Hardware manual

AGR Series Stage Hardware Manual Overview

A precision ground worm shaft with matching gear makes up the drive mechanism in all AGR rotary stages.

The gear mesh is precisely set at the factory in such a way as to minimize wear characteristics, greatly

improving stage life while maintaining stage performance even over a large temperature range. The precision

ground worm drive mechanism also creates outstanding angular positioning and velocity control. This is

especially useful in scanning applications where torque ripple cannot be tolerated. Other added benefits of

the worm drive are high levels of torque output and natural braking ability.

The drive mechanism is lubricated with a high quality grease containing extreme pressure and anti-wear

additives instead of the messy oil lube used traditionally. Designed around this grease, the AGR series of

rotary stages does not require oil seals, eliminating the high levels of friction generated torque. This

increases available torque for the application and reduces the required motor size. Lubrication is easily

maintained on the fly with access ports on the side of the rotary table. Refer to Chapter 4: Maintenance for

maintenance schedules and procedures.

The rotary stage shaft is supported by a pair of precision-ground angular contact bearings which are

preloaded to ensure superior stiffness, load carrying capacity and minimal tilt errors. Stages in the AGR

product family are designed to handle significant axial, radial, and moment loads. The combination of quality

gear components and angular contact bearing set provide superior stage accuracy and repeatability.

Other standard design features include the optical home limit switch through a 9 pin connector. The home

limit switch wiring passes through the top cover plate on the motor side and into the connector where it is

then attached to the motor wiring. Refer to Section 3.5.1. for a description of home limit switch operation and

wiring. The electrical wiring from the motor and encoder to the connectorized ports on the motor case is

contained within the rear motor housing and has been completed at the factory. The motor cables and limit

cable convey motor power, encoder feedback, and home limit switch signals to an appropriate hardware

device (e.g. axis controller or amplifier). Refer to Section 3.4. for standard motor wiring and connector pin

outputs.