New Scale Technologies is featured in the 2019 NASA Spinoff magazine for its work in developing precision, miniaturized piezoelectric positioning systems for the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
The technological advances made during this project included the development of novel piezoelectric elements that require only 10 volts to move, as compared to several hundred volts as is common in the industry. This allowed New Scale to dramatically reduce the size of the control electronics.
The work has implications well beyond space telescopes. From the article:
New Scale’s products are showing up in a variety of contexts, including medical instruments. One, a portable blood analyzer, uses a positioner to provide focus for an embedded microscope. The analyzer fits in a backpack and can field-test someone for HIV.
… the company is also getting interest for implantable devices, in robotic surgery, and in machines that sequence DNA, in all of which precise movements and precise camera focus are crucial, and lower power and miniaturization equally so.
Another area of potential interest, Henderson says, is for beam steering in things like lidar, which maps in 3D by sending out laser pulses and measuring how long it takes the beam to bounce off of an object and come back. “Our two-axis rotary positioners point the beam precisely and are about the size of your fingertip.”
Learn more about New Scale’s integrated motion systems and custom engineering capabilities.
About New Scale Technologies, Inc.
New Scale Technologies develops and manufactures the smallest and most precise closed-loop positioning solutions available. Our “all-in-one” M3 Smart Modules – piezoelectric motor systems with embedded controllers – are easy to integrate into handheld and portable instruments. They enable smaller, smarter imaging systems, scientific instruments, medical devices, aerospace and defense systems and more. Our customers achieve the fastest time to market with the lowest total cost.
