Servo Drivers

GALVANOMETERS

Galvanomter based optical scanners (sometimes called galvos) are scanners involving a physical mirror, that is rotated by a motor of some kind. Most often the galvo mirror is attached to the galvanometer’s shaft. Galvanometer based optical scanners require the use of separate drive electronics called “servo amplifiers, servo driver, or scanner amplifier”.

Systems can be configured in a single axis or dual axis array. ScannerMAX manufactures a wide range of galvanometer based optical scanning systems, specialized for use across variety of applications. ScannerMAX galvanometer-based optical scanning technology offers great use across these major fields:

XY OPTICAL SCANNING SYSTEMS

ScannerMAX’s patented and award-winning range of complete XY optical scanning systems, including our Compact-506 Optical Scanning System, Saturn 1 Optical Scanning System, Saturn 5 Optical Scanning Systems, and Saturn 9 Optical Scanning System, boast our state of the art “Stronger, Cooler, Faster” approach to XY optical scanning system design.

We start by using a Stronger magnetic field, rotor and shaft design, mirror mounting configuration, bearing materials, and position feedback. We couple this with our innovative motor magnet design that allows our XY optical scanning systems to run cooler. And the culmination of these approaches allows our XY optical scanning systems to ultimately run faster, than any other conventional XY optical scanning system on the market.

GALVO MIRRORS

ScannerMAX standard galvo mirrors are available for beam diameters ranging from 3mm to 10mm. Larger galvo mirrors and custom galvo mirrors can be supplied upon request after consultation with our engineering team. We also have the ability to precisely mount client provided galvo mirrors and galvanometer optics as needed. A variety of coatings are available for laser wavelengths ranging from 355nm to 10.6um. Substrates for our galvo mirrors include optical glass, fused silica and silicon.

RESONANT SCANNERS

Resonant scanners use a sprint and mass type structure, to resonate at a fixed characteristic frequency, determined by the stiffness of the spring and quantity of the mass. In most cases, with resonant scanners, the mirror provides the majority of the moving mass (in the form of inertia).

The spring portion may be embodied as a torsion rod, or strips of material such as spring steel (in the case of MEMS) silicon. Resonant scanners generally require little electrical power, and offer the benefit of having relatively high scan frequencies, and wide scanning angle possibilities. ScannerMAX has manufactured custom resonant scanners for OEM applications in the past. If you have a potential application for resonant scanners, please contact us for more information.

POLYGON LASER SCANNER

Polygonal scanners attach a reflective surface to the shafts of a continuously rotating motor. The rotating surface can be prismatic, pyramidal, monogonal, or take an irregular shape. All polygon lase scanners use a mirror that offers high optical throughput (typically 85% or greater) and a narrow or wide scan angle that is dictated by the size of the polygonal reflector and number of facets. Very large laser beam diameters can also be accommodated. The defining feature of polygon scanners is that they scan the same pattern over and over again. For some applications, such as inspection or laser printing, this can be desirable.