ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS
PHOTONICS
INMOCO
PRECISION MOTION TECHNOLOGIES ARE RISING
TO THE FUTURE CHALLENGES OF PHOTONICS
Photonics is a science whose time has come.
Just as 20th Century engineers relied on
electric motors, 21st Century engineers are
turning to lasers and fibre optics to create
machines and technologies that will change
the world and redefine life as we know it.
Gerard Bush of motion experts INMOCO
says the precision optical systems required
are pushing the boundaries of drives and
controls.
Lasers were invented in1960, and at first
nobody could find a use for them. The
theory behind optical fibre was postulated
in Victorian times, but it was not until
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PECM Issue 34
1973 that Gerhard Bernsee of Schott Glass
developed a material able to support the
concept.
Today, photonics are ubiquitous, embracing
everything from normal life to advanced
scientific research. Relatively mundane
applications include telecommunications,
information processing technology and
computing, home electronics, lighting,
printing, information displays and bar code
scanners. In the technical and engineering
world lasers and fibre optics are used in
metrology, spectroscopy, and holography.
In medicine surgery, endoscopy and health
monitoring have all been transformed.
Today military technology, laser material
processing, biophotonics, agriculture,
aviation, construction and robotics all rely
increasingly on photonics, while artists have
a whole new medium with which to produce
thought provoking installations.
Challenge and solution
Precision optics applications require smooth,
fast motion with high acceleration and
short settling times. High resolution and
repeatability in a compact, lightweight
package are also essential. Traditional