HXP100-ELECV60 pages

MOTORIZED
LINEAR STAGES

612

Motion

Hexapod

6-Axis Parallel Kinematic Positioning System

MOTORIZED
ROTATION STAGES

• Compact, integrated 6-axis positioner
• Light but with High stiffness (particularly in z)
• No moving cables
• No accumulation of motion errors

A Hexapod is a parallel kinematic motion device that provides six degrees of freedom: X, Y,
Z, pitch, roll, and yaw. Hexapods are popular and effective solutions to complex motion
applications that demand high load capacity and accuracy in up to six independent axes.
Yet, they still have the image of being complex and highly priced. Newport is the first
company to introduce a Hexapod that is not only affordable but extremely easy to use.

Applications

The Newport Hexapod is driven by six enhanced versions of industry-proven, high
performance DC servo motor driven LTA actuators. The quality of the actuators has
obviously a strong impact on the overall motion performance of a Hexapod, but of almost
equal importance are the joints connecting the actuators to the base and the moving top
plate. Embracing this challenge, our engineers came up with a unique design of special
anti-friction coated spherical joints that are not only simple, but also provide significantly
higher rigidity than ordinary universal joints. The result is a Newport Hexapod that provides
more than five-times higher rigidity and twice the load capacity of other hexapods of
similar size.

• Astronomy

The Newport Hexapod is supplied with a dedicated HXP100-ELEC controller. This
controller accurately masters the synchronized transformations from Cartesian input
coordinates to the motion of the Hexapod legs. In addition, the HXP100-ELEC also
provides advanced features including instrument grade I/O's, hardware based input
triggers, event triggers, high-speed on-the-fly data acquisition, fast TCP/IP communication,
and integrated TCL programming language for on-board processes. All these features
improve accuracy and throughput, making the programmer’s life much easier.
A common requirement for many Hexapod motion applications is a virtual pivot point,
allowing the user to freely choose the point in space that is the pivot point for all rotations.
The Hexapod XPS controller provides this as a standard feature and at Newport, we have
taken this a step further. Not only can the Newport Hexapod relocate the pivot point, but
through our advanced technology, the entire coordinate system can be relocated. In
addition, two user-definable coordinate systems are provided, called Tool (moves with the
Hexapod) and Work (stationary coordinate system). Incremental displacements are
possible in either one of these systems in user-friendly Cartesian coordinates, and
positions can be easily calculated from one system to the other by a function call. These
powerful functions provide a completely new way of mastering Hexapod motions without
the need for complex external coordinate transformations.
The HXP100 is available in a vacuum compatible version. For other configurations with
longer travel, higher speeds or larger load capacities available, please contact the Newport
applications team.

SYSTEMS

MOTORIZED
OPTICAL MOUNTS

METROLOGY
INSTRUMENTS

PARALLEL
KINEMATICS

MOTORIZED
VERTICAL STAGES

CONTROLLERS
AND DRIVERS

MOTORIZED
ACTUATORS

• Dual virtual centers of rotation, set by software

Phone: 1-877-835-9620 • Fax: 1-949-253-1680

• Optics and satellite assembly
and testing
• AED simulation

• Biotechnology, surgery
• X-Ray diffraction
• Micromachining, micromanipulation

As a standard feature, the Hexapod XPS
controller allows the user to choose two
virtual pivots point in space for all rotations.