Dover Motion, a leader in precision motion systems, announces the release of its newest SmartStage™ product—the SmartStage™ Shuttle, a long-travel linear motor stage. Building on over 60 years of motion innovation, the SmartStage Shuttle delivers 200-500 mm travel with 5 nm resolution, all within a compact design with the controller included inside the stage.
Image Credit: Dover Motion
The SmartStage Shuttle is engineered to meet the evolving demands of high throughput imaging for life science and industrial metrology applications. It combines high resolution motion with consistent velocity stability, enabling both point-to-point movements and long, constant-velocity scans.
The stage offers coordinated motion support, facilitating integration with multi-axis systems and external triggers. It supports rapid positioning of large masses and advanced motion capabilities—all via one cable connection. Recirculating bearings used in SmartStage Shuttle reduce swept volume in space-constrained instruments, relative to cantilevered cross-roller bearing stages.
"The SmartStage Shuttle merges extended travel and integrated control with our proven compact SmartStage architecture," says Justin Harper, Senior Product Manager at Dover Motion. "It enables developers to build compact, high-throughput instruments without worrying about external controls or excessive cabling."
As part of the SmartStage ecosystem supported under the Motion Synergy platform, the Shuttle is designed for seamless integration with other SmartStage stages, enabling rapid prototyping and scalable production-ready configurations. This modular compatibility allows users to build compact, high throughput systems with reduced complexity.
Dover Motion offers custom travel lengths and mounting options to accommodate various application requirements. The SmartStage Shuttle can be configured as an XY system by stacking a SmartStage linear stage on top, with further options including wedge Z or tip tilt stages to enable full multi-axis motion. An optional magnetically attached cover is also available for protection in sensitive environments.
The SmartStage Shuttle is covered by US Patent 10,367,436.