Focused on the innovation game

Continued technical leadership is one of the stated aims of a company that describes itself as ‘dedicated to the science of motion’. Chris Powley reports Motion control specialist Aerotech has enjoyed a 20% compound annual growth rate for the past 30 years. The company, which has its headquarters in Pittsburgh in the USA, believes it is a leading player in the medium- to high-performance motion control market and has set aggressive growth targets to maintain this position. Simon Smith, managing director of the UK subsidiary, says these targets will be achieved by continuing to persuade customers that Aerotech offers the lowest cost of ownership and not simply by offering the lowest prices. World wide, the company has an established reputation as a manufacturer of motion control components, sub-assemblies and sub-systems. Its UK subsidiary, opened in 1981, has a staff of 12 and provides technical support, applications advice and after-sales service. Behind Aerotech’s continuing growth lies an R&D expenditure running at 10% of turnover, which prompts Smith to say that “while most of our competitors are playing catch-up, we are focused on innovation”. New products such as Automation 3200, described as ‘the intelligent 32-axis motion, vision and I/O system’ are, he adds, indicative of this approach. This particular product’s system modules are connected via the IEEE-1394 (Firewire) standard communication bus, making it, says Smith, up to 1,000 times faster than competitive motion networks. Aerotech also reckons to manufacture the broadest range of linear and rotary positioning stages, the most advanced of these providing a nanometre-level positioning capability. Typical applications include semiconductor processing where Smith points out: “Manufacturers are endeavouring to make the artifacts on the wafer ever smaller as they seek to satisfy the demand for smaller laptops, mobile phones and so on. We are already working on the solutions that will be needed for tomorrow’s technology and we can save the semiconductor manufacturers months, if not years, of project time, thereby enabling them to get their new products to market in the shortest possible time.” Smith, who graduated in control engineering, says that although Aerotech makes “a phenomenally accurate positioning stage”, its performance inevitably depends on the inherent stability and accuracy of the frame to which it is attached. It is for this reason that he prefers to be involved in design partnerships “because we can provide a route not only to improved performance for a positioning system but also in due course to an optimised production process for the customer”. In this context Smith is adamant that terms such as ‘accuracy’, ‘repeatability’ and ‘resolution’ are bandied about without a clear definition of what they actually mean in a given set of circumstances. These issues should be more widely discussed, he adds, claiming that end-users are not always aware that they may not be comparing like with like and that all too often initial cost remains the defining factor. “We characterise every positioning stage that leaves this company, explaining clearly and from the very beginning the differences in choice that are achievable and available,” he says. “We explain the physical limits of our control, drive and feedback technology and concentrate our attention on providing the best motion control platform for a given performance and price.” This emphasis on explanation rather than confrontation is what lies behind the recent publication of an applications guide to linear motors, the first in a planned series of such guides. The technology of linear motors has, according to Smith, really come of age over the past decade and, when the total cost of ownership is taken into account, he says the cost of a linear motor solution will be significantly less than that of a typical screw and motor alternative.