MagnaTran 7.1 User’s Manual
Operation
MN-003-1600-00
Theory of Operation
Brooks Automation
Revision 2.2
6-9
Theory of Operation
The MagnaTran 7 Robot provides control for either a single arm or dual semi-inde-
pendent arms through a single concentric shoulder-shaft mechanism. The shoulder-
shaft mechanism provides the drive to the left and right arm mechanisms on both the
single and dual arms. The single arm, referred to as “Arm A”, and the dual arms,
referred to as “Arm A” and “Arm B,” are configured in software for full motion in
three axes: Radial (R), Rotational (T), and, Vertical (Z).
NOTE:
The major difference between the single and dual arms is the addition of “Arm B”
for the dual arm.
The station coordinate system provides a convenient shorthand for identifying spe-
cific locations for the robot to move to or from. Each station is identified by its Theta
position, its Radial position (amount of arm extension), and its Z position (vertical dis-
tance from Home). By identifying the stations in this manner it is only necessary to
provide the robot with the station number instead of the complete coordinate set each
time a command is issued to the robot.
When the Z Axis is being used, there are a number of user definable parameters that
must be provided for proper operation. The Base Transfer Offset (BTO) provides the
distance from the robot’s Home position to the systems Wafer Transfer Plane (WTP).
The Lower parameter provides the distance from the WTP that the robot must move
down to deposit a wafer, which also defines the height that the robot must enter a
module to pick up a wafer.
The Slot parameter is used to define the number of slots in a station (the default is
one) and to specify the slot the robot’s operation will be performed on (if none is spec-
ified the default is assumed). The Pitch parameter is used to define the distance
between slots. When using the Slot and Pitch parameters, the total number of slots
may not exceed the vertical distance that the robot is capable of traveling.
