Motorized Linear Translation Stage Selection Guide

The Widest Range of Precision Linear Stages Offered in the Industry

Motorized Linear Stages from Newport are designed and built using many decades of experience in providing solutions to many markets including research and academia, industrial, semiconductor, aerospace and defense. We also offer Nanopositioning Linear Stages based on piezo motor technology and Custom Multi-Axis Stack Solutions.

Motorized Linear Stage Basics

A motorized linear translation stage is used to precisely position an object along a single axis. Motorized linear stages include a moving platform and stationary base joined by a bearing system. Position is controlled electronically with the use of a motion controller. Motorized stages are preferred for high load/high speed applications, as well as applications where manual adjustment may be difficult. See Motion Basics and Standards for more information. We also offer Manual Linear Translation Stages that can be positioned using a micrometer head, adjustment screw or linear actuator.

Motor Types

The motor of a stage has a significant impact on its capabilities, performance and price. Newport offers a variety of motor types – stepper motors, DC motors, linear motors and piezos – within our standard products to best meet your application and budget. Other factors such as type of bearing, construction material, and position feedback also affect stage performance, but presented in this table is a general summary of performance by motor type:

Motor Type	Travel	Speed	Resolution	Repeatability	Load	Price
Linear Motor	Long	Fast	High	High	High	$$$
Brushless DC	Medium	Medium	Medium	High	High	$$
DC Motor	Medium	Medium	Medium	Medium	High	$$
Stepper Motor	Medium	Medium	Medium	Medium	Medium	$
Piezo Motor	Short	Slow	High	Low	High	$$

For more details about motor type and other translation stage components, please see our Stage Components Considerations technical note.

Stepper Motor Stages

Stepper motors are often used in open-loop control systems, a lower cost alternative to closed-loop DC servo systems. They operate using the basic principle of magnetic attraction and repulsion. Steppers convert digital pulses into mechanical shaft rotation. The amount of rotation is directly proportional to the number of input pulses generated, and speed is proportional to pulse frequency. Pulse count is a good indicator of position, and adding a shaft encoder can further improve performance.

Series	Travel Range (mm)	Minimum Incremental Motion (µm)	Bi-directional Repeatability, Guaranteed (µm)	Accuracy, Guaranteed (µm)	Maximum Speed (mm/s)	Normal Load Capacity (Cz) (N)
MFA Miniature Steel Stepper Motor Linear Stages	25	0.1	±0.75	±3	1	50
UTS Low Profile Steel Stepper Motor Linear Stages	50 100 150	0.3³	±3	±2.5 ±3.5 ±4	PP: 20 PPV6: 10	PP: 200 PPV6: 100
MTN High Load Steel Stepper Motor Linear Stages	100 200 300	0.1	±2.75	±2.5 ±2.5 ±3	PP: 40 PPV6: 20	1000
ILS 50-250 mm Travel Aluminum Stepper Motor Linear Stages	50 100 150 200 250	1	±1	±1.5 ±2 ±2.5 ±3.7 ±5	50	250
IMS 300-600 mm Travel Aluminum Stepper Motor Linear Stages	300 400 500 600	1.25	±1.25	±5 ±5 ±6 ±9	100	600
CL Intelligent Stepper Linear Stage With Integrated Controller	50 100 200	0.15	±2.25 ±2.5 ±2.5	±2 ±2.5 ±4	20	250

³0.3 µm with XPS; 0.5 µm with ESP302 or SMC100PP.

DC Motor Stages

DC motors are best characterized by their smooth motion and high speeds. They provide good efficiency and a high power/weight ratio. A brushed DC motor essentially consists of a rotor placed in a magnetic field, which causes rotation when current is applied to the motor windings. The rotational speed is proportional to the applied voltage, while the torque is proportional to the current. Precise closed-loop servo positioning and speed control is typically achieved with a shaft-mounted rotary encoder, and for ultra-precise positioning, a direct reading encoder on the drive train may be used. Note that unlike stepper motors, DC motors do not provide full torque when idle.

Series	Travel Range (mm)	Minimum Incremental Motion (µm)	Bi-directional Repeatability, Guaranteed (µm)	Accuracy, Guaranteed (µm)	Maximum Speed (mm/s)	Normal Load Capacity (Cz) (N)
VP Compact Aluminum DC Motor Linear Stages	25	XL: 0.01 XA: 0.1	XL: ±0.07 XA: ±0.1	±1	25	60
MFA Miniature Steel DC Motor Linear Stages	25	0.1	CC: ±0.75 CCV6: ±1	±3	CC: 2.5 CCV6: 1.25	CC: 50 CCV6: 25
UTS Low Profile Steel DC Motor Linear Stagess	50 100 150	0.3	±1.75	±2.25 ±2.75 ±3.25	40	200
GTS High Accuracy Aluminum DC Motor Linear Stages	70 150	0.1	±0.1	±1	50	100
MTN High Load Capacity Steel DC Motor Linear Stages	100 200 300	0.6	±1.5	±2.5 ±2.5 ±3	100	1000
ILS 50-250 mm Travel Aluminum DC Motor Linear Stages	50 100 150 200 250	HA: 0.3 CC & CCL: 1	HA: ±0.35 CC & CCL: ±1	HA / CC & CCL: ±1.25 / ±1.5 ±1.5 / ±2 ±2 / ±2.5 ±3 / ±3.75 ±3.75 / ±5	HA & CC: 100 CCL: 50	250
IMS 300-600 mm Travel Aluminum DC Motor Linear Stages	300 400 500 600	CCHA: 0.2 CC: 1.25	CCHA: ±0.5 CC: ±1.25	CCHA / CC: ±4 / ±5 ±4 / ±5 ±5 / ±6 ±6.5 / ±9	200	600

Brushless DC Motor Stages

Compared to brushed DC motor of the same size, brushless DC motor provides higher torque, faster speed and finer repeatability. The BLDC stages are ideal for applications that require low maintenance and exceptional reliability.

Series	Travel Range (mm)	Minimum Incremental Motion (µm)	Bi-directional Repeatability, Guaranteed (µm)	Accuracy, Guaranteed (µm)	Maximum Speed (mm/s)	Normal Load Capacity (Cz) (N)
MTN High Load Steel BLDC Motor Linear Stages	100 200 300	0.3	±0.5	±4 ±4 ±4	250	1000
IDL-BL Industrial BLDC Motor Linear Stages	150 300	1	±1	±3 ±5	300	450

Linear Motor Stages

Linear motors consist of a permanent magnet assembly which establishes a magnetic flux, and a coil assembly which generates a force proportional to coil current. Linear motors have become very important components of precision positioning systems, with numerous advantages over traditional mechanical actuators such as ball screws. These systems typically provide higher quality, frictionless motion, and higher speeds and acceleration.

Series	Travel Range (mm)	Minimum Incremental Motion (µm)	Bi-directional Repeatability, Guaranteed (µm)	Accuracy, Guaranteed (µm)	Maximum Speed (mm/s)	Normal Load Capacity (Cz) (N)
XM Ultra-Precision Linear Motor Stages	XMS: 50 100 160 XML: 210 350	0.001¹	±0.04	XMS: ±0.75 XML: ±1.5	300	XMS: 100 XML: 300
IMS-LM 600 N Load Aluminum Linear Motor Stages	300 400 500 600 800 1000 1200	0.02	300-600 mm: ±0.25 800-1200 mm: ±0.5	±4.5 ±4.5 ±5.5 ±7.5 ±9 ±9 ±9	1000²	600 (SA: 100)
IILS-LM 250 N Load Aluminum Linear Motor Stages	100 200 300	0.01	±0.3	±1.5 ±2 ±2.5	500	250
DL Optical Delay Line Linear Motor Linear Stages	125 225 325	0.075	±0.15	±1.5 ±2 ±2.5	500	20
ONE-XY Series Mid-Travel Integrated XY Linear Stages	50 90 190 290	0.05	±0.07 ±0.08 ±0.09 ±0.1	N-HA / HA: ±1.5 / ±0.3 ±2 / ±0.3 ±2.5 / ±0.4 ±3 / ±0.5	200	100 120 150 350
IDL Industrial Grade Linear Motor Linear Stages	100 200 300 400 450 500 600 700 750 1000 1200	0.05	100-600 mm: ±0.25 700-1200 mm: ±0.5	±2 ±2 ±2 ±2.3 ±2.5 ±2.7 ±3 ±3.3 ±3.5 ±4.3 ±5	2000	IDL165: 450 IDL225: 1000 IDL280: 1500 IDL560: 2000

¹When driven with an XPS-DRV11 universal driver card and dependent on environment, load and speed conditions.
²With XPS-EDBL high-power motor driver. Maximum speed is 500 mm/s with XPS-DRV11 universal driver card.

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