Positioning Technology Gets Smart
Feb 28, 2019 — Over the span of 40 years, the field of precision positioning has vaulted forward in deeply beneficial ways. Submicron-resolution linear encoders, for example, once available only in the costliest stages, are now affordably integrated into mechanisms as large as gantries and as small as matchbook-sized nanopositioners (Figure 1). New motor concepts abound, ranging from the familiar DC servo, stepper, and linear motors to novel technologies such as high-speed, ultrastable resonant piezo motors