PEABODY, MA — TMC’s Everstill™ K-400 active vibration cancellation
benchtop platform was named by the editors of Microscopy Today magazine as one of the
ten most important and useful innovations developed for the microscopy community in
2015. The Innovation Awards were presented at the Microscopy & Microanalysis 2016
Meeting held in Columbus, Ohio.
TMC is the industry leader in high-performance vibration cancellation technology. Everstill
is the next generation in active vibration cancellation. Its patented technology features
aggressive vibration cancellation starting at 0.7 Hz and delivers dramatic vibration
cancellation in the critical 1-10 Hz range
“TMC is proud to be recognized for its state-of-the-art Everstill technology, the first of its
kind in a compact benchtop design,” states Wes Wigglesworth, TMC Product Manager,
Active Systems. “Everstill’s significance is two-fold: vibration cancellation at low frequency
and stability. Only inertial, active vibration cancellation systems, such as Everstill, will
aggressively cancel low frequency vibration. It employs serial-type architecture with an
active control loop consisting of a sub-1 Hz sensor, actuator, intermediate mass and digital
processor.
“Serial-type active systems achieve better overall vibration isolation because payload
resonances are mechanically filtered from the vibration sensors. This allows for high gain
settings and a wide active bandwidth with no sacrifice in system stability. The added
stability from the stiff springs inside Everstill enables longer hold times for critical
procedures. No other commercial product can provide such a solution,” adds
Wigglesworth.
Existing benchtop vibration isolation utilizes passive springs, self-leveling pneumatic
passive isolators or alternative active vibration cancellation. While existing technology is
good at attenuating high-frequency vibration (above 10 Hz), it is inferior at low frequencies,
specifically in the 0.7 Hz–10 Hz region. Such alternative solutions are inherently “soft,”
easily deflecting in response to a force induced on the payload, such as when adjusting an
eyepiece on a microscope.
Everstill is ideal for supporting optical microscopes, scanning probe microscopes,
gravitometers and other benchtop metrology instruments on existing lab tables.
Applications include in-vitro fertilization, digital microscopy, live cell imaging, and atomic
force microscopy for molecular and protein investigation, among others.
The Everstill K-400 is the first embodiment of TMC’s Everstill technology, which will lead to
a family of products in the coming years.
TMC designs and manufactures precision vibration isolation systems for sensitive research
and manufacturing processes worldwide. TMC is an ISO 9001:2008-certified company. Its
products include active and passive vibration isolation systems, optical tops, optical table
systems and breadboards; laboratory tables and tabletop platforms; floor platforms and
Quiet Island® raised floors; magnetic field cancellation and electric field shielding systems;
and acoustic enclosures.
TMC is a unit of AMETEK Ultra Precision Technologies, a pioneer in the development of
ultra-precision measurement instruments and a global leader in ultra-precise machine tools
and manufacturing systems for the semiconductor, photovoltaic, nanotechnology, military,
defense and ophthalmic lens markets.
AMETEK Ultra Precision Technologies is a division of AMETEK, Inc., a leading global
manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices with annual sales of
$4.0 billion.
For more information, contact Sheryl Aleckna at Technical Manufacturing Corporation, 15
Centennial Drive, Peabody, MA 01960. Tel: 978-532-6330. Fax: 978-531-8682. E-mail:
Sheryl.Aleckna@ametek.com Website: www.techmfg.com.