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2 December 2007

New generation of Newport positioners offers many advantages at same or lower prices

Since the beginning of 2007, Newport Corporation has been undertaking a major program to revisit some of its most popular motorized positioners. As a result there are several new replacement products that feature significant improvements over their predecessors at design, look and performance levels— all this at the same or even lower prices.

High performance and compact linear UTS stages

The new UTS stages have been introduced as a replacement to the very popular family of UTM series linear stages. They incorporate many of the advantages of the UTM series and provide superior motion performance in an enhanced, shorter, and lower profile package. Featuring the same optimized steel body, bearings and lead screw as the UTM stages, UTS stages benefit from a number of mechanical improvements and completely new motor configurations: 2 x faster speed, 10 x higher resolution, 33% superior repeatability. The new series has been streamlined down to only 9 product references compared to 96 for the UTM series making product selection much easier than before. Priced cheaper than the UTM stages, UTS stages deliver greatest performance/price value to end users, integrators and equipment manufacturers.

UZS80 vertical linear stages

UZS80 is the successor to the outgoing UZM80 stage. It offers better performances and 12% more travel at a comparable price and is recommended for high-precision vertical translation in applications requiring submicron resolution. The low-profile design makes it particularly suited for space-limited XYZ positioning applications. Unlike vertically-mounted linear stages, UZS80 stages allow centering the payload over the bearings and at short distances to other stages below, avoiding positioning errors caused by cantilever loads or long moment arms. UZS80 stages are available as DC motor version with 50 nm encoder resolution or as stepper motor version featuring 0,2 µm incremental motion capability.

BG Series goniometric cradles

The Newport BGS50 and BGS80 goniometric cradles are the successors to our popular BGM50 and BGM80 models. They provide large angle rotation on a transverse axis above the platform. Compared to full 360° rotation stages, they offer maximum free access to the rotating part and allow construction of very compact multiaxis rotation assemblies. BG cradles are designed so that orthogonal mounting of two adjacent-size cradles (e.g., BGS50 and BGS80) provides two perpendicular rotational axes intersecting at about the same point in space. Mounting a rotation stage under the assembly adds a third orthogonal rotation axis through the same point. BG Series goniometric cradles are available in 5 sizes and may be configured with DC motors or stepper motors. The new BGS50 and BGS80 models recently introduced also offer the tremendous advantage of being priced some 20% cheaper than the previous BGM versions.

RVS80 rotation stages

The new RVS80 rotation stages are to succeed to the popular RV80 stages. They provide high-precision angular positioning accuracy combined with high load capacity in a compact, annular design. RVS80 rotation stages are available in two variants: the DC motor option features an ultra-high resolution 8,000 cts/rev. rotary encoder with index pulse for precision homing and is the recommended choice for applications requiring accurate bidirectional positioning. The stepper motor version is a more economic variant for less demanding applications.

Introducing the SMC100PP single axis motion controller

To complement the SMC100CC DC motor controller/driver, Newport has introduced the SMC100PP, a single axis motion controller/driver for two-phase stepper motors up to 48 VDC at 1.1 A peak per phase. The SMC100 controller family provides a very compact and low-cost solution for driving a variety of Newport and other manufacturers motorized stages from a PC or from the optional SMCRC remote control including all those stages mentioned above – now available for DC motors and stepper motors.

Communication with the SMC100 controller is achieved via a RS-232-C, or from a USB port using the external adapter SMC-USB (requires Windows™ operating system). A Windows™ based software supports all configurations and enables basic motion. Advanced application programming is simplified by an ASCII command interface and a set of two letter mnemonic commands. Up to 32 controllers can be chained through the internal RS-485 link making multi-axis motion control easy and affordable.

When used with Newport ESP enhanced positioners, the SMC100 controller will detect the connected stage automatically and provides easy configuration using the supplied Windows-based utility software.

This exclusive Newport feature reduces configuration time and provides the best protection of your equipment from any accidental damages.

More information on Newport's complete offering of motorized positioning stages and motion controllers can be found at www.newport.com/moveme

Contact: Jon Richardson
E: jon.richardson@spectra-physics.com


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