Linear motion to transform inline manufacturing

A Nyquist Industrial Control product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Apr 8, 2005

A novel linear transport system aims to transform inline manufacturing and assembly processes through its ingenious and cost-saving technology.

Nyquist Industrial Control and Tecnotion have joined forces to produce and market a linear transport system that is transforming inline manufacturing and assembly processes through its ingenious and cost-saving technology.

Areas of application are found in medical, display, solar-cell, clean-room and semiconductor markets.

The smooth and accurate full positioned transport of parts in a conditioned process environment (such as vacuum, clean-room, aseptic and gas sensitive) are essential in mentioned high-tech industries.

Renowned as an innovative leader in the industrial controls business, Eindhoven (Netherlands)-based Nyquist developed the linear motion system (LMS) in conjunction with Tecnotion.

The product has proven itself in a solar cell production application of OTB Solar that requires a high vacuum process environment.

This application is the first of its kind and overcomes the tricky problem of having to move high-precision parts continuously and with great accuracy within a vacuum so that delicate assembly and manufacturing operations can be performed effectively and fast.

The LMS enables this to be achieved both reliably and economically by making use of intelligent coils outside the vacuum environment, where all of the electronics are located.

Only the moving parts necessary for conveying the products are located inside the vacuum and absolutely no mechanical leadthroughs to the vacuum environment from the controls outside the vacuum are necessary.

This inexpensive and innovative solution is made possible by using linear motor technology, a field in which Tecnotion is recognised as a leading specialist within the industry.

Tecnotion's linear drives, which in simple terms comprise magnetic plates and coils, offer many advantages over regular rotary designs, the most obvious being unequaled positioning precision and accuracy.

Other benefits include low cost of ownership, lower production costs and increased production efficiency.

Linear motors are used in a wide range of production processes and are especially advantageous in the semiconductor, electronics, display, automotive and robotics industries.

Tecnotion also supplies other enabling elements that are vital to the working of LMS solution, eg parts such as sensors, drives and motors.

Nyquist Industrial Control specialises in supplying PC-based motion-control solutions based on open architectures and standard, cost-effective solutions that employ FireWire (IEEE1394) for peer-to-peer communication.

The LMS uses Nyquist's NYCe motion control products with advanced features that, for instance, avoid collision of part carriers while making a "train of carriers" possible.

The operation of the entire LMS concept hinges on the exchange of data between adjacent coils, the use of specific control algorithms, and synchronisation between the setpoint generators of the various coils.

Commenting on the LMS, Bob Jonker, Technotion's Sales and Marketing Manager, said: "We expect a lot of interest to come from high-tech industries where the smooth, reliable and highly accurate movement of parts through the processing assembly stages is essential".

"Such requirements can be found, for instance, in display, optical equipment and solar-cell manufacturing, as well as vacuum, clean-room, aseptic and gas sensitive environments in general".

Ad Scheepers, Nyquist's Sales Manager, commented: "The market is just right for commercialisation of the LMS and we are currently talking to interested parties, mainly comprising machine builders from Europe, the United States and Asia, who are very keen to reap the cost-saving benefits it will afford them".