H-820 Low-Cost Hexapod Parallel-Kinematics 6 Axis Positioning System from Physik Instrumente

The H-820 standard-class 6-axis positioning system includes a parallel-kinematic design for six degrees of freedom making it considerably more compact and stiff than serial-kinematic systems, higher dynamic range and no moved cables. It has a higher reliability and a reduced friction.

The system includes a direct drive with brushless DC motors (BLDC) and a rotary encoder on motor shaft. It has a powerful digital controller and an open software architecture, which is user-defined, has a stable pivot point and is software selectable.

The positions are commanded in Cartesian coordinates, macro programming can be done and an open source LabVIEW driver set is provided. It includes a work space simulation software and an optional interface for PLC control.

Key Features

The key features of the H-820 are:

Six degrees of freedom, travel ranges to 100 mm / 60°

Load capacity to 20 kg

Velocity under full load to 20 mm/s

Repeatability up to ±20 µm

MTBF 20,000 h

Works in any orientation

Rapid response

Sophisticated controller using vector algorithms, virtual pivot point

Extensive software support

Applications

The H-820 finds applications in research and industry for life science, biotechnology, automation and micromachining.