Introduction: Custom sizing starts when a standard active vibration isolation platform cannot match an instrument’s footprint, bolt pattern, height, or load distribution.
A standard tabletop platform can fit your instrument on paper and still fail on the bench. The footprint may be too small, the height too high, or the bolt pattern in the wrong place. Many lab and production-floor projects start with a standard model and move to a custom one when the dimensions stop matching: a 500 x 600 x 100 mm platform with a 550 x 450 mm work area looks workable until the instrument base plate is 640 mm wide, the existing bench has a fixed hole pattern, or the platform must slide into a machine frame with only 100 mm of clearance. At that point, the job becomes a custom inquiry. Preparing the right parameters before you contact a vibration isolation platform supplier keeps the engineering conversation short and makes the quotations you receive easier to compare.
When a Standard Active Vibration Isolation Table Is Not Enough
The TA series covers a broad range of benchtop instruments in three steps. TA-400 measures 400 x 450 x 100 mm, weighs 18 kg, and carries 100 kg. TA600 measures 500 x 600 x 100 mm with a 550 x 450 mm work area and a 27 kg body; it carries instruments in roughly the 100–120 kg range, with the final rated load set during engineering review. TA-800 measures 800 x 600 x 115 mm, weighs 40 kg, and carries 220 kg. For an AFM head, an interferometer receiver, a wafer inspection microscope, or a compact femtosecond laser bench, one of these three usually solves the problem. The control loop is tuned, the enclosure is finished, and the build follows a known path. Custom sizes begin where that ladder ends. Custom work earns its place when a hard constraint rules out all three sizes: the instrument is wider than the work area, the mounting holes fall outside the plate, the available height is under 100 mm, or the customer's own cabinet has to become the top plate. A custom project stays predictable when you change the mechanical envelope, not the control core. Six-degree-of-freedom active control, the 1–200 Hz isolation band, >90% attenuation at 5 Hz and >95% at 10 Hz, a step response within 30 ms, ±5 mm auto leveling, flatness held at ≤0.05 mm/m², RS232, and IP42 all come from the actuator, sensor, and controller set. A supplier who already builds those into a standard platform keeps them and rebuilds the frame around your dimensions.
The Load, Center of Gravity, and Vibration Data a Supplier Needs
Two inputs decide most of the mechanical design, and both come from you. The first is how much mass sits on the platform and where its center of gravity actually is. The second is what the floor under that platform is doing right now. Send both, and the supplier can size the frame, balance the passive layer, and confirm the payload instead of guessing at it.
1. Why Instrument Weight and Center of Gravity Change the Custom Design
Total mass is the easy number: instrument, fixtures, cable tension, and anything else that rides on the plate. What changes the design is where that mass sits. An instrument whose center of gravity is 300 mm above the top plate creates an overturning moment that a low, flat load of the same weight never does, and the leveling system has to hold against it. If a motorized stage, a scanning head, or a small manipulator moves on top, describe its travel, speed, and mass, because thrust from a moving axis arrives at the platform as a dynamic force. A useful package includes the instrument outline drawing, the base bolt pattern with hole diameters and spacing, total mass, your best estimate of center-of-gravity height and horizontal offset, the mass and travel of any moving axis, and how the platform will be supported underneath.
2. Why Site Vibration Data Matters More Than a General Frequency Claim
A specification such as a 1–200 Hz isolation band describes the platform, not your building. Two labs on different floors of the same institute can need different solutions, so engineers work from a measurement taken where the platform will sit. An acceleration or velocity spectrum from roughly 1 Hz to 200 Hz, in the vertical direction and both horizontals, recorded during normal working hours, shows them which peaks to address. A floor with a strong peak between 5 Hz and 15 Hz is exactly the case active control handles well; a peak down at 2–3 Hz shifts attention toward the passive layer and frame stiffness. If all you have is a coarse floor class reading or a simple time trace, send it anyway — a rough curve in hand beats a general claim every time.
How to Judge Supplier Engineering Response Before You Request a Quote
A strong first reply reads like a design review rather than a sales note. It carries a drawing-level sketch with overall dimensions, hole pattern, plate thickness, and load path. It lists which performance values carry over from the standard platform — six-degree-of-freedom control, the 1–200 Hz band, >90% attenuation at 5 Hz, >95% at 10 Hz, ≤30 ms step response, ±5 mm auto leveling, ≤0.05 mm/m² flatness, RS232, IP42 — and which values get recalculated for your mass and center of gravity. It also arrives with questions: is the 100 mm height limit absolute, can the bolt pattern move 20 mm, does the instrument run continuously? When you compare replies from more than one active vibration isolation table manufacturer, those questions usually separate them faster than prices do. The commercial side deserves the same attention. Custom platforms rarely publish prices, lead times, or minimum order quantities, so ask how the quotation is assembled: what counts as engineering time, what is hardware, where drawing approval sits, and at which stage performance is verified before shipment. Ask for custom performance, price, MOQ, lead time, and warranty to be confirmed in writing inside the quotation itself. Performance statements and warranty commitments for commercial equipment belong in a written offer rather than a phone call or a chat thread. The published reference price for a standard TA600 works as a budget anchor for planning; the final quote and delivery require engineering confirmation, and the final figure follows the approved drawing.
Conclusion
Custom sizing is mostly a preparation problem. Before you contact a supplier, assemble four things: an outline drawing of the instrument with its bolt pattern, a mass and center-of-gravity estimate that includes any moving axes, a floor vibration spectrum from the install location, and notes on height limits, environment, and control interface. With those in hand, expect a reply that looks like a drawing with dimensions, plus a written quotation covering performance, price, MOQ, lead time, and warranty. OpticalTable Optical Systems has delivered the platform family into national research institute and university laboratory projects, and the proven control core carries straight into custom frames. Send your operating conditions through Get a Quote and ask for a drawing-level proposal.
FAQ
Q：When should I request a custom vibration isolation platform instead of a standard model?
A：Request a custom platform when a hard constraint rules out every standard size — the instrument is wider than the 550 x 450 mm work area, its mounting holes fall outside the plate, the space allows less than 100 mm of height, the machine cabinet itself has to become the top plate, or total mass sits well outside the standard range. If one of the three standard sizes fits, start there; the control loop is already tuned and the build path is known.
Q：What load and center of gravity information does a supplier need for a custom quote?
A：Send total supported mass including fixtures, cable tension, and anything riding on the plate; center-of-gravity height above the top plate and any horizontal offset; the mass, travel, and speed of moving axes; the instrument outline and base bolt pattern with hole diameters and spacing; and a note on how the platform will be supported underneath. Those inputs let an engineer size the frame and leveling system instead of quoting blind.
Q：How do I evaluate a vibration isolation platform supplier without a fixed public lead time?
A：Judge the engineering reply and the quoting process rather than a single delivery date. A supplier worth shortlisting returns a drawing-level sketch, states which standard performance values carry over and which are recalculated, asks follow-up questions about your mass, center of gravity, and floor, and puts performance, price, MOQ, lead time, and warranty in writing. Ask how the schedule is assembled — drawing approval, machining, control verification, and shipment — so you can plan around each stage.
Sources / References
Businessperson's Guide to Federal Warranty Law
Comments
Post a Comment