A XY Table is a mechanical device used to develop force and linear motion from a source of energy. The force is translated into a linear motion rather than a rotational motion as an electrical motor would have it. The XY Table converts rotary motion into linear displacement by screws or gears to which the electric motor is attached. A XY Table is a component of a motion system used to restrict an object to a single axis of motion. All XY Table consist of a platform and a base, joined by some form of guide or linear bearing. The platform of the XY Table is restricted to linear motion with respect to the base. The term XY Table may or may not also include the mechanism by which the position of the platform is controlled relative to the base.

A XY Table has a platform, also known as carriage, that moves relative to a base. The XY Table is joined by a form of guide which only allows the carriage to move in one dimension or axis. There are a variety of different style of guides for XY Table with pros and cons to make each suitable for a particular application. Ball Bearing XY Table is fairly inexpensive. The drawbacks of Ball bearing XY Table is short travel, low load capacity, poor accuracy, and short lifetime. Re-circulating ball bearing XY Table has unlimited travel and is relatively inexpensive. The downsides for this type of XY Table are low load capacity, quick to wear, oscillating positioning load as bearings re-circulate. Crossed roller bearings XY Table has high load capacity, good accuracy, and long lifetime. The cons to this type of XY Table are short travel, which is limited by length of bearing contact and they are expensive. Flexure XY Table has benefits of excellent accuracy, no backlash, and no wear. The downsides to flexure XY Table include short travel, low load capacity, and expensive. Cylindrical sleeves XY Table are capable of high load capacities, unlimited travel, and being inexpensive. The XY Table is susceptible to binding if bending moments are present in the application. The Dovetail XY Table has high load capacity capabilities, along with unlimited travel, long lifetime and is fairly inexpensive. These types of XY Table require high positioning force and are susceptible to binding if bending moments are present a long with high backlash.

Manual XY Table can have a crank or control knob in addition to a lead screw which is very typical in most applications. The knob of a XY Table can also be indexed to indicate the angular position of the load. The displacement of XY Table is related to the angular displacement of the knob by the lead screw pitch. The Precision XY Table does not use a lead screw, but rather a XY Table of that caliber uses a fine-pitch screw which presses on a hard metal pad on the platform of the storage. Rotating the screw will move the platform in a linear motion. A spring is used to keep force between the platform and the XY Table; this provides a more precise motion for XY Table. A XY Table mounted vertically uses something different, the XY Table is connected to the moveable platform and its tip rests on a metal pad on the fixed base. The weight of the platform and its load is supported by the actuator.

In some XY Table, a stepper motor may be used in place of a manual knob. A stepper motor used in XY Table can move in fixed increments dependant on the step resolution of the system. The XY Table, in this case, moves similar to an indexed knob.

In some XY Table, a DC motor can be used in place of a manual knob control. A DC motor, however, does not move in fixed increments like a stepper motor or knob in the XY Table. An alternate means for XY Table is required for position verification. This can be addressed with an encoder being integrated into the XY Table. The encoder allows a motion controller to reliably move the stage to set positions within the XY Table.

For control of position in more than one direction, XY Table of a single-axis may be combined to allow motion in multiple directions. A two-axis system of XY Table can be assembled from two XY Tables, one mounted to the platform or carriage to the other in a way that the axis of motion of the second XY Table is perpendicular to the first. Three-axis or X-Y-Z stage is composed of three XY Tables mounted to each other where the axis of motion of all stages is orthogonal. Many two-axis and three-axis XY Tables are designs integrated rather than assembled from a separate single-axis XY Table. Utilizing rotary elements can also create four-axis, five-axis, and even six-axis XY Table.

XY Table can be used in the following applications:

Lab Automation
Biotech Automation
Inspection Stations
Part Scanning
Pick & Place
Liquid Dispensing
Part Insertion

Today in most manufacturing process the use of XY Table is extremely common because XY Table may be customized to whatever the application may be. Within the biotechnology field, finding a means of accelerating drug testing is an important task for scientists; by using XY Table you can precisely position plates that contain minute quantities of drug samples. With the precision of XY Table bio-technicians can test more samples more quickly, resulting in new pharmaceutical solutions faster. XY Table is used throughout the packaging industry one example being liquid dispensing; XY Table tracks the bottle on the moving conveyor while filling it up and retract as the liquid level rises. After the bottle has been filled up a vertical XY Table lowers a threaded cap onto the bottle and uses a rotary motor to tighten the cap. When wanting to move one product from one conveyor belt to another we use XY Table to channel these products to different conveyors. XY Table is not solely for the packaging and manufacturing industries but is also being used in everyday life by everyday people, for example; your local deli could be using an automatic food slicer that is controlled by a XY Table which feeds the food into the slicing mechanism.