Design Features

Aerotech's AMG position and rate gimbal mounts provide ultra-precise angular position, rate and acceleration for development and production testing of a wide range of systems. The AMG series is ideal for directing optics, lasers, antennas and sensors at high speed to very precise pointing angles. Typical applications include missile seeker test and calibration, LIDAR, electro-optical sensor and FLIR testing, airborne target tracking, optical testing of space-based sensors in a vacuum and angular testing of inertial sensors such as gyros, MEMS, accelerometers and inertial reference units. The AMG gimbal design incorporates recent Aerotech rotary stage design improvements to provide high performance at an affordable price. The finest quality motors, bearings and encoders are integrated into precision-machined housings to ensure peak performance. The AMG position and rate gimbals provide precise angular motion with the high performance customers expect from Aerotech products.

Accurate 360° Positioning and Rate Generation

Direct-drive brushless torque motors, with rare-earth magnets and high-accuracy angular transducers, are coupled directly to precision shafts for accurate and smooth 360° continuous motion. The absence of gear trains and other drive mechanisms eliminates position error contributions due to mechanical hysteresis and backlash. Directly-coupled high-resolution position transducers ensure highly accurate and repeatable positioning.

A wide-range of performance feedback grades is available. Typical line gimbal resolution ranges from 1.0 to 0.13 µrad with Aerotech controls. The built-in azimuth slip ring provides for continuous rotation with no cable wrap up.

Direct-Drive Motors for Outstanding Control

To maximize positioning and velocity performance, AMG gimbal mounts utilize Aerotech’s high torque S-series brushless, slotless servomotors. These motors have all of the advantages of a brushless direct-drive motor — no brushes to wear, no gear trains to maintain and high acceleration and high speeds. Since it is a slotless, ironless design, there is zero cogging, meaning that there is absolutely no torque ripple. This results in smoother motion throughout travel and more precise positioning. These motors are available in different winding configurations to work with high or low voltage power supplies.

Superior Mechanical Design Features

Large diameter, matched-set ABEC-7 bearings maximize performance with respect to wobble, moment stiffness and rotating friction. The large diameter bearing permits large payload capacity without compromising performance. Casting gimbal yokes provide high stiffness to maintain gimbal accuracy under dynamic conditions. Travel limits, hardstops and brakes are available as standard options.

Mirror and Alternate Payload Accommodation

A variety of mirror cell diameters are available for standard optic applications. We also provide for custom payload attachment solutions to accommodate various device interfaces. Each gimbal mirror cell can be modified or replaced with different shaped cells to accommodate sensors or other odd shaped payloads. We understand customer payloads vary and our engineers have a variety of solutions to implement offset CG payloads.

Specifications

AMG Specifications

ModelAMG-200AMG-300AMG-400AMG-500AMG-600
Travel360° continuous, AZ/EL
Maximum Bus Voltage340 VDC
Maximum Torque (Continuous)Azimuth2.85 N·m11.12 N·m11.12 N·m19.71 N·m19.71 N·m
Elevation2.85 N·m2.85 N·m2.85 N·m11.12 N·m11.12 N·m
Clear Aperture Diameter(1)194 mm292 mm394 mm489 mm591 mm
Accuracy±24 to ±144 µrad(2) (±5 to ±30 arc sec)
Repeatability±2.4 µrad (±0.5 arc sec)
Maximum Rotary Speed(3)100 rpm100 rpm100 rpm50 rpm50 rpm
Maximum Load Capability20 kg40 kg40 kg70 kg70 kg
Axis Wobble48 µrad (10 arc sec)
Orthogonality24 µrad (5 arc sec)
Standard FinishBlack Anodize with Hard-Coated Cell
Max Component Diameter(5)206 mm306 mm407 mm509 mm610 mm
Nominal Component Thickness41 mm54 mm64 mm95 mm102 mm
Mass (Without Mirror)29 kg47 kg54 kg116 kg137 kg
Inertia AZ(6)0.97 kg-m21.877 kg-m22.71 kg-m210.4 kg-m214.94 kg-m2
Inertia EL(6)0.019 kg-m20.105 kg-m20.27 kg-m20.974 kg-m22.33 kg-m2
AZ Aperture When Slip Ring Is Removed (AZ Travel Must Be Limited)50 mm75 mm75 mm100 mm100 mm
Aperture With Slip Ring12.7 mm12.7 mm12.7 mm38.1 mm38.1 mm
  1. Special cell adapters and slip ring assemblies available by special order.

  2. ±24 μrad calibrated; ±144 μrad uncalibrated.

  3. Maximum speed based on stage capability; maximum application velocity may be limited by system data rate and system resolution.

  4. With x500 multiplication on AS encoder. Higher resolutions available.

  5. Tolerance equals +0/−0.25.

  6. Unloaded inertia.

Dimensions

Ordering Information

AMG Series Direct-Drive Gimbals

OptionDescription
AMG-200AMG200 direct-drive gimbal, 200 mm nominal aperture
AMG-300AMG300 direct-drive gimbal, 300 mm nominal aperture
AMG-400AMG400 direct-drive gimbal, 400 mm nominal aperture
AMG-500AMG500 direct-drive gimbal, 500 mm nominal aperture
AMG-600AMG600 direct-drive gimbal, 600 mm nominal aperture

Feedback (Required)

OptionDescription
-E1Incremental encoder, 1 Vpp
-E2Incremental encoder, TTL, x5 interpolation
-E3Incremental encoder, TTL, x50 interpolation

Metrology (Required)

OptionDescription
-PL1Metrology, uncalibrated with performance plots
-PL2Metrology, calibrated (HALAR) wtih performance plots

Integration (Required)

Aerotech offers both standard and custom integration services to help you get your system fully operational as quickly as possible. The following standard integration options are available for this system. Please consult Aerotech if you are unsure what level of integration is required, or if you desire custom integration support with your system.

OptionDescription
-TASIntegration - Test as system
Testing, integration, and documentation of a group of components as a complete system that will be used together (ex: drive, controller, and stage). This includes parameter file generation, system tuning, and documentation of the system configuration.
-TACIntegration - Test as components
Testing and integration of individual items as discrete components that ship together. This is typically used for spare parts, replacement parts, or items that will not be used together. These components may or may not be part of a larger system.