13.0 mm Travel Motorized Vertical Translation Stage

Thorlabs' Kinesis^® software features new .NET controls which can be used by third-party developers working in the latest C#, Visual Basic, LabVIEW™, or any .NET compatible languages to create custom applications.

C#
This programming language is designed to allow multiple programming paradigms, or languages, to be used, thus allowing for complex problems to be solved in an easy or efficient manner. It encompasses typing, imperative, declarative, functional, generic, object-oriented, and component-oriented programming. By providing functionality with this common software platform, Thorlabs has ensured that users can easily mix and match any of the Kinesis controllers in a single application, while only having to learn a single set of software tools. In this way, it is perfectly feasible to combine any of the controllers from the low-powered, single-axis to the high-powered, multi-axis systems and control all from a single, PC-based unified software interface.

The Kinesis System Software allows two methods of usage: graphical user interface (GUI) utilities for direct interaction and control of the controllers 'out of the box', and a set of programming interfaces that allow custom-integrated positioning and alignment solutions to be easily programmed in the development language of choice.

For a collection of example projects that can be compiled and run to demonstrate the different ways in which developers can build on the Kinesis motion control libraries, click on the links below. Please note that a separate integrated development environment (IDE) (e.g., Microsoft Visual Studio) will be required to execute the Quick Start examples. The C# example projects can be executed using the included .NET controls in the Kinesis software package (see the Kinesis Software tab for details).

Click Here for the Kinesis with C# Quick Start Guide Click Here for C# Example Projects Click Here for Quick Start Device Control Examples

LabVIEW
LabVIEW can be used to communicate with any Kinesis-based controller via .NET controls. In LabVIEW, you build a user interface, known as a front panel, with a set of tools and objects and then add code using graphical representations of functions to control the front panel objects. The LabVIEW tutorial, provided below, provides some information on using the .NET controls to create control GUIs for Kinesis-driven devices within LabVIEW. It includes an overview with basic information about using controllers in LabVIEW and explains the setup procedure that needs to be completed before using a LabVIEW GUI to operate a device.

Click Here to View the LabVIEW Guide Click Here to View the Kinesis with LabVIEW Overview Page

Software

Kinesis Version 1.14.51

The Kinesis Software Package, which includes a GUI for control of Thorlabs' Kinesis system controllers.

Also Available:

• Communications Protocol

Kinesis GUI Screen

Thorlabs offers the Kinesis^® software package to drive our wide range of motion controllers. The software can be used to control devices in the Kinesis family, which covers a wide variety of motion controllers ranging from small, low-powered, single-channel drivers (such as the K-Cubes™) to high-power, multi-channel benchtop units and modular 19" rack nanopositioning systems (the MMR60x Rack System).

The Kinesis Software features .NET controls which can be used by 3rd party developers working in the latest C#, Visual Basic, LabVIEW™, or any .NET compatible languages to create custom applications. Low-level DLL libraries are included for applications not expected to use the .NET framework and APIs are included with each install. A Central Sequence Manager supports integration and synchronization of all Thorlabs motion control hardware.

By providing this common software platform, Thorlabs has ensured that users can mix and match any of our motion control devices in a single application, while only having to learn a single set of software tools. In this way, it is perfectly feasible to combine any of the controllers from single-axis to multi-axis systems and control all from a single, PC-based unified software interface.

The software package allows two methods of usage: graphical user interface (GUI) utilities for direct interaction with and control of the controllers 'out of the box', and a set of programming interfaces that allow custom-integrated positioning and alignment solutions to be easily programmed in the development language of choice. 

Multi-Axis Stage Selection Guide

Click to Enlarge
In the above application, a 3-Axis NanoMax flexure stage is aligned in front of a 6-axis stage at the proper 112.5 mm deck height using an AMA554 Height Adapter.

3-Axis Stages
Thorlabs offers three different 3-Axis Stage variations: NanoMax flexure stages, MicroBlock compact flexure stages, and RollerBlock long-travel stages. Each stage features a 62.5 mm nominal deck height. Our NanoMax line of 3-axis stages offers built-in closed- and open-loop piezos as well as modular drive options that include stepper motors, differential drives, or additional piezos. The MicroBlock stages are available with differential micrometer drives or fine thread thumbscrews; these drives are not removable. Finally, our RollerBlock stage drivers can be switched out for any actuator that has a Ø3/8" (9.5 mm) mounting barrel.

4- and 5-Axis Stages
Our 4- and 5-axis stages are ideal for the static positioning of waveguides or complex optical elements with respect to our 3-axis or 6-axis high-performance alignment stages. Thorlabs' 5-axis stages have nominal heights of 62.5 mm or 112.5 mm. The AMA554 Height Adapter can be used to raise the deck height of the 3-axis or 4-axis stages to 112.5 mm for compatibility with our 5-axis MicroBlock or 6-Axis NanoMax Stages.

6-Axis Stages
Thorlabs' 6-Axis NanoMax Nanopositioners are ideal for complex, multi-axis positioning and have a nominal deck height of 112.5 mm. These stages offer a common point of rotation and a patented parallel flexure design that allows all actuators to be coupled directly to the base to minimize any unwanted motion in the system. Built-in closed- and open-loop piezo options are available. A selection of modular drive options allows any axis to be manual or motorized with the option for external piezos. Our units without included actuators are also available in right- or left-handed configurations. To increase the stage height of the 3-axis stages to 112.5 mm, we recommend our AMA554 Height Adapter, shown in the image to the right.

A complete selection and comparison of our multi-axis stages is available below.

3-Axis Stages

Motorized Linear Translation Stages

Thorlabs' motorized linear translation stages are offered in a range of maximum travel distances, from a stage with 20 µm of piezo translation to our 600 mm direct drive stage. Many of these stages can be assembled in multi-axis configurations, providing XY or XYZ translation. For fiber coupling applications, please see our multi-axis stages, which offer finer adjustment than our standard motorized translation stages. In addition to motorized linear translation stages, we offer motorized rotation stages and goniometers. We also offer manual translation stages.

Piezo Stages

These stages incorporate piezoelectric elements in a variety of drive mechanisms. ORIC^® stages incorporate piezo inertia drives that use "stick-slip" friction properties to obtain extended travel ranges. Our modular, quick-connect XR25 series translation stage can be driven by the PIA25 piezo inertia actuator which operates using the same principle. Our Nanoflex™ translation stages use standard piezo chips along with manual actuators. Elliptec^® stages use resonant piezo motors to push and pull the moving platform through resonant elliptical motion. Our LPS710E z-axis stage features a mechanically amplified piezo design and includes a matched controller.

Piezoelectric Stages
Product Family	ORIC® PDXZ1 Closed-Loop 4.5 mm Vertical Stage	ORIC® PD2 Open-Loop 5 mm Stage	ORIC® PDX2 Closed-Loop 5 mm Stage
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Travel	4.5 mm	5 mm
Speed	1 mm/s (Typ.)a	10 mm/s (Typ. Max)b	8 mm/s (Typ.)c
Drive Type	Piezoelectric Inertia Drive
Possible Axis Configurations	Z	X, XY, XYZ
Mounting Surface Size	45.0 mm x 42.0 mm	13 mm x 13 mm
Additional Details

• Specified at 20 kHz Driving Frequency and in Closed-Loop Mode
• Specified using PDXC and PDXC2 Benchtop Controllers. For performance when controlled with a KIM001 or KIM101 K-Cube Controller, see the Specs tab of the PD2 or PD3 stage presentation.
• Specified using PDXC and PDXC2 Benchtop Controllers.
  
  

Piezoelectric Stages
Product Family	ORIC® PD1 Open-Loop 20 mm Stage	ORIC® PD1D Open-Loop 20 mm Monolithic XY Stage	ORIC® PDX1 Closed-Loop 20 mm Stage	ORIC® PD3 Open-Loop 50 mm Stage
Click Photo to Enlarge
Travel	20 mm			50 mm
Speed	3 mm/s (Typ. Max)a		20 mm/s (Typ. Max)b	10 mm/sc
Drive Type	Piezoelectric Inertia Drive
Possible Axis Configurations	X, XY, XYZ	XY, XYZ	X, XY, XYZ	X, XY, XYZ
Mounting Surface Size	30 mm x 30 mm			80 mm x 30 mm
Additional Details

• Specified using KIM101 K-Cube Controller.
• Specified using PDXC and PDXC2 Benchtop Controllers.
• Specified using PDXC and PDXC2 Benchtop Controllers. For performance when controlled with a KIM001 or KIM101 K-Cube Controller, see the Specs tab of the PD2 or PD3 stage presentation.
  
  

Piezoelectric Stages
Product Family	Nanoflex™ 20 µm Stage with 5 mm Actuator	Nanoflex™ 25 µm Stage with 1.5 mm Actuator	Modular XR25 Series 25 mm Stage	Elliptec® 28 mm Stage	Elliptec® 60 mm Stage	LPS710E 1.1 mm Vertical Stage
Click Photo to Enlarge
Travel	20 µm + 5 mm Manual	25 µm + 1.5 mm Manual	25 mm	28 mm	60.0 mm	1.1 mm
Maximum Velocity	-		≤3.6 mm/mina	180 mm/s	90 mm/s	-
Drive Type	Piezo with Manual Actuator		Piezo Inertia Drive	Resonant Piezoelectric Motor		Amplified Piezo
Possible Axis Configurations	X, XY, XYZ		X, XY, YZ, XZ, XYZ	X		Z
Mounting Surface Size	75 mm x 75 mm	30 mm x 30 mm	110.0 mm x 75.7 mm	15 mm x 15 mm		21 mm x 21 mm
Additional Details

• While travelling in one direction, each device's step size may vary by up to 20% and is not normally repeatable. Due to the open loop design, component variance, change of direction and application conditions may further increase the scale of the variance. That is for a given set of settings in Kinesis.
• The PIA25 piezo inertia actuator is ideal for set-and-hold applications that require high-resolution relative positioning. For position readouts with 10.0 µm accuracy, we offer the ENCXR25 optical encoder (sold separately).

Stepper Motor Stages

These translation stages feature removable or integrated stepper motors and long travel ranges up to 300 mm. Many of these stages either have integrated multi-axis capability (PLSXY) or can be assembled into multi-axis configurations (PLSX, Quick-Connect XR25 Series, LNR Series, NRT Series, and LTS Series stages). The MLJ150 stage also offers high load capacity vertical translation.

Stepper Motor Stages
Product Family	MVSN1(/M) 13 mm Vertical Stage	PLS Series 1" Stages	Modular XR25 Series 25 mm Stage	LNR Series 25 mm Stage	LNR Series 50 mm Stage
Click Photo to Enlarge
Travel	13 mm	1" (25.4 mm)	25 mm	25 mm	50 mm
Maximum Velocity	5.0 mm/s	7.0 mm/s	2.0 mm/s	2.0 mm/s	50 mm/s
Possible Axis Configurations	Z	X, XY	X, XY, YZ, XZ, XYZ	X, XY, XYZ	X, XY, XYZ
Mounting Surface Size	24.5 mm x 50.0 mm	3" x 3" (76.2 mm x 76.2 mm)	110.0 mm x 75.7 mm	60 mm x 60 mm	100 mm x 100 mm
Additional Details

Stepper Motor Stages
Product Family	NRT Series 100 mm Stage	NRT Series 150 mm Stage	LTS Series 150 mm Stage	LTS Series 300 mm Stage	MLJ250 50 mm Vertical Stage
Click Photo to Enlarge
Travel	100 mm	150 mm	150 mm	300 mm	50 mm
Maximum Velocity	30 mm/s		50 mm/s		3.0 mm/s
Possible Axis Configurations	X, XY, XYZ		X, XY, XYZ		Z
Mounting Surface Size	84 mm x 84 mm		100 mm x 90 mm		148 mm x 131 mm
Additional Details

DC Servo Motor Stages

Thorlabs offers linear translation stages with removable or integrated DC servo motors. These stages feature low profiles and many can be assembled in multi-axis configurations.

DC Servo Motor Stages
Product Family	MT Series 12 mm Stages	PT Series 25 mm Stages	Modular XR25 Series 25 mm Stage	MTS Series 25 mm Stage	MTS Series 50 mm Stage
Click Photo to Enlarge
Travel	12 mm	25 mm	25 mm	25 mm	50 mm
Maximum Velocity	2.6 mm/s		2.6 mm/s	2.4 mm/s
Possible Axis Configurations	X, XY, XYZ		X, XY, YZ, XZ, XYZ	X, XY, XYZ
Mounting Surface Size	61 mm x 61 mm	101.6 mm x 76.2 mm	110.0 mm x 75.7 mm	43 mm x 43 mm
Additional Details

DC Servo Motor Stages
Product Family	M30 Series 30 mm Stage	M30 Series 30 mm Monolithic XY Stage	M150 Series 150 mm XY Stage	KVS30 30 mm Vertical Stage
Click Photo to Enlarge
Travel	30 mm		150 mm	30 mm
Maximum Velocity	2.4 mm/s		X-Axis: 170 mm/s Y-Axis: 230 mm/s	8.0 mm/s
Possible Axis Configurations	X, Z	XY, XZ	XY	Z
Mounting Surface Size	115 mm x 115 mm		272.4 mm x 272.4 mm	116.2 mm x 116.2 mm
Additional Details

Direct Drive Stages

These low-profile stages feature integrated brushless DC servo motors for high speed translation with zero backlash. When no power is applied, the platforms of these stages have very little inertia and are virtually free running. Hence these stages may not be suitable for applications where the stage's platform needs to remain in a set position when the power is off. We do not recommend mounting these stages vertically.

Direct Drive Stages
Product Family	DDS Series 50 mm Stage	DDS Series 100 mm Stage	DDS Series 220 mm Stage	DDS Series 300 mm Stage	DDS Series 600 mm Stage
Click Photo to Enlarge
Travel	50 mm	100 mm	220 mm	300 mm	600 mm
Maximum Velocity	500 mm/s		300 mm/s	400 mm/s	400 mm/s
Possible Axis Configurations	X, XY		X, XY	X	X
Mounting Surface Size	60 mm x 52 mm		88 mm x 88 mm	120 mm x 120 mm
Additional Details