Polytec: laboratory benches for laser vibrometers
Illustration of a static application with Bilz BiAir® PAS pendulum air spring as the optimum isolator for Polytec laboratory benches.
Polytec produces and distributes optical metrology for research and industry. When the company was founded in 1967, it was the first provider of laser-based technology in Germany. Since then, Polytec has grown to an international high-tech company and serves customers from the aerospace industry, medicine, nanotechnology and machine construction. Metrology from Polytec is used for highly accurate measurements of sensitive production processes, products or procedures. Therefore, Polytec is at home in the technology areas of vibrometry, velocimetry, topography, process analytics, image processing and other optical technologies. The company, which has its headquarters in Baden-Württemberg, has been relying on our solutions for vibration technology for several years.
We configure special solutions for our customers and successfully bring them to series production.
Laser vibrometers are precision measuring devices for the examination of objects of almost any size. They executre their respective tasks fast, contactless and without feedback. Laser vibrometers play a key role in the development of high-end haptic technologies, for example in haptic displays for smartphones and other technical input devices.
These optical measuring devices must be mounted optimally on vibration-isolated laboratory benches so that the devices can work smoothly and test even the smallest surface details error-free. The demands of the customer for isolation efficiency, and therefore the quality of the measuring instruments, could not be met sufficiently until now. For this reason, Polytec commissioned us to develop a tailor-made solution.
Our laboratory benches are designed for vibration-decoupled operation of vibration-sensitive measuring and testing equipment, laser devices, optical and electronic devices, scales and medical equipment. Bilz tables are therefore optimally suited for all applications where vibrations and level changes could permanently disturb the measurement, experiment, or work.
In the area of laboratory benches, in particular, individual requirements vary greatly depending on the application. For Polytec we developed a special solution with a laboratory bench with a hard stone tabletop. This top guarantees an inherently rigid base and, with its higher mass, is superior to optical tabletops in its insulating effect. For this static application we chose Bilz pendulum air spring BiAir® PAS as the optimal insulator.
Our highly effective membrane air spring isolators BiAir® PAS isolate disturbing vibrations from the environment. At the same time the mechanical-pneumatic level control ensures that the level can be kept at a reset accuracy of +/- 0,01 mm, even with load changes. Furthermore, a maintenance unit is included in the scope of delivery, which is connected upstream for compressed air preparation.
The prototype of this special solution convinced not only Polytec, but also their end customers. These laboratory benches have since been mass-produced by Bilz. However, Polytec does not only rely on this application from us, but also on our vibration-isolated laboratory benches for other metrology systems.
Markus Grittmann
Designer, Polytec GmbH