Ratio Drive™
What is Ratio Drive™?
A Ratio Drive™ is a means of dividing down the motion of the actuator to give higher
resolution at the output of a positioner stage. It means the output of the positioner
stage is only a fraction of the movement of the actuator - increasing resolution
and decreasing backlash (since no gears are used in the Ratio Drive™). This technique
allows the use of a standard micrometer or inexpensive
stepper motor for enhanced, high precision alignment.
Note: Ratio Drives™ are only on the the X and Y axes.
25x Ratio Drive™
With the 25x Ratio Drive™, one half inch of micrometer travel is divided down 25.4 times,
to give one half millimeter of travel at the output plate. Coarse adjustments using
an allen key add an addition 2 millimeter for a total of 2.5 millimeters of travel.
With the
stepper motor actuator, the X & Y stages achieve a resolution
of 4 nanometers.
Products using the 25x Ratio Drive™:
-
I3000
3-Axis Positioner (X, Y, Z)
-
I5000
5-Axis Positioner (X, Y, Z, Yaw, Pitch)
-
I6000
6-Axis Positioner (X, Y, Z, Roll, Yaw, Pitch)
5x Ratio Drive™
A 5x Ratio Drive™ divides the motion down by 5 times
so that one half inch of actuator travel becomes 2.5 millimeters at the output.
With this option, there are no coarse adjustments and the full 2.5 mm of travel
is available from the micrometer or
stepper motor.
With the
stepper motor actuator, the X & Y stages achieve 20 nanometers
of resolution.
Products using the 5x Ratio Drive™:
-
I3005
3-Axis Positioner (X, Y, Z)
-
I5005
5-Axis Positioner (X, Y, Z, Yaw, Pitch)
-
I6005
6-Axis Positioner (X, Y, Z, Roll, Yaw, Pitch)