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Aerotech’s ACS series rotary stages with integrated ER collet chuck or 3-jaw gripper configuration provides automated material handling capability for a wide range of materials and applications.

High Precision ER Collet
The collet chuck on the ACS-150 accepts either ER25 or ER40 series collets. These collets are readily available from machine-tool component suppliers in sizes that support tube diameters from 0.5 mm to 30 mm. ER collets provide excellent run-out characteristics for applications requiring high-precision gripping of tubular material. The collet is retained with a threaded retaining cap enabling quickchangeover. It is configured in a “fail-safe” normallyclosed mode where full clamping force is applied when no air pressure is present. The ER25 also has an optional sealed “water-jacket” configuration that can be used for fluid delivery in wet laser cutting applications.

Flexible 3-Jaw Gripper
Both the ACS-150 and ACS-200 support three-jaw grippers with clear apertures for product feed-through. All gripper assemblies are configurable as either normally-open or normally-closed with various jaw strokes to support a wide range of material sizes. The gripper can be fitted with custom jaws for the handling of materials with non-round
profiles such as square or hexagonal bar stock. The normally-open and -closed options also provide the ability to grip either the O.D. or I.D. of the material.

Integral Rotary Union
Air is delivered to the collet or gripper assembly through an integral rotary union. The 3-jaw grippers use a seal-based rotary union design while the ER collet option uses a sealless, frictionless design. This 100% noncontact rotary union design ensures a lifetime of maintenance-free operation. The combination collet chuck or gripper and rotary union assembly also have significantly less friction and inertia than external assemblies created from discrete parts. This reduced inertia improves system performance by allowing higher peak acceleration and reducing position error during laser machining operations.

Brushless Direct-Drive
To maximize positioning performance the ACS series utilizes direct-drive brushless motor technology. Direct drive technology is optimized for 24/7 production environments, as there are no brushes to replace and no gear trains or belts to maintain. Direct-drive also provides quicker acceleration and higher top speeds than gear- or belt-driven mechanisms, which yields higher total overall throughput.

The low maintenance, high throughput characteristics of the ACS coupled with the integral material handling capability provide the lowest total cost of ownership when compared to component-level solutions.