Q: Can these motorized mounts be programmed to move to a specific position?

A: The Picomotor actuators that adjust these mounts' position are driven under open-loop control with no position feedback. And due to the nature of piezo actuation, where step sizes may vary with each step taken, repeatability is not guaranteed. Thus, the Picomotor controller does not "know" the position of the mount and therefore, these mounts cannot be programmed to move to a specific position. If repeatably programming a mount to a specific position is required for your application with piezo-level step sizes, please see our CONEX Absolute Positioning Mirror Mount.

Q: If these mounts cannot be programmed to a specific position, what are their benefits?

A: These mounts offer very small step sizes and nanometer-level resolution, which is very difficult (if not impossible) to achieve with manual mounts. Also, for optical mounts in an experiment that cannot be physically reached because of their placement, these motorized mounts enable remote adjustment of the optic's position.