Demcon high-tech systems developed a high-G motion platform designed to enable component testing under extreme dynamic conditions. The system was developed in response to increasing demands for higher productivity and higher acceleration in advanced equipment, where state-of-the-art motion architectures reach their physical limits.
By moving away from conventional linear motion concepts and adopting a rotational actuation principle, the engineering team created a test platform capable of achieving higher acceleration levels while maintaining system stability and control accuracy. The project illustrates how multidisciplinary engineering enables new performance levels in high-tech motion systems.
High-tech industries such as semiconductor equipment, precision manufacturing and advanced automation increasingly require validation of components under severe dynamic loading conditions. As system productivity increases, acceleration levels also increase. This introduces new risks related to mechanical interfaces, cable behaviour, connections and structural integrity. Understanding these effects requires test platforms capable of reproducing extreme motion profiles in a controlled and repeatable way.
Linear motor systems, as commonly used today, perform well within certain dynamic ranges, but as acceleration demands increase, physical limitations such as motor mass and thermal constraints begin to restrict further performance improvements. This creates the need for alternative motion architectures capable of extending achievable acceleration ranges.
The key challenge was to develop a motion system capable of generating extremely high acceleration while maintaining:
Earlier Demcon systems using linear motor concepts were capable of achieving acceleration levels up to 60 G, but further performance increases required a fundamentally different design approach.
Rather than further optimising linear motor technology, the engineering team evaluated alternative actuation principles.
Demcon high-tech systems developed a rotational crank-based motion concept in which rotational motion is converted into reciprocating linear motion of the payload. Key engineering design elements include:
A critical aspect of the design was the integration of rotating balance masses to counteract reaction forces and reduce structural excitation.
Key system characteristics include:
Example application areas include:
The system integrates:
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