The Japanese motor-maker Nippon Pulse has developed a 4mm-shaft linear servomotor which it describes as the first linear motor designed for the ultra-high-precision market. The model S040 motor, which can achieve sub-micron resolutions, generates less heat and is said to be up to 100 times stiffer than traditional linear motors.

Nippon Pulse also claims that the cogging-free motor is 50% more efficient than competing devices and doesn’t need an external heatsink. The motor is designed to replace conventional precision linear motor systems in small-scale applications, such as nanoscale manufacturing, processing, and metrology.

The 10mm-wide motor operates over strokes lengths of up to 40mm, and has a forcer length of up to 79mm. It can provide 0.98N of continuous force or 3.8N of acceleration force, and draws 0.6A continuously and 2.2A during acceleration.