Rotation Mount with Resonant Piezoelectric Motors

Overview
Specs
Pin Diagram
Operation
The Elliptec™ Motor
Software
Feedback
Rotation Mounts and Stages

Key Specifications^a
Travel (No Limit Switches)^b		360° Continuous
Homing Repeatability		4.36 mrad (0.25°)
Bidirectional Repeatability		873 µrad (0.05°)
Velocity (Maximum)		430 °/s
Maximum Total Load		50 g (1.76 oz)^c
DC Voltage Input		4.5 to 5.5 V
Weight of Mount		80 g (2.82 oz)
Minimum Lifetime		100 km (>600 000 Revolutions)
Mount Dimensions		66.0 mm x 82.5 mm x 19.0 mm (2.6" x 3.25" x 0.75")

See the Specs tab for complete specifications.
Not Intended for Continuous Operation
Maximum Load Must Be Centered in Mount

The Connected Components of the ELL4K Rotation Stage Bundle

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The components of the ELL14K Rotation Mount Bundle are shown connected and with key features labeled.

Thorlabs' Elliptec Technology for OEM

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View Imperial Product List

Item #	Qty	Description
ELL14K	1	Rotation Mount Bundle: ELL14 Mount, Interface Board, Power Supply, Cables
ELLA1	1	Post Mount Adapter for ELL6 and ELL9
SR025	4	Compact Cage Assembly Rod, 1/4" Long, Ø4 mm
TR2	1	Ø1/2" Optical Post, SS, 8-32 Setscrew, 1/4"-20 Tap, L = 2"
SH8S038	1	8-32 Stainless Steel Cap Screw, 3/8" Long, 50 Pack

View Metric Product List

Item #	Qty	Description
ELL14K	1	Rotation Mount Bundle: ELL14 Mount, Interface Board, Power Supply, Cables
ELLA1	1	Post Mount Adapter for ELL6 and ELL9
SR025	4	Compact Cage Assembly Rod, 1/4" Long, Ø4 mm
TR50/M	1	Ø12.7 mm Optical Post, SS, M4 Setscrew, M6 Tap, L = 50 mm
SH4MS06	1	M4 x 0.7 Stainless Steel Cap Screw, 6 mm Long, 50 Pack

The rotation mount can be adapted for post mounting using SR025 cage rods and the ELLA1 post mounting adapter.

Features

Ideal for OEMs and Applications Requiring Rapid and Precise Optic Rotation
Micro-B USB and Picoflex^®1 Connectors for Control Signals
Multi-Drop Serial Communication Protocol Supported
SM1-Threaded Rotation Mount for Ø1" or Ø25.0 mm Optics
Absolute Home Position Found with Infrared and Magnetic Sensor Technologies
Magnetic Encoder Used to Position Mount
Bus Distributor Facilitates Control of up to Four Elliptec Devices

Driven by Thorlabs' Elliptec™ piezoelectric resonant motor technology, this rotation mount is designed to be a compact solution for applications requiring optic rotation. Thorlabs offers the ELL14K rotation mount bundle, which contains the ELL14 rotation mount, an interface board for manual control of the mount, power supply, and cables for connecting the mount and interface board to each other and to a PC. The ELL14 can also be purchased separately.

The rotating cell of each mount is internally SM1 (1.035"-40) threaded and includes two SM1RR retaining rings for mounting Ø1" or Ø25.0 mm optics. It is designed to be lightweight and compact, and the closed-loop operation provides rotation to specified orientations with a repeatability of 873 µrad. The assembled components of the ELL14K are shown in the image to the right, with key features labeled. Please see The Elliptec™ Motor tab for more information.

The motors are highly dynamic and have no gearing. The tips of both motor housings are in firm contact with the plastic track at the base of mount, as can be seen in the image at the right. The motors are installed with opposite orientations and translation in both directions occurs when one motor pushes the track forward while the other pulls it backward. The rotation mount is not designed for continuous operation. We recommend operation with duty cycles of 40% or less. When power is not applied to the motors, the stage is held in place by an approximately 0.01 N·m combined torque exerted by the stationary arms of the motors.

The open frame format, versatility, and simplicity of this rotation mount makes it attractive for OEM applications, as it can be customized according to customer requirements and produced in high-volume quantities. Please contact us to discuss your specific requirements so that we may tailor a solution to meet the needs of your application.

Control
There are multiple options for powering, driving, and controlling this rotation mount, which are detailed in the Positioning the Rotation Mount section of the Operation tab. The mount possesses a 3.3 V serial bus and is designed to be operated with or without the interface board; the Pin Diagram tab provides pin assignments. Thorlabs offers software for our Elliptec products capable of providing full and independent control of the mount. When the interface board is used as an accessory to change the position of the mount, its status in the software is automatically updated.

Elliptec Resonant Motor Products

Multi-Position Sliders	28 mm Linear Stage	60 mm Linear Stage	Rotation Stage	Rotation Mount

Multiple Elliptec devices can be controlled using the ELLB Bus Distributor or by splicing multiple connectors onto one ribbon cable. A single bus distributor can connect up to four Elliptec devices; up to 16 devices can be connected if the buses are daisy chained. This bus can be controlled one of three ways: through an interface board (included with the bundles below) to connect to a PC running the Elliptec software, by connecting to an Arduino^®2 or Raspberry Pi^®3 board, or by wiring the connector pins to a user-supplied control board. Alternatively, up to 16 devices can be spliced onto a single ribbon cord. The devices can then be simultaneously controlled by the interface board or selectively controlled by the Elliptec software. See the manual for instruction on how to splice multiple devices onto a ribbon cord and the Pin Diagrams tab for pin assignments when making custom connections.

Picoflex is a registered trademark of Molex Incorporated.
Arduino is a registered trademark of Arduino Sa Société Anonym (SA).
Raspberry Pi is a registered trademark of the Raspberry Pi Foundation.

Specifications^a
Performance
Travel	360° Continuous^b
Maximum Speed^c	430 °/s
Bidirectional Repeatability^d	873 µrad (0.05°)
Homing Repeatability	4.36 mrad (0.25°)
Bidirectional Accuracy^e	6.98 mrad (0.4°)
Backlash	226.9 µrad (0.013°)
Encoder Resolution (Relative Magnetic Encoder)	143360 counts/rev (43.8 µrad/count) (0.0025°/count)
Minimum Incremental Motion	34.9 µrad (0.002°)
Minimum Holding Torque (Both Motors Engaged)	0.01 N•m
Axis Wobble^f	244.3 µrad (0.014°)
Maximum Total Load^g	50 g (0.11 lb)
Minimum Lifetime^h	>600 000 Revolutions(100 km)
Electrical
Motor Type	Elliptec Resonant Piezo
DC Voltage Input	4.5 to 5.5 V
Typical Current Consumption, During Movement	800 mA
Typical Current Consumption, During Standby	50 mA
Communications
Bus	Multi-Drop 3.3 V/5 V TTL RS232
Connector on Rotation Stage Board	Picoflex^®
Connectors on Interface Board	Picoflex^®, Micro USB, DC Jack [6.3mm OD (GND), 2.1mm ID (+5V)]
Speed	9600 baud
Data Length (1 Stop Bit, No Parity)	8 bit
Protocol Data Format	ASCII HEX
Module Address and Command Format	Mnemonic Character
Mechanical
Mounting Thread	SM1
Dimensions of the Rotation Mount Board	66.0 mm x 82.5 mm x 19.1mm (2.6" x 3.25" x 0.75")
Weight of Rotation Mount Board	80 g (0.176 lb)
Environmental Operating Conditions
Temperature Range	15 to 40 °C (59 to 104 °F)
Maximum Relative Humidity (Non-Condensing)	<80% at 31 °C
Maximum Altitude	2000 m

Performance specifications are given for the case when the rotation stage is mounted as recommended in the Operation tab. All values were measured with a load of 64 g and a moment of inertia of 6600 g·mm².
We recommend a duty cycle of 15 s running followed by 20 s cooling down. A shorter running time requires a shorter cool down time.
Some natural variability in the maximum speed may be experienced. Max speed will increase with usage.
Maximum Difference Between Clockwise and Counterclockwise Movement to the Same Position
Maximum Deviation from True
Maximum Deviation from the Center of Rotation
The maximum load must be centered in the mount.
The rotation stage is not designed for continuous operation.

Click to Enlarge
Components of the ELL14K Bundle
(One Region-Specific Power Adapter Included with the Power Supply)

Mechanical Drawings of the Elliptec Rotation Mount

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Mechanical Drawing of the Rotation Mount
For more information on mounting options see the Operation tab.

Mechanical Drawings of the Remote Handset

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Mechanical Drawing of the Interface Board

Connector J1 Pinout^a
Pin	Type	Function
1	PWR	Ground
2	OUT	OTDX - Open Drain Transmit 3.3 V TTL RS232
3	IN	RX Receive - 3.3 V TTL RS232
4	OUT	In Motion, Open Drain Active Low Max 5 mA
5	IN	JOG/Mode, Active Low Max 5 V
6	IN	BW Backward, Active Low Max 5 V
7	IN	FW Forward, Active Low Max 5 V
8	PWR	VCC +5 V ±10%; 800 mA

Connector Model Number MOLEX 90814-0808;
Mating Connector Model Number MOLEX 90327-0308

Pinout Diagram of the Picoflex Connector on the Rotation Mount PCB

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Pinout diagram of the Picoflex^® connector is shown referended to a partial diagram
of the ELL14 Rotation Mount Board.

ELLB Connector J1, J2, J3, and J4 Pinout^a,b
Pin	Type	Function
1	PWR	Ground
2	OUT	OTDX - Open Drain Transmit 3.3 V TTL RS232
3	IN	RX Receive 3.3 V TTL RS232
4	OUT	In Motion, Open Drain Active Low Max 5 mA
5	IN	Not Connected
6	IN	Not Connected
7	IN	Not Connected
8	PWR	VCC +5 V ± 10%; 800 mA per Connected Device

Connector Model Number MOLEX 90814-0808;
Mating Connector Model Number MOLEX 90327-0308
A polarity indicator is engraved onto each PCB next to the Picoflex^® connector, as shown in the drawing to the left, to assist with properly connecting the interface board to the main unit. The red wire in the ribbon cable should be adjacent to this indicator. Not doing so can harm the unit.

Pinout Diagram of the Picoflex Connector on the ELLB Bus Distributor

Click to Enlarge
Pinout diagram of the Picoflex^® connector is shown referenced to a simplified diagram
of the ELLB Bus Distributor. The polarity indicator on the connector
must be adjacent to the red wire on the supplied 8-connector cables.

Operation Notes

This tab contains information on handling, mounting, and operating the ELL14K Rotation Mount Bundle.

Contents

Handling
Mounting and Loading the Rotation mount
Supplying Power
Operation of the Motors
Homing the Rotation mount
Positioning the Rotation mount
Resonance Frequencies

Click to Enlarge
The Rotation Mount, Back

Click to Enlarge
The Rotation Mount, Front

Handling

The rotation mount and interface board included in the ELL14K bundle are robust to general handling. To ensure reliable operation, keep the surface of the plastic track contacted by the motors free of oils, dirt, and dust. It is not necessary to wear gloves while handling the rotation mount, but avoid touching the track to keep it free of oils from fingerprints. If it is necessary to clean the track, it may be wiped with isopropyl alcohol or mineral spirits (white spirit). Do not use acetone, as this solvent will damage the plastic track.

The open frame format of the ELL14 can tolerate up to 8 kV of static discharge. ESD precautions should be taken, as an electrostatic discharge can produce an electrical signal that may cause an unintended movement of the mount. A bending load in excess of 500 g applied to the board may cause the PCB to deform, which will degrade the performance of the rotation mount. As readings from a magnetic sensor are used during the homing and positioning of the mount, avoid subjecting the structural PCB to excessive loads or magnetic fields. Limit the strength of magnetic fields in proximity to the magnetic sensor to ±5 mT to avoid negatively affecting the homing and positioning operations.

Mounting and Loading the Rotation Mount

The rotation mount may be mounted either vertically or horizontally. The Elliptec motors should be facing up if the mount is used horizontally. The mount has several mounting features that can be used with Thorlabs components or within a custom OEM assembly. Four Ø0.12" (3.0 mm) through holes are spaced 60 mm apart and provide compatibility with our 60 mm cage system. These holes can pass 4-40 or M3 screws for mounting to custom structures. Additionally, there are four Ø4.2 mm (Ø0.17") through holes spaced 50 mm apart which can be used with 6-32 or M5 screws for custom mounting. The back of the mount features four Ø4.0 mm (0.16") holes 30 mm apart with locking M3 setscrews for use with our SR-Series cage rods. A 1.5 mm hex key comes with the mount for locking these screws. SR-Series cage rods can be used to attach the ELLA1 adapter to allow for post mounting or to attach ER-Series cage rods for integration into a 30 mm cage system. The images below show three mounting options.

Mounting the ELL14 in a 60 mm Cage System

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View Product List

The rotation mount can be mounted in a 60 mm cage system by sandwiching the PCB between two cage rods using the Ø0.12" (3.0 mm) holes in the corners.

Mounting the ELL14 in a 30 mm Cage System

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View Imperial Product List

Item #	Qty	Description
ELL14	1	Rotation Mount: SM1 Threaded
ER3-P4	1	Cage Assembly Rod, 3" Long, Ø6 mm, 4 Pack
SR025	4	Compact Cage Assembly Rod, 1/4" Long, Ø4 mm
CP33	1	SM1-Threaded 30 mm Cage Plate, 0.35" Thick, 2 Retaining Rings, 8-32 Tap

View Metric Product List

Item #	Qty	Description
ELL14	1	Rotation Mount: SM1 Threaded
ER3-P4	1	Cage Assembly Rod, 3" Long, Ø6 mm, 4 Pack
SR025	4	Compact Cage Assembly Rod, 1/4" Long, Ø4 mm
CP33/M	1	SM1-Threaded 30 mm Cage Plate, 0.35" Thick, 2 Retaining Rings, M4 Tap

The rotation mount can be adapted to a 30 mm cage system using SR025 cage rods in the Ø0.16" (4.0 mm) holes on the back of the mount.

Click for Details

View Imperial Product List

Item #	Qty	Description
ELL14K	1	Rotation Mount Bundle: ELL14 Mount, Interface Board, Power Supply, Cables
ELLA1	1	Post Mount Adapter for ELL6 and ELL9
SR025	4	Compact Cage Assembly Rod, 1/4" Long, Ø4 mm
TR2	1	Ø1/2" Optical Post, SS, 8-32 Setscrew, 1/4"-20 Tap, L = 2"
SH8S038	1	8-32 Stainless Steel Cap Screw, 3/8" Long, 50 Pack

View Metric Product List

Item #	Qty	Description
ELL14K	1	Rotation Mount Bundle: ELL14 Mount, Interface Board, Power Supply, Cables
ELLA1	1	Post Mount Adapter for ELL6 and ELL9
SR025	4	Compact Cage Assembly Rod, 1/4" Long, Ø4 mm
TR50/M	1	Ø12.7 mm Optical Post, SS, M4 Setscrew, M6 Tap, L = 50 mm
SH4MS06	1	M4 x 0.7 Stainless Steel Cap Screw, 6 mm Long, 50 Pack

The rotation mount can be adapted for post mounting using SR025 cage rods and the ELLA1 post mounitng adapter.

Click to Enlarge
Features of the Rotation Mount

The maximum allowed weight of the mounted optic is 50 g. The load must be centered on the mount in order to acheive 50 g. In all cases of mounting and loading, ensure that nothing interferes with the moving parts of the rotation mount and that the mount and its load are securely fastened to prevent jostling during movement. Jostling of the stage or the load can cause an encoder error.

Supplying Power

When the setup includes the interface board, power may be supplied through the Micro-B USB connector and/or the 5 VDC power socket located on the board. The electronics on the interface board convert the applied DC signal to a sinusoidal signal oscillating at the required resonance frequency.

The ELL14K bundle includes a 5 VDC power supply whose connector mates with the power socket on the interface board. Delivering power through this socket also allows the Micro-B USB connector to be used for a computer to control the mount remotely. The power supplied by a computer through the USB 2.0 connection is not sufficient to power the mount. If computer control is not necessary, another option for supplying power to the mount is a portable USB 5 V battery pack connected to the Micro-B USB connector on the interface board.

When the implementation does not include the interface board, the connection with the power source is made using the pins on the Picoflex^® connector that is included on the rotation mount board. A pinout diagram of this connector is included in the Pin Diagram tab, and information on powering and addressing the rotation mount is given in the manual and the communications protocol manual, respectively.

Operation of the Motors

The motion of the rotation mount is controlled by forcing the piezoelectric elements to vibrate at specific ultrasonic frequencies. For each motor, there is one ultrasonic resonant frequency that will push the mount forward, and another that will pull the mount backward. Operating a motor at one of its resonance frequencies causes the tip of the motor to continuously cycle in a tight clockwise elliptical path. When the motor is driven at its other resonant frequency, the tip of the motor cycles through that same path in a counterclockwise direction. Both resonant frequencies are around 100 kHz. The total displacement at the tip of motor is a function of the mechanical load it is driving and the voltage supplied to the piezo element. In the case of no loading and a 5 V maximum driving voltage at a resonant frequency, the tip of the motor expands and contracts no more than a few microns while tracing the elliptical path. Please see The Elliptec™ Motor tab for more information and an animation illustrating the operational principle of the motors.

Homing the Rotation Mount

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The Interface Board

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Features of the Interface Board

To Home the mount, press the BW button on the interface board, click the Home button in the Elliptec software's graphical user interface (GUI) or send the appropriate ASCII message as is specified in the communications protocol manual.

The default Home position is referenced to a fixed feature on the mount assembly. If desired, the user may redefine the position of Home to be offset from the default position by up to +90° (a quarter turn in the clockwise direction). Being able to customize the Home position can be useful when synchronizing the orientations of two or more mounts. When executing the Home command, the mount first finds the approximate location of Home, and then a fine-positioning procedure is used to orient the mount at Home with an accuracy of 288.0 µrad. The user can specify whether the mount rotates in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction (as defined from the perspective of looking down on the surface of the mount) during the first phase of the homing procedure, but the fine-positioning phase is always performed in the counterclockwise direction for repeatability.

Positioning the Rotation Mount

Note that the rotation mount is not intended for continuous operation. We recommend operation with duty cycles of less than 40% during general use, while operation with duty cycles greater than 60% should be limited to a few seconds.

Before the mount may be positioned, the Home position of the mount must be found. Please see the previous section for details. The movement of the mount may be controlled through computer control via the Elliptec™ software package that may be downloaded, or by sending simple signals to digital lines on the mount's board. A link to download the software and accompanying documentation can be found in the Software tab.

Multiple Elliptec devices can be be controlled using the ELLB Bus Distributor or by splicing multiple connectors onto one ribbon cable. A single bus distributor can connect up to four Elliptec devices; up to 16 devices can be connected if the buses are daisy chained. This bus can be controlled one of three ways: through an interface board (included with the bundles below) to connect to a PC running the Elliptec software, by connecting to an Arduino^® or Raspberry Pi^® board, or by wiring the connector pins to a user-supplied control board. Note that if an interface board is used, its on-unit buttons will be disabled. Alternatively, up to 16 devices can be spliced onto a single ribbon cord. The devices can then be simultaneously controlled by the interface board or selectively controlled by the Elliptec software. See the manual for instruction on how to splice multiple devices onto a ribbon cord and the Pin Diagrams tab for pin assignments when making custom connections. The communications protocol manual describes how to use the software to individually address each connected device. A link to download the software and accompanying documentation can be found in the Software tab.

The default increment to move the mount forward and backward is 45°, and a custom increment can be set using the Elliptec software or by sending the appropriate ASCII message(s) as specified in the communications protocol manual. The Elliptec software can be used to move the mount to absolute and relative positions, in addition to jogging the mount forward or backward. The software is also used to set the jog step size, read the position of the mount, and adjust the position of Home, as is described in the previous section.

Readings from the magnetic sensor, which can resolve angular increments of 23.8 µrad, are used to position the mount and when executing the Home command. The travel range of the mount is not limited, but the reported orientation of the mount is always expressed as a value between 0° and 359.99°. The minimum incremental movement of the mount is 34.9 µrad, and it can be positioned with a repeatability of 873 µrad in response to signals from the magnetic sensor.

The mount learns to efficiently position itself precisely using a position error compensation algorithm. After the mount moves into a new position, it detects the error between the requested and actual positions. The position of the mount is then corrected, and an error compensation value is calculated. The algorithm is then updated with the error compensation value, so that it is applied when the mount is move to its next position. Typically, an optimum error compensation value is found after between two and six movements.

Resonance Frequencies

On power-up, the factory default setting instructs each motor driving the rotation mount to search for the resonance frequencies that will deliver the best performance. During this process, the rotation mount will translate a forward and backward by a small amount. If movement on start-up is undesirable, it is possible to disable this calibration procedure by using the serial port to initialize the frequencies on power-up. A new search for optimal resonance frequencies may be performed at any time; to maintain optimal performance, it is recommended that new searches be performed after changes in loading and/or ambient temperature. Please see the manual for details.

Click to Enlarge
The Components of the Elliptec Motor

Click to Enlarge
The Elliptec Piezoelectric Resonant Motor

The Elliptec™ Piezoelectric Resonant Motor

Thorlabs' Elliptec™ piezo resonant motor, shown at right, is lightweight, with a mass of 1.2 g, and compact: the dimensions of the resonator housing, excluding the spring, are 8 mm x 4 mm x 20 mm.

Components of the Motor

The components that compose the motor are shown at far-right. The piezoelectric element is press fit into the aluminum resonator, which has been precisely designed and machined to produce the desired elliptical motion at the tip and to interface optimally with the driven module. The free ends of the spring are integrated with the resonator housing. The wires, which are soldered to the top and bottom of the piezoelectric element, deliver the voltage signal that induces the piezoelectric element to vibrate at ultrasonic frequencies.

When the motor is built into a system, the open loop of the spring is bolted to a sturdy surface that is stationary with respect to the item to be driven, and the tip of the resonator is placed in contact with the item. The purpose of the spring is to maintain constant contact between the tip of the resonator and the driven item, and the direction of motion is determined by the resonance frequency at which the piezo element is driven.

Elliptical Motion and Comparison with Conventional Motors

Elliptec motors quickly and precisely position stages and mounts while never seeming to move. Their microscopic movements occur at ultrasonic frequencies and are invisible to the naked eye.

The motor is operated by driving it at one of its two resonance frequencies. A voltage signal oscillating at an ultrasonic frequency is applied to the piezoelectric chip, which responds by expanding less than a micron and then contracting back to its original dimensions at the frequency of the driving signal. This rapid-cycling change in the chip's dimensions causes a vibration in the aluminum resonator housing. When the vibration is at one of the housing's resonance frequencies, a pushing motion results at the tip of the motor. When the vibration is at the other resonance frequency a pulling motion results.

As illustrated in the video, the pulling and pushing motions result from the tip of the motor tracing an elliptical path in space when the motor operates at resonance. The selected resonance frequency controls the direction of the cyclical motion. The motor's tip traces one half of the ellipse as it expands and the other half as it contracts. When the motor pushes the driven item, the motor's tip is in contact with the item while the tip expands; the two are not in contact while the tip contracts. The converse is true when the motor pulls the driven item in the opposite direction. The total displacement at the tip of the motor is a function of both the mechanical load it is driving and the voltage supplied to the piezo element. The maximum displacement can be up to a few microns when the peak driving voltage is 5 V.

The motor behaves in many ways like a DC or electromagnetic stepper motor, but it does not suffer from many of the drawbacks of these conventional motors. Unlike conventional electromagnetic motors, which must overcome inertial delays to come to a stop, the highly dynamic Elliptec motor can stop within microseconds. As it has no gears, it does not exhibit backlash. Since it possesses no magnets, it is compatible with use in environments sensitive to electromagnetic interference. The motion of the driven element is continuous and smooth. As the tip of the motor must be in contact with the driven item to induce motion, the motor possesses the safety feature of an inherent friction brake. When in contact with a plastic surface, the motor operates virtually silently.

For OEM applications, the motor can be manufactured in volume at low cost, and it can be driven by inexpensive analog electronics. It does not require microprocessors or software; however it is compatible for use with them.

Screen Capture of the Elliptec Piezoelectric Resonant Motor Control Software GUI

Click to Enlarge
The Elliptec Piezoelectric Resonant Motor Control Software GUI

Software for Devices Driven by Elliptec™ Piezoelectric Resonant Motors

All devices based on the Elliptec™ resonant piezo motor may be controlled by the Elliptec system software, which features an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI). The source code, in C# format, is included in software bundle available for download, and custom applications can be created in any language. The image at right shows a screen capture of the GUI, and the button that follows links to the download page.

Commands are entered in the Sequencer command / wait order section located at the center-left of the GUI. An example of a sequence of commands that might be sent to the device is "Aho0" to move to the rotation stage at address "A" to the home position in the clockwise direction, and then "Afw" to move the stage at address "A" forward by the jog increment. The command "As1" is used to perform the frequency search that will identify the optimal resonant frequencies, for the current operating conditions, for Motor 1 at adddress "A."

Software

Version 1.5.0

Includes the Elliptec System Software, with an easy-to-use GUI. Also available for download is the Communications Protocol manual, which details the communication commands for the Elliptec software package.

Posted Comments:

Amit Finkler (posted 2019-11-25 04:39:00.07)

Can you please send me the LabVIEW sample VI?

cwright (posted 2019-11-27 05:06:53.0)

Response from Charles at Thorlabs: Hello Amit. Yes of course, I will contact you with a short example.

Fabio Barachati (posted 2019-11-22 08:16:28.197)

Hello, We have two ELL14 rotation mounts. It happens almost daily that they suddenly "reset" themselves and rotate the optics to a random position. We noticed that this seems to be caused by power fluctuations, e.g. when someone turns an equipment or computer on nearby. This happens also when each interface board is connected to their own power supply, in addition to the USB port. Is this a common issue? Tips? Thank you and best regards, Fabio

cwright (posted 2019-11-27 05:07:05.0)

Response from Charles at Thorlabs: Hello Fabio, thank you for contacting us about this issue. It is not one we are aware of and I will reach out to you directly to troubleshoot and diagnose this.

Mikkel Bregnhøj (posted 2019-10-30 04:39:58.277)

Hi Thorlabs. I would like to report a bug in the Ello software when using two ELL14 rotation mounts through the ELLB serial bus. The units work just fine (and independently) when controlled through the manual control panel. However, when trying to perform an automated seqeunce of moves through the "sequence control panel", the units fail to respond individually. Instead they move together as one unit. This does not appear to be a problem if they are controlled by external software. I hope this helps you improve the software.

cwright (posted 2019-10-30 09:54:07.0)

Response from Charles at Thorlabs: Hello Mikkel, thank you for contacting us about your issue. Unfortunately I cannot replicate your problem so I will contact you directly to diagnose this.

Philipp Hanke (posted 2019-10-28 14:00:02.663)

Hello, is it possible to control the ELL14K rotary stage via LabVIEW too? Could you please provide the example VI library. Another question is: how to control two of the ELL14K stages separately via LabVIEW with on Interface board and one bus distributor. Thank you and best regards, Philipp Hanke

cwright (posted 2019-10-29 09:09:37.0)

Response from Charles at Thorlabs: Hello Philipp, thank you for your query. Yes this is possible using the Thorlabs.Elliptec.ELLO_DLL.dll library found in the Elliptec installation directory. I will contact you directly with an example. If using multiple devices from the same bus or interface board then they must be assigned separate addresses. Multiple devices can be controlled independently by sending commands to their separate addresses individually or in tandem by grouping their addresses before sending further commands.

Manuel Martinez (posted 2019-10-18 19:04:20.86)

It is possible to control The ELL14 with arduino?

cwright (posted 2019-10-21 06:26:23.0)

Hello Manuel, Thank you for contacting us. This should be possible using serial commands from our communications protocol and a couple of RX, TX pins or SoftwareSerial to emulate them. The ELLO software we provide is essentially an example of a serial terminal emulator which an OEM might build for Elliptec devices to run on Windows and any device which can supply TTL or LV TTL signals at a baud rate of 9600 can be used with custom software to control these devices.

user (posted 2019-08-26 18:24:53.527)

Can you comment on the vacuum compatibility? (2 issues for vacuum compatibility - oils for lubrication and thermal heat dissipation) Can you comment on potential Labview drivers being made available (eventuall)? Thank you Chris Type of Vacuum (low or high vacuum) Very few items are compatible with hard or high vacuum. Electron microscopes or other analytical instruments use a High/hard vacuum (10-9 Torr or nanoTorr) However, for laser processing of materials, where you need to translate or rotate the sample, the vacuum we are interested in is considered a low/medium vacuum environment (10-6 Torr or microTorr) This is the vacuum needed to avoid high energy laser breakdown at focus. These new stages might well be vacuum compatible in a moderate (microTorr) vacuum environment. Two issues make items incompatible with vacuum – oils and cooling. (Oils) 1. Are lubricating oil or is a lubricating grease visible on the stage? There may be some lubrication on the rotation mount or linear translation stage mounts. Ideally we would simply use a solvent (IPA, ethanol, methanol) to clean the grease. If necessary a small amount of silicon (vacuum compatible) grease would be added. (Thermal) 2. Does the circuitry directly on the rotation stage rely upon air conduction for cooling? If so - a small copper heat sink on the "hot" element takes heat and dumps it to the vacuum container. For example, many more expensive stepper motors stages draw power to keep the stage locked (even when not moving) will thermally overload if put in vacuum unless separate cooling is provided. These new stages appear to consume relative little power. (Software) 3. Will there be Labview drivers available?

AManickavasagam (posted 2019-08-28 08:42:52.0)

Thank you for your query. I will try to address your questions point by point. 1. Unfortunately only the motor itself is considered vacuum compatible and not the Elliptec devices. There is a small amount of lubricant in the bearing and I will contact you directly to provide further details. 2. The stage does use a very low current (50mA) when in standby but this increases to 800mA, at 5V, when in motion. Heavy or continuous use could cause the stage to overheat and vacuum conditions would of course exacerbate this. Furthermore these devices have only been tested at typical pressures and temperatures up to 40°C. 3. It is currently possible to control any of our Elliptec products using LabView via the .NET dlls which can be found in the ELLO installation folder. I will include an example VI when I contact you.

Kyungdeuk Park (posted 2019-08-02 00:34:33.987)

Hi. I would like to know if thorlabs has any plan to provide LabView code for ELL14. Or could you provide us sample VI? Thank you.

AManickavasagam (posted 2019-08-06 05:42:47.0)

Response from Arunthathi at Thorlabs: Thanks for your query. I have contacted you directly with the sample VI.

Fabio Barachati (posted 2019-07-18 12:31:40.98)

Hello, I would like to know if it is possible to control the ELL14 rotary stage via LabVIEW and if Thorlabs could provide us with an example VI library. Thank you and best regards, Fabio Barachati

AManickavasagam (posted 2019-07-19 09:55:18.0)

Response from Arunthathi at Thorlabs: Thanks for your query. Yes, this stage could be controlled with Labview (the dll files would be in the installation folder). Unfortunately, we do not have a VI library to send but we will contact you directly with a sample VI and documentation guide.

cheng wang (posted 2019-07-07 14:50:09.01)

Is there any discount of ELL14K？ We ， Hefei university of Technology ，have bought many products of your company.

AManickavasagam (posted 2019-07-08 05:55:21.0)

Response from Arunthathi at Thorlabs: Thanks for your query. We will contact you directly to discuss your options.

Yi Wei Ho (posted 2019-05-29 01:22:31.817)

The Solidworks file is missing (only 24kb) while the .step file design is different than the actual product. Please kindly update the 3D model files as it is an interesting product to use in our setup.

AManickavasagam (posted 2019-05-30 06:07:43.0)

Hello, thank you very much for your feedback! The files are corrected.

Rotation Mount and Stage Selection Guide

Thorlabs offers a wide variety of manual and motorized rotation mounts and stages. Rotation mounts are designed with an inner bore to mount a Ø1/2", Ø1", or Ø2" optic, while rotation stages are designed with mounting taps to attach a variety of components or systems. Motorized options are powered by a DC Servo motor, 2 phase stepper motor, or an Elliptec™ resonant piezo motor. Each offers 360° of continuous rotation.

Manual Rotation Mounts

Rotation Mounts for Ø1/2" Optics
Item #	MRM05(/M)	RSP05(/M)	CRM05	PRM05(/M)^a	SRM05	KS05RS	CT104
Click Photo to Enlarge
Features	Mini Series	Standard	External SM1 (1.035"-40) Threads	Micrometer	16 mm Cage-Compatible	±4° Kinematic Tip/Tilt Adjustment Plus Rotation	Compatible with CT1 Cage Translator Stage and 1/4" Translation Stages^b
Additional Details

This mount is available in the PRM05GL5 bundle, which includes the PRM05 rotation mount with the SM05PM5 polarizing prism mount.
The CT104 is complatible with the 1/4" translation stages using our MS103(/M) adapter plate.
The CT104 is compatible with the CT1 cage translation stage, which is designed for use with 30 mm cage systems.

Rotation Mounts for Ø1" Optics
Item #	RSP1(/M)	LRM1	RSP1D(/M)	DLM1(/M)	CLR1(/M)	RSP1X15(/M)	RSP1X225(/M)	PRM1(/M)^a
Click Photo to Enlarge
Features	Standard	External SM1 (1.035"-40) Threads	Adjustable Zero	Two Independently Rotating Carriages	Rotates Optic Within Fixed Lens Tube System	Continuous 360° Rotation or 15° Increments	Continuous 360° Rotation or 22.5° Increments	Micrometer
Additional Details

This mount is available in the PRM1GL10 bundle, which includes the PRM1 rotation mount with the SM1PM10 polarizing prism mount.

Rotation Mounts for Ø1" Optics
Item #	LM1-A & LM1-B(/M)	CRM1(/M)	CRM1L(/M)	CRM1P	KS1RS	K6XS
Click Photo to Enlarge
Features	Optic Carriage Rotates Within Mounting Ring	30 mm Cage-Compatible^a	30 mm Cage-Compatible for Thick Optics^a	30 mm Cage-Compatible with Micrometer^a	±4° Kinematic Tip/Tilt Adjustment Plus Rotation	Six-Axis Kinematic Mount^a
Additional Details

This mount also features four 4-40 (M3) holes on the rotation dial for use with the K6A1(/M) prism platform.

Rotation Mounts for Ø2" Optics
Item #	RSP2(/M)	RSP2D(/M)	PRM2(/M)	LM2-A & LM2-B(/M)	LCRM2(/M)	KS2RS	K6X2
Click Photo to Enlarge
Features	Standard	Adjustable Zero	Micrometer	Optic Carriage Rotates Within Mounting Ring	60 mm Cage-Compatible	±4° Kinematic Tip/Tilt Adjustment Plus Rotation	Six-Axis Kinematic Mount
Additional Details

Manual Rotation Stages

Manual Rotation Stages
Item #	RP005(/M)	PR005(/M)	MSRP01(/M)	RP01(/M)	RP03(/M)	QRP02(/M)
Click Photo to Enlarge
Features	Standard					Two Hard Stops
Additional Details

Manual Rotation Stages
Item #	XRR1(/M)	PR01(/M)	CR1(/M)	XYR1(/M)	OCT-XYR1(/M)
Click Photo to Enlarge
Features	Fine Rotation Adjuster and 3" Wide Dovetail Quick Connect	Fine Rotation Adjuster and SM1-Threaded Central Aperture	Fine Pitch Worm Gear	Rotation and 1/2" Linear XY Translation
Additional Details

The stage profile is higher when it is mounted using the screw slots rather than stacked on another stage or accessory with 3" dovetails.
The OCT-XYR1(/M) stage includes the XYR1A solid sample plate. This plate can be detached from the stage to reveal the same mounting features present on the XYR1(/M) stage.

Motorized Rotation Mounts and Stages

Motorized Rotation Mounts and Stages
Item #	DDR25(/M)	K10CR1(/M)	PRM1Z8(/M)^a	PRMTZ8(/M)^b	DDR100(/M)	HDR50(/M)	ELL18(/M)^c
Click Photo to Enlarge
Features	Compatible with SM05 Lens Tubes, 16 mm Cage System, 30 mm Cage System	Compatible with SM1 Lens Tubes and 30 mm Cage System		Tapped Mounting Platform for Mounting Prisms or Other Optics	Compatible with SM1 Lens Tubes, 16 mm Cage System, 30 mm Cage System	Compatible with SM2 Lens Tubes	Tapped Mounting Platform, Open Frame Design for OEM Applications
Additional Details

Motor Type	Brushless DC Servo	2 Phase Stepper Motor with Worm Gear	DC Servo	DC Servo	Brushless DC Servo	2 Phase Stepper Motor with Worm Gear	Piezo Resonant Motor
Rotation Adjustment Range	360° Continuous
Mounting Platform
Diameter	Ø1.14" (Ø29.0 mm)	Ø1.81" (Ø46.0 mm)	Ø1.97" (Ø50.0 mm)	Ø2.61" (Ø66.2 mm)	Ø4.37" (111.0 mm)	Ø3.86" (Ø98.0 mm)	Ø1.97" (Ø50.0 mm)
Height	1.12" (28.5 mm)	0.84" (21.5 mm)	0.91" (23.0 mm)	0.98" (25.0 mm)	1.57" (39.9 mm)	1.73" (44.0 mm)	0.80" (20.3 mm)
Taps	-	Six 4-40 (M3)	Four 6-32 (M4) Four 8-32 (M4)	Eight 6-32 (M4) Sixteen 8-32 (M4) Five 1/4"-20 (M6)	Eight 8-32 (M4) Four 1/4"-20 (M6)	Four 8-32 (M4)	37 8-32 (M4)
Additional Holes	Clear Aperture with SM05 Threading	Clear Aperture with SM1 Threading	Clear Aperture with SM1 Threading	-	Clear Aperture with SM1 Threading	Clear Aperture with SM2 Threading	-
Speed (Max)	1800 °/s	10 °/s	25 °/s	25 °/s	1080 °/s	50 °/s	430 °/s
Platform Adapter Plate(s)	-	K10CR1A2(/M)	PRM1SP1(/M)	-	NR360SP9(/M) NR360SP4(/M)	NR360SP9(/M) NR360SP8 NR360SP4(/M)	-
Base
Dimensions	2.19" x 2.19" (55.6 mm x 55.6 mm)	4.21" x 2.60" (107.0 mm x 66.0 mm)	5.18" x 3.26" (131.5 mm x 82.8 mm)	5.41" x 2.88" (137.4 mm x 73.3 mm)	4.53" x 4.53" (115 mm x 115 mm)	7.46" x 4.55" (189.4 mm x 115.5 mm)	3.19" x 2.36" (81.0 mm x 60.0 mm)
Stage Adapter Plates	-	K10CR1A1 K10CR1A3	PRM1SP2 PRM1SP3	-	-	NR360SP2(/M) NR360SP5(/M)	Two Mounting Brackets in ELL18K(/M) Bundle
Mounting Holes	-	-	Two Counterbores for 1/4"-20 (M6) Cap Screws	One Counterbore for 1/4"-20 (M6) Cap Screw; Two Clearance Holes for 1/4"-20 (M6) Cap Screws	Four Clearance Holes for 1/4"-20 (M6) Cap Screws	Four Counterbores for 1/4"-20 (M6) Cap Screws	Mounting Bracket in ELL18K(/M) Bundle has Two Slots for 1/4"-20 (M6) Cap Screw
Side Taps for Vertical Mounting	Four 8-32 (M4) Eight 4-40	Three 8-32 (M4)	Four 8-32 (M4)	-	Eight 1/4"-20 (M6)	Six 1/4"-20 (M6)	N/A
Cage System Compatibility	Four 4-40 Taps on Rotation Dial with 16 mm Spacing, Four 4-40 Taps on Back Side with 16 mm Spacing, Four 4-40 Taps on Front Side with 30 mm Spacing	Four 4-40 Taps On Each Side with 30 mm Spacing	Four 4-40 Taps on Rotation Dial with 30 mm Spacing	N/A	Four 4-40 Taps on Rotation Dial with 16 mm Spacing, Four 4-40 Taps on Rotation Dial with 30 mm Spacing, Four 4-40 Taps on Back Side with 30 mm Spacing	N/A	N/A

This stage is available in the KPRMTE(/M), which includes the PRMTZ8(/M) Motorized Rotation Stage with the KDC101 K-Cube DC Servo Motor Controller.
This stage is available in the KPRM1E(/M), which includes the PRMT1Z8(/M) Motorized Rotation Stage with the KDC101 K-Cube DC Servo Motor Controller.
This stage is available in the ELL18K(/M), which includes an interface board, mounting brackets, and connectors for PC control.