Nippon Thompson Co. Ltd. (IKO) expands its products under the Mechatronics Series, which combines precision processing technology and electronics. Recently, the company’s Nano Linear NT linear motor table has added MINAS A6L servo driver by Panasonic Corporation.

The Mechatronic Series includes precision positioning tables, alignment table modules, rotary stages, precision lifting tables, Nano Linear, linear motor tables, and alignment stages. They are widely used in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, flat panel display manufacturing equipment, and positioning mechanisms for various precision equipment.

The Toki Mechatronics Center has been established at the company’s Toki Factory in Gifu Prefecture in Japan. It integrates the departments for mechatronics product development, parts procurement, and manufacturing.

Nano Linear NT

Nano Linear NT is a moving magnet type linear motor table with an extremely low cross-sectional height. A linear way or a cross roller way is used as the guide of a movable table. A highly accurate positioning is realized by combining a linear motor and a high-resolution linear encoder. Also, a large thrust can be achieved by using a high-performance neodymium magnet. Thus, high-speed and high-response positioning are possible despite Nano Linear NT’s extremely small size. It also uses a unique drive system without a movable cable. The mechanical contact occurs only in a linear motion guide device, allowing the device to maintain high level of cleanliness.

Supporting Drivers

The supporting drivers to Nano Linear LT were limited to ADVA of Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems Co. Ltd.; MR-J4 of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; VCII of CKD Nikki DENSO Co. Ltd.; and Σ-7 of Yaskawa Electric Corporation.

In collaboration with Panasonic, the Nano Linear NT Series can now be connected to the MINAS A6L. The high-performance controllability of the servo driver and Nano Linear NT realize high-speed, high-response, and high-precision positioning. This combination contributes to the improvement of production efficiency.

Nano Linear NT is compatible with various motion networks. By connecting with the MINAS A6L servo driver, it can be controlled by RTEX, Panasonic’s newly developed high-speed synchronous motion network. It can also be connected to the conventional EtherCAT, SSCNET III/H, and MECHATROLINK. EtherCAT is an Ethernet-based open network communication enables real-time control and was developed by Beckhoff Automation GmbH & Co. KG of Germany. Mitsubishi Electric Co., Ltd. developed SSCNET III/H is a motion network communication for servo system control. The MECHATROLINK is an open field network communication that connects the controller and various components.

A highly reliable control network can be easily constructed by selecting a driver based on the network of the customer’s device.