Motorized Linear Stage, Linear Motor, 160 mm Travel, 100 N Load, M4 and M6

Unlike screw-driven stages, the XM employs a center-driven, ironless linear motor as the driving element. Since the linear motor is a frictionless direct drive device, there is no backlash or hysteresis, wind-up or stiction limiting the motion performance. The linear motor drive also offers the advantage of higher speed, acceleration and system responsiveness with no wear to motor brushes or drive screws. The extra-large, ironless motor coil ensures zero cogging for ultra smooth velocity control and provides higher efficiency compared to alternative stage designs. This results in significantly less heat generation, which is generally the main limit for ultra-precision motion applications. To further improve thermal management and its effect on stage performance, the XM also has the benefit of a sophisticated length decoupling of the magnetic track from the stage carriage.

The T-shaped carriage used on the XM provides the optimum solution for precision XY assemblies without impacting the stage preload. It is also more robust and tolerant to non-ideal mounting conditions than stages with a C-shaped carriage design.