ARMS Mechanical-Bearing Direct-Drive Rotary Stage

Description

Design Features

• Designed for highly accurate motion generation
• Velocity stability of 0.0001% over 360 degrees
• Position resolution to 0.02 arc sec
• Payloads to 230 kg
• Integrated slip rings and optional rotary unions
• Direct-drive brushless motor options for high speed or high torque

Accurate Velocity and Positioning

The ARMS family of stages provides excellent velocity and positioning control. When coupled with Aerotech's advanced controls, resolution can be as fine as 0.02 arc second, with accuracy to ±2.5 arc second and repeatability to ±0.5 arc second. The motor and high-performance rotary encoder are directly coupled to a common shaft. The absence of gear trains and mechanical couplings means no position errors caused by hysteresis, windup, or backlash. The ARMS has rate resolution down to 0.001 deg/s and rate stability to 0.0001%.

Superior Mechanical Design

Dual large-diameter bearings are used to maximize performance with respect to wobble, moment stiffness, and repeatability. The large diameter bearings permit large payloads without compromising performance.

Brushless Direct-Drive

The ARMS series utilizes Aerotech's S-series brushless, slotless motor to maximize positioning performance. The S-series motor provides all of the advantages of a brushless direct-drive motor – no brushes to wear, no gear trains to maintain, and high acceleration and high speeds. The slotless, ironless design eliminates cogging and, therefore, produces absolutely no torque ripple. With its low inherent inertia and optimized motor design, the ARMS is capable of speeds and accelerations that are significantly higher than competing products. Low inertia and zero backlash make the ARMS the ideal solution for applications requiring frequent directional changes.

Flexible Configurations

Slip rings and rotary unions are standard options available to ease integration of customer devices. With various tabletop styles as well as optional HDP pedestals, customers can also tailor the mechanical interface of the ARMS stages to suit many different needs.

Advanced User-Friendly Controls

Aerotech rate tables are controlled with state-of-the-art Aerotech controls and drives. Our software packages are available as stand-alone applications, where no other language or compiler is needed, as well as LabVIEW®, C, and .NET software interfaces. Users can graphically generate their own motion profiles and execute them automatically with Aerotech's GUI Motion Designer software. Or, for users who already have their own motion simulation software, our software can easily accept files with arrays of velocity, position, and acceleration versus time profiles. This is then downloaded and run on the ARMS by our motion control software.