Aerotech has released FibreMaxHP, a second-generation three-to-six axis photonics alignment platform designed for easy fibre-to-fibre or fibre-to-chip alignment in an automated production environment. This reliable drive and control technology ensures years of maintenance-free service in a high-throughput manufacturing environment, the company claims.
FibreMaxHP is capable of 2nm linear and 0.05µrad rotary minimum incremental motion, with speeds up to 400mm/s, to meet the challenges of aligning next-generation photonics packages. The direct-drive technology employed in FibreMaxHP offers a significant precision and throughput advantage, the company claims.
Aerotech’s controllers work with a variety of smart cameras and machine vision systems. The company’s power servo scanning algorithms can optimise power coupled through the devices. Standard scanning routines include fast align, hill climb, spiral and raster searches in up to six axes of motion.
The company’s advanced kinematics enable a virtual pivot point where rotation can occur at any user-defined point in space, rather than the physical rotation point of the FibreMaxHP axes. This assists the speed and accuracy of active alignment. Aerotech has an extensive array of software and hardware options to suit specific needs.
The FibreMaxHP is available with three to six axes of direct-drive alignment, allowing the platform to be specified with the exact number of axes needed for the application. Since many applications require manual adjustment of fixtures and parts for a one-time initial alignment, the FibreMaxHP is available with one to three axes of manual angular alignment with ±2° of motion. These manual adjustment axes mount directly to the direct-drive platform and offer a more economical approach to alignment when adjustment is not frequently required.
The FibreMaxHP is a modular design that can be customised with a special arrangement of axes, fixture, and mounting patterns to meet the needs of a specific application.