ABL1500WB Air-Bearing Direct-Drive Linear Stage
Description
Design Features
- Wide base for large offset loads
- Powerful dual linear motor drive
- Designed for high-performance scanning and inspection
- Active air preload on all air-bearing surfaces
- Linear encoder feedback provides sub-nanometer resolution
- High stiffness for heavy loads and excellent geometric performance
- Four models with travels from 200 mm to 500 mm
The ABL1500WB is a wide-base version of the ABL1500 series air-bearing stage. The wider base makes the ABL1500WB ideally suited for applications with large offset loads, and it is ideal as the lower axis in XY stage systems with large travel. The ABL1500WB incorporates dual linear motors, effectively doubling the force output of a standard ABL1500 stage.
Leading-edge industries, particularly in the semiconductor and high-performance test and measurement fields, demand positioning tolerances beyond the capability of conventional ball-screw and mechanical-bearing positioning systems. The ABL1500WB, with its fully active preload, exceptionally high stiffness, and excellent geometric characteristics was designed specifically to meet those demands.
Air-Bearing Design for High Dynamic Performance
The ABL1500WB incorporates an air-on-air preload on both the vertical and horizontal surfaces. The opposing thin-film pressure maintains the bearing nominal gap tolerance. This design, in addition to the large air-bearing surface that distributes the load over a large surface area, results in a stage with outstanding stiffness that is ideal for heavy or offset loading.
Aerotech’s proprietary manufacturing techniques result in a stage with unsurpassed geometric characteristics, which maximize performance by yielding superior pitch, roll, yaw, straightness and flatness specifications.
Linear Motor Drive
The driving force behind this stage is Aerotech’s BLMC series brushless linear servomotor. The BLMC utilizes an ironless forcer, which means there is zero cogging and no attractive forces, resulting in unsurpassed smoothness of motion.
Zero Maintenance
Our totally noncontact air bearing, noncontact linear motor drive and noncontact feedback device ensure years of maintenance-free operation at the high performance levels expected of Aerotech equipment. Because there is no mechanical contact between moving elements, the ABL1500WB experiences no wear or reduction in performance over time. Service life is virtually unlimited and because there is no lubrication – only clean, dry gas– air bearings are ideal for cleanroom and medical applications.
Cable Management
We carefully optimize the cable bend radius to ensure years of trouble-free operation. In the unlikely event of failure, Aerotech’s modular design makes cable replacement quick and easy with minimal downtime.
We include all customer-required cables, air hoses, etc. in our CMS bundle to facilitate integration into the final system. Both ends are fully connectorized for simple integration into the customer’s machine.
Specifications
Mechanical Specifications
| Model | ABL15020WB | ABL15030WB | ABL15040WB | ABL15050WB | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | 200 mm | 300 mm | 400 mm | 500 mm | ||
| Accuracy(1) | LN | HALAR | ±0.4 µm | ±0.4 µm | ±0.5 µm | ±0.5 µm |
| Standard | ±5.0 µm | ±5.0 µm | ±5.0 µm | ±5.0 µm | ||
| LT | HALAR | ±0.5 µm | ±0.5 µm | ±0.6 µm | ±0.6 µm | |
| Standard | ±8.0 µm | ±12.0 µm | ±16.0 µm | ±20.0 µm | ||
| Repeatability (Bidirectional) (1) | LN | ±0.1 µm | ±0.15 µm | ±0.2 µm | ||
| LT | ±0.2 µm | ±0.3 µm | ||||
| Straightness(1) | ±0.5 µm | ±0.75 µm | ±1.5 µm | ±2.0 µm | ||
| Flatness(1) | ±0.5 µm | ±0.75 µm | ±1.5 µm | ±2.0 µm | ||
| Pitch | ±2 arc sec | ±3 arc sec | ±4 arc sec | ±5 arc sec | ||
| Roll | ±2 arc sec | ±3 arc sec | ±4 arc sec | ±5 arc sec | ||
| Yaw | ±2 arc sec | ±3 arc sec | ±4 arc sec | ±5 arc sec | ||
| Maximum Speed | 2 m/s | |||||
| Maximum Acceleration | 2 g (No Load) | |||||
| Maximum Force (Continuous) | 187.2 N | |||||
| Load Capacity(2) | Horizontal | 60 kg | ||||
| Side | 25 kg | |||||
| Operating Pressure | 80 psi ±5 psig | |||||
| Air Consumption | 32-40 SLPM @ 552 kPa (1.13-1.4 SCFM @ 5.52 bar) | |||||
| Moving Mass (No Load) | 11.5 kg | |||||
| Stage Mass | 39.8 kg | 45.0 kg | 50.3 kg | 55.5 kg | ||
| Material | Aluminum | |||||
| MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) | 30,000 Hours | |||||
- Certified with each stage.
- Axis orientation for on-axis loading is listed.
- Specifications are for single-axis systems measured 25 mm above the tabletop. Performance of multi-axis systems is payload and workpoint dependent. Consult factory for multi-axis or non-standard applications.
- To protect air bearing against under-pressure, an in-line pressure switch tied to the motion controller/amplifier ESTOP input is recommended.
- Air supply must be clean, dry to 0°F dew point and filtered to 0.25 μm or better; recommend nitrogen at 99.9% purity.
- For XY configurations, the maximum upper axis travel is 500 mm.
Electrical Specifications
| Drive System | Brushless Linear Servomotor |
| Feedback | Noncontact Linear Encoder (see signal period options on Order Information page) |
| Maximum Bus Voltage | up to 80 VDC |
| Limit Switches | 5 V, Normally Closed |
| Home Switch | Near Center |
Recommended Controller
| Multi-Axis | A3200 | Ndrive MP/Ndrive CP/Ndrive HLe/Npaq MXR |
| Ensemble | Ensemble MP/Ensemble CP/Ensemble HLe/Epaq | |
| Single Axis | Soloist | Soloist MP/Soloist CP/Soloist HLe |
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ABL1500WB 
Dimensions
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ABL1500WB 
Ordering Information
Ordering Example
| ABL15 | 030WB | -M | -10X2 | -NC | -LN30AS | -XY-CMS |
Ordering Options
| Series | Travel (mm) | Mounting and Grid Pattern | Motor | Limits | Linear Encoder | Options |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABL15 | 020WB 030WB 040WB 050WB |
-M | -10X2 | -NC | -LTnnAS -LTnnX50 -LNnnAS |
-SINGLE-CMS -XYCMS -XYZCMS |
ABL1500WB Series Linear Air-Bearing Stage
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| ABL15020WB | 200 mm (8 in) travel linear air-bearing stage with linear motor and limits |
| ABL15030WB | 300 mm (12 in) travel linear air-bearing stage with linear motor and limits |
| ABL15040WB | 400 mm (16 in) travel linear air-bearing stage with linear motor and limits |
| ABL15050WB | 500 mm (20 in) travel linear air-bearing stage with linear motor and limits |
Mounting and Grid Pattern
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| -M | Metric dimension mounting pattern and holes |
Motor
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| -10X2 | Dual brushless linear motors (BLMC-192-A) |
Limits
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| -NC | Normally-closed end of travel limit switches (standard) |
Standard Linear Encoders
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| -LT20AS | Linear encoder for ABL15020WB; amplified sine output |
| -LT30AS | Linear encoder for ABL15030WB; amplified sine output |
| -LT40AS | Linear encoder for ABL15040WB; amplified sine output |
| -LT50AS | Linear encoder for ABL15050WB; amplified sine output |
| -LT20X50 | Linear encoder for ABL15020WB; 0.1 micron line driver output |
| -LT30X50 | Linear encoder for ABL15030WB; 0.1 micron line driver output |
| -LT40X50 | Linear encoder for ABL15040WB; 0.1 micron line driver output |
| -LT50X50 | Linear encoder for ABL15050WB; 0.1 micron line driver output |
High-Accuracy Linear Encoders
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| -LN20AS | High-accuracy linear encoder for ABL15020WB; amplified sine output |
| -LN30AS | High-accuracy linear encoder for ABL15030WB; amplified sine output |
| -LN40AS | High-accuracy linear encoder for ABL15040WB; amplified sine output |
| -LN50AS | High-accuracy linear encoder for ABL15050WB; amplified sine output |
Options
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| -SINGLE-CMS | Cable management system for single-axis applications |
| -XY-CMS | Cable management system for X-Y assembly |
| -XYZ-CMS | Cable management system for X-Y-Z assembly |
Accessories (to be ordered as separate line item)
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| HALAR | High-accuracy system – linear error correction for accuracy and repeatability |
| ALIGNMENT-NPA | Non-precision XY assembly |
| ALIGNMENT-PA5 | XY assembly; 5 arc sec orthogonal |
| ALIGNMENT-PA2 | XY assembly; 2 arc sec orthogonal |