all customer-required cables, air hoses, etc. in our CMS bundle to facilitate integration into the final system. Both ends are fully connectorized for simple integration into the customer's machine.
Specifications
Mechanical Specifications
| Model | ABL15005Z | ABL15010Z | ABL15015Z | ABL15020Z | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | 50 mm | 100 mm | 150 mm | 200 mm | ||
| Accuracy(1) | LN | HALAR | ±0.2 µm | ±0.2 µm | ±0.3 µm | ±0.5 µm |
| Standard | ±1.5 µm | ±2.5 µm | ±4.0 µm | ±6.0 µm | ||
| LT | HALAR | ±0.3 µm | ±0.3 µm | ±0.4 µm | ±0.5 µm | |
| Standard | ±2.0 µm | ±3.0 µm | ±5.0 µm | ±8.0 µm | ||
| Bidirectional Repeatability(1) | LN | ±0.1 µm | ±0.15 µm | ±0.2 µm | ||
| LT | ±0.1 µm | ±0.15 µm | ±0.2 µm | |||
| Straightness(1) | ±0.4 µm | ±0.6 µm | ±0.8 µm | ±1.0 µm | ||
| Flatness(1) | ±0.4 µm | ±0.6 µm | ±0.8 µm | ±1.0 µm | ||
| Pitch | ±1 arc sec | ±1.5 arc sec | ±2 arc sec | ±2.5 arc sec | ||
| Roll | ±1 arc sec | ±1.5 arc sec | ±2 arc sec | ±2.5 arc sec | ||
| Yaw | ±1 arc sec | ±1.5 arc sec | ±2 arc sec | ±2.5 arc sec | ||
| Maximum Speed | 300 mm/s | |||||
| Maximum Acceleration | 2 g (No Load) | |||||
| Maximum Force (Continuous) | 93.6 N | |||||
| Load Capacity(2) | 15 kg | |||||
| Operating Pressure | 80 psi ±5 psig | |||||
| Air Consumption | Stage: 24-30 SLPM @ 551 kPa; Counterbalance: 60 SLPM maximum | |||||
| Moving Mass (No Load) | 5.9 kg (13.0 lb) | |||||
| Stage Mass | 23.8 kg | 26.6 kg | 28.5 kg | 30.5 kg | ||
| Material | Aluminum | |||||
| MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) | 20,000 Hours | |||||
- Certified with each stage.
- Axis orientation for on-axis loading is listed.
- Specifications are for single-axis systems measured 25 mm above the tabletop. Performance of multi-axis systems is payload and workpoint dependent. Consult factory for multi-axis or non-standard applications.
- To protect air bearing against under-pressure, an in-line pressure switch tied to the motion controller/amplifier ESTOP input is recommended.
- Air supply must be clean, dry to 0°F dewpoint and filtered to 0.25 µm or better; recommend nitrogen at 99.9% purity.
- Maximum upper axis length is 200 mm when mounting the ABL1500 in an XY configuration.
Electrical Specifications
| Drive System | Brushless Linear Servomotor | |||
| Feedback | Noncontact Linear Encoder (see signal period options on Order Information page) | |||
| Maximum Bus Voltage | up to 80 VDC | |||
| Limit Switches | 5 V, Normally Open | |||
| Home Switch | Near Center | |||
Recommended Controller
| Multi-Axis | A3200 | Ndrive MP/Ndrive CP/Ndrive HLe/Npaq MXR | |||
| Ensemble | Ensemble MP/Ensemble CP/Ensemble HLe/Epaq | ||||
| Single Axis | Soloist | Soloist MP/Soloist CP/Soloist HLe | |||
Dimensions
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ABL1500Z 
Ordering Information
Ordering Example
| ABL15 | 010Z | -M | -10 | -NC | -LN10AS | -SINGLE-CMS |
Ordering Options
| Series | Travel (mm) | Mounting and Grid Pattern | Motor | Limits | Linear Encoder | Options |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABL15 | 005Z 010Z 015Z 020Z |
-M | -10 | -NC | -LTnnAS -LTnnX50 -LNnnAS |
-SINGLE-CMS -Z-CMS |
ABL1500Z Series Linear Air-Bearing Stage
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| ABL15005Z | 50 mm travel linear air-bearing stage with linear motor, limits and pneumatic counterbalance |
| ABL15010Z | 100 mm travel linear air-bearing stage with linear motor, limits and pneumatic counterbalance |
| ABL15015Z | 150 mm travel linear air-bearing stage with linear motor, limits and pneumatic counterbalance |
| ABL15020Z | 200 mm travel linear air-bearing stage with linear motor, limits and pneumatic counterbalance |
Mounting and Grid Pattern
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| -M | Metric dimension mounting pattern and holes |
Motor
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| -10 | Brushless linear motor (BLMC-192-A) |
Limits
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| -NC | Normally-closed end of travel limit switches (standard) |
Standard Linear Encoders
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| -LT05AS | Linear encoder for ABL15005Z; amplified sine output |
| -LT10AS | Linear encoder for ABL15010Z; amplified sine output |
| -LT15AS | Linear encoder for ABL15015Z; amplified sine output |
| -LT20AS | Linear encoder for ABL15020Z; amplified sine output |
| -LT05X50 | Linear encoder for ABL15005Z; 0.1 micron line driver output |
| -LT10X50 | Linear encoder for ABL15010Z; 0.1 micron line driver output |
| -LT15X50 | Linear encoder for ABL15015Z; 0.1 micron line driver output |
| -LT20X50 | Linear encoder for ABL15020Z; 0.1 micron line driver output |
High-Accuracy Linear Encoders
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| -LN05AS | High-accuracy linear encoder for ABL15005Z; amplified sine output |
| -LN10AS | High-accuracy linear encoder for ABL15010Z; amplified sine output |
| -LN15AS | High-accuracy linear encoder for ABL15015Z; amplified sine output |
| -LN20AS | High-accuracy linear encoder for ABL15020Z; amplified sine output |
Options
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| -SINGLE-CMS | Cable management system for single-axis applications |
| -Z-CMS | Cable management system for Y-Z assembly |
Accessories (to be ordered as separate line item)
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| HALAR | High-accuracy system – linear error correction for accuracy and repeatability |
| ALIGNMENT-PA5Z | YZ assembly; 5 arc-seconds or 3 microns/full travel, whichever is larger |
| ALIGNMENT-PA10Z | YZ assembly; 10 arc-seconds or 7 microns/full travel, whichever is larger |