News Release
Bokam Introduces Aurora Force Sensor for Custom Motion Control Applications Santa Ana, CA, February, 1998 ….. BOKAM
ENGINEERING INC., announces the formation of the Custom Aurora Product Line and Custom Aurora Team created by the company that brought the Aurora Multi-Axis Force Sensor to the world. Bokam developed this product
line for fields such as industrial, medical, military and aerospace and for applications that require customization to the standard Aurora product line. The commercial Aurora line, developed by Bokam, is currently
manufactured by Bourns, Inc. in high volume under an exclusive license from Bokam while the versions of the product for customers in the medical, industrial and military fields continue to be manufactured
and supported by Bokam The Aurora product line represents the first solid, ceramic two- or three-axis force sensor based on thick-film technology innovations. This revolutionary design provides a distinct
linear output in all axes, resulting in precise, smooth motion control. The design does not have any moving or rubbing parts to degrade performance or reliability. The sensors have undergone complete
environmental and mechanical testing and have been tested to 10 million cycles in all three axes. This makes for a highly reliable and rugged product. The Custom Aurora Team will focus its attention on servicing
customers that require special customization and adherance to system-specific requiremnets in low volume (1-60,000 units). Attention is aimed toward allowing smaller volume customers the opportunity to have their
unique requirements addressed by the team that developed the product lines and the underlying technologies, while maintaining their procurement volume budgets. "Our aim is to make our customers' design-in time shorter
and less painful by providing a complete customer-specific motion control solution in one place," Jane Kamentser, Bokam vice president of operations states. "For this reason, Bokam has developed products to fit a
broad range of motion control applications and is now opening the door to our customers' system-specific requirements and needs. When customers think of Bokam, we want them to come away with the idea that we will
provide high-reliability, custom products for all of their motion control needs, from the most cost-effective to the most complex and sophisticated." At the heart of the product line is the Aurora sensing element
consisting of a ceramic substrate with a perpendicular post (picture a miniature joystick). As force is applied to the surface of the post, the substrate microscopically deflects, producing strain couples in
specific areas of the substrate. The magnitude of the strain in the X, Y, and/or Z axis defines the direction and rate of motion. The end result is a product and technology that is easily adaptable to a
variety of requirements and applications. The temperature compensation feature of the sensor output makes it possible for the sensor to be used in close proximity to hot-running electronics or in extreme industrial,
military, aerospace and medical applications. The sensor itself, when separated from the signal conditioning electronics, can be operated at temperatures up to 450F. Additionally, standard Aurora Sensor
configurations allow for easy design-in to virtually any application. Customized options are available for OEM and design-in applications and range from sensors to entire motion control systems providing low volt,
voltage level, RS232, PS2 or digital outputs. Industrial And Medical Are Just A Few Applications Applications for the Aurora Multi-Axis Force Sensor include: three-axis force measurement devices, oscilloscope
cursor control, medical equipment motion control, MRI or ultrasound cursor control, industrial/robotics motion control, navigation systems cursor control, high-end audio-visual equipment and fly-by-wire
applications. Because this technology is basically a three-axis solid state force sensor, the customization options and applications are limited only by the customers' imaginations. The compact size of the
Aurora Multi-Axis Force Sensor family of products is ideally suited for applications where space, reliability and performance are major considerations. A cursor control package (Integrated Block) is available with
PS2 or RS232-type interfaces and can be plugged into any standard mouse input. The package features the IBM Track Point or Track Point IV electronics and the Phillips TPM 754 and/or 749 microprocessors. The
Integrated Block is available with 0-5 volt proportional outputs. |
