Construction and control of a high precision co-ordinate table

With the appearance of micromachined mechanical elements and nanotechnology increased demand can be observed for coordinate tables having submicron position accuracy. The paper describes the construction of a small (100×100mm) high precision (0,01 μm resolution, less then 0,1 μm measuring accuracy over the full range) coordinate table. It was decided to design a modular system with independent metrological and structural frames. The construction enables the application of various measuring element like optical grid or laser interferometer combined with capacitive sensors to supervise the gap between the table and the guiding surface. The table was developed as part of an optical co-ordinate measuring machine intended for the quality control of filaments and filament assemblies for energy saving bulbs.