- OEM / SystemsOEM Systems | Precision Components | Automation Sub-SystemsPI offers 1000’s of proven, off-the-shelf precision motion products that can be quickly modified for the OEM or into a custom automation sub-system.
- Meeting the Demands of OEMsOEM Systems | Precision Components | Automation Sub-SystemsPI has a long track record of working with OEMs in the most demanding industries from Semiconductor Technology to Medical Design – industries where product performance, quality, and the ability to ramp up quickly are not the only parameters required to satisfy the customer's demands. Working with technology leaders all around the world forces you to continuously improve your yield, process, and product performance. And unless your quality is outstanding, you cannot become a key supplier to major US, European, and Japanese companies in the Optics, Photonics, Semiconductor, and Automotive industry.
- Engineered Motion / Automation Sub-SystemsPrecision Automation Solutions | Engineered SystemsPI is a supplier of high-end precision motion systems and makes use of own drive components and high-precision positioners to build customized positioning and automation sub-systems —“motion engines”—for our customers. With the largest portfolio of precision motion technologies in the industry, PI engineers have the best foundation to find a solution that matches your requirements in terms of precision, quality and budget – in a timeframe that works for you.
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- Air Bearings & Ultra High Precision StagesAir Bearing Stages | Motorized | Linear | RotaryAir bearings provide advantages over mechanical bearings when vibration-free motion is required, highly constant velocity control is crucial, and when angular repeatability and geometric performance must be optimal. Air bearing stages (linear, rotary, and spherical) replace mechanical contact by a thin air film, avoiding wear, friction, vibration, and hysteresis effects.
- Miniature Positioning StagesMiniature Positioning Stages | Supplier | ManufacturerCompact positioning stages are crucial for the miniaturization process in cutting-edge research and industrial applications, for test & measurement, optical and opto-mechanical alignment, and component assembly. PI provides the largest portfolio of miniature stages, including high-speed linear motor stages, economical stepper motor units, and ultra-compact piezo motor positioners.
- Motorized Stages: Linear, Rotary, XYMotorized Stages | Positioning | ManufacturerPI offers the broadest and deepest range of precision motion technologies for micro and nano precision applications. Our engineers work with our customers to find the best drive and bearing technology for each individual application. Having access to multiple drive and positioning technologies allows an open discussion with a better outcome for the customer.
- Overview - Motorized Linear/Rotary StagesOverview - Motorized Linear/Rotary Stages
- Linear StagesLinear Stages - Precision Positioning Solutions | PI USASeveral types of motorized precision linear translation stages | PI USA
- Fast Linear Motor Stages and ActuatorsOverview: Linear Stage, Linear Motor Driven, Fast Brushless Motor Positioning Stages | PI USABrushless linear motor-driven stages provide high speed, precision and long life.
- Z-Stages (Vertical Motion)Vertical Linear Stages – Precision Motorized Z-Positioners | PI USA
- XY StagesXY Stages – 2-Axis Motorized Precision Positioning Stages | PI USASeveral types of planar XY stages: Direct-driven stages, ball-screw stages and air bearing planar XY stages
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- Rotary Stages / GoniometersPrecision Rotation Stage, High Resolution Rotary Positioners, Rotation Tables, Goniometers, by PI USASeveral types of motorized rotation stages: Direct-driven stages, ball-bearing stages and air bearing stages
- Heavy Duty Stages / Industrial AutomationHigh Speed / Performance Positioning Stages for Automation - Linear Stages | Rotary Stages | PI USAHigh performance motorized stages, designed for heavy duty applications in industrial precison automation.
- Sub-Systems for AutomationSYS > Engineered Motion/Automation Sub-SystemsThe PI group employs over 1,200 people in 15 countries and runs engineering and manufacturing centers on 3 continents. Select from the broadest portfolio of precision motion technologies, including piezoelectric and air bearing systems, with 1,000’s of standard products or have our engineers provide you with a custom solution.
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- Linear ActuatorsActuators | Precision | Linear | Actuator SystemA precision linear actuator is a positioning device that provides motion in 1 degree of freedom. PI designs and manufactures a variety of precision linear actuators (pushers) including economical stepper-motor driven actuators, high-speed linear motor types for automation and nanometer precise piezo-motor actuators.
- Gantries / Cartesian RobotsGantry Stages | Gantries | Cartesian RobotA gantry precision positioning stage is sometimes called a linear robot or Cartesian robot. Gantries typically provide motion in 2 or 3 linear degrees of freedom (X-Y and X-Y-Z) and are often used for pick and place applications, 3D printing or laser machining, and welding applications.
- 6-Axis Hexapods / Parallel PositionersHexapod Positioner | Six DOF | Stewart PlatformsHexapod positioners are often referred to as Stewart Platforms. A hexapod is based on a 6-axis (XYZ, Pitch, Roll, Yaw) actuator system arranged in parallel between a top and bottom platform. PI parallel kinematics (PKM) precision positioning systems have many advantages over serial kinematics stages, such as lower inertia, improved dynamics, smaller package size and higher stiffness. In addition hexapods are more flexible than conventional 6 axis positioners.
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- Control of Hexapod / Stewart Platforms: Hexapod Motion Controllers & Simulation Software6DOF Motion Platforms | Hexapod Controllers & Simulation Software | Stewart Platform | ManufacturerControllers, software and accessories for Hexapod Stewart platforms and parallel kinematic motion systems | PI USA
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- Piezo Flexure Nanopositioning StagesNanometer Precision: Piezo Stages for Nanopositioning, Piezo Nanopositioners, Piezo Flexure Scanning Stages | PI USAPI offers the broadest and deepest portfolio of nanometer precision motion technologies, from piezo-driven nanopositioning and scanning stages to motorized 6-axis hexapod positioning systems.
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- Linear Piezo Flexure StagesLinear Piezo Stages for Nanopositioning – Flexure-Guided Precision NanoPositioners | PI USALargest selection of frictionless, high performance piezo-stack-driven flexure linear nanopositioning stages | PI USA
- Vertical & Tip/Tilt Piezo StagesPiezo Z-Stage, Piezo Z-Tip-Tilt Platform. Flexure Guided Nanopositioning Stages| PI USALarge selection of Piezo Z-Stages and Tip/Tilt scanners with nanometer precision | PI USA
- Fast Steering Mirrors & Tip/Tilt PlatformsPiezo Steering Mirrors | Active Optics
- Nanofocus Lens ScannersFast Piezo Focus Lens Positioners and Scanners – Piezo Flexure Guided Precision Positioners | PI USALargest Selection of Nano-Focus drives for microscope lenses – flexure-guided precision positioners
- XY Piezo Flexure StagesPiezo Stages | XY | Nanopositioning StagesLargest selection of integrated XY piezo flexure stages with nanometer precision.
- XYZ Piezo Flexure StagesXYZ Piezo Nanopositioning Stages – Flexure Guided 3-Axis Precision Positioners | PI USALargest selection of integrated XYZ piezo flexure stages with nanometer precision.
- 6-Axis Piezo Flexure Stages6-Axis Piezo Nanopositioning Stages – Flexure Guided Precision Positioners | PI USAPiezo-driven fast steering mirrors (FSM) achieve nanoradian resolution and high bandwidth.
- Tutorial - Piezo NanopositioningNanometer Precision: Nanopositioning Basics Tutorial. Piezo Nanopositioners, Scanning Stages, Flexure Guided Positioners | PI USAThere are several ways to achieve nanometer precision motion. The best positioning systems avoid friction all together, in both the drive system (motor) and in the guiding system (bearings). Frictionless bearings also avoid the bearing rumble caused by balls and rollers and provide vibration-free motion with highly constant velocity.
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- Piezo Motors: Stages & ActuatorsPiezo Motors | Linear Motor Positioners | ManufacturerPiezo Motors are intrinsically vacuum compatible, non-magnetic and self locking at rest, providing long travel compared to traditional piezo mechanisms. The individual drive concepts are optimized for different applications, they differ in their design, size, cost, force & speed and other performance parameters.
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- Actuators with Piezo MotorsCompact precision linear actuators stages with several types of piezo motor drives – ultrasonic, stick-slip, piezo-walk, piezo-ratchet. | PI USA
- Linear Stages with Piezo MotorsPrecision linear stages with several types of piezo motor drives – ultrasonic, stick-slip, piezo-walk, piezo-ratchet. | PI USA
- XY Stages with Piezo MotorsXY piezo motor linear stages with several types of precision piezo motor drives – ultrasonic, stick-slip, piezo-walk | PI USA
- XY Piezo Flexure StagesXY Piezo Flexure StagesHigh-precision 2-axis nanopositioning systems integrate PICMA® piezo actuators for maximum reliability. Repeatable, drift-free positioning with optimal stability is possible by the use of high-quality nanometrology sensors.
- Rotary Stages with Piezo MotorsRotary piezo motor stages with several types of precision piezo motors– ultrasonic, stick-slip (inertia), | PI USA
- Tutorial - Piezo Motion ControlWhy All Piezo Motors are NOT Created Equal: The piezoelectric effect for precision motion control - PI Physik Instrumente.The demand for higher speed and/or precision in fields such as bio-nanotechnology, semiconductors, metrology, data comm, and photonics keep pushing manufacturers to come up with innovative drive technologies.
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- Piezo Transducers & ActuatorsPiezo Actuator | Piezo Transducer | ManufacturerPiezoelectric translators (transducers) are precision ceramic actuators which convert electrical energy directly into linear motion with high speed, force and virtually unlimited resolution. These actuators are used in every modern high tech field from semiconductor test & inspection to super-resolution microscopy, bio-nanotechnology and astronomy/aerospace technology.
- Piezo Actuators & Transducers: Stacks, Chips, Benders, Tubes, Spheres, Shear…Piezo Actuators & Transducers: Stacks, Chips, Benders, Tubes, Spheres, Shear…
- Value-Added Piezo Transducers & Piezo AssembliesValue Added Piezo Assemblies: Transducers, Actuators, Sensors, Manufactured by PI CeramicDeveloping and manufacturing piezo ceramic materials and components are complex processes. PI Ceramic - PI’s piezo material design and manufacturing facility - boasts several decades of experience as well as the right tools for rapid prototyping of custom engineered piezo components and assemblies. From the formulation of advanced piezo materials to the processing steps such as cutting, milling, grinding, and the precision assembly, every stage is controlled by our engineers and product specialists.
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- Piezo Actuators & Transducers: Stacks, Chips, Benders, Tubes, Spheres, Shear…
- Microscopy, Bio-Imaging, Life SciencesHigh Precision Microscope Stages, Piezo Lens Scanners, Tools for Bio-Imaging | PI-USAPiezo nano-positioning stages are essential tools for high-resolution microscopy, such as Super Resolution Microscopy or AFM. Their sub-atomic resolution and extremely fast response allow researchers to create higher-quality images faster. PI provides a large variety of fast Z-Stages and collar piezo objective positioners for 3D imaging (Z-stack acquisition), deconvolution, and fast focusing applications.
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- Applications: Life Sciences / MedicalPrecision motion control for medical engineering and life sciences applications | PI USA
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- Photonics Alignment SolutionsActive Photonics Alignment | Optics Alignment | SolutionsPI provides a variety of innovative fiber alignment systems from motorized fiber positioners to automated optic and photonic alignment such as used in telecommunication, data commumication and for packaging / automation. In addition to fiber-based applications, fast steering systems for free-space-optical communication are also available. Products range from motorized 6D micromotion alignment systems for industrial photonics automation, through ultra-fast piezoelectric scanning & alignment modules to modular devices with manual control for laboratory test setups. All motorized systems come with extensive software for easy setup and integration.
- Vacuum Positioning Stages & ActuatorsVacuum / UHV Compatible Stages - Linear & Rotary Positioners for Vacuum, Wide Temperature Ranges | PI USAPI miCos has extensive experience in the design and manufacturing of vacuum and high vacuum compatible precision optomechanical positioning equipment for low temperature and wide temperature ranges. We provide translation stages, vertical linear stages, rotation stages, XY stages and complex multi-axis positioning systems in vacuum spec.
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- Controllers, Drivers, Motion SoftwareMotion Controllers, Piezo Drivers-High Voltage Amplifiers, and Motion Software Overview | PI USA
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- Piezo Controller, Driver, Nanopositioning Controller, High-Voltage Amplifier, Piezo Power Supply by PI USAPiezo Drivers | Piezo Motion Controllers | ManufacturerA piezo controller or driver is used to control the motion of a piezo positioning device. There are open and closed loop controllers. Open-loop controllers are often referred to as piezo driver or even piezo power supply. Closed-loop controllers are divided in two basic types: analog-servo and digital servo controllers.
- Controllers/Drivers for Motorized StagesMotion Controller | Drivers | Positioning SystemsPI provides a large variety of hardware & software solutions for high precision motion control. Our portfolio spans from integrated compact single axis servo controllers / drivers, such as popular Mercury-class motion controllers, to complex multi-axis systems for parallel-kinematics positioners, such as hexapods.
- ACS Motion ControlACS Motion Control for Industrial AutomationWe recommend the controllers of our partner, ACS Motion Control especially for automation with industrial standards. Ask us about your integrated solution!
- Software - Motion Control SoftwareMotion Control Software | Software Tools | Positioning SolutionsFor LabView, C++, VB, Matlab, Image Acquisitiong Packages, NI DAC Cards, ..... PI provides high-level, robust, easy-to-use software tools for fast, seamless integration of motion systems into application control software.
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- Capacitive SensorsNanometer Resolution: Capacitance Sensors for Nano-Measuring, Nano-Metrology | PIA capacitive sensor is a proximity sensor that detects nearby objects by their effect on the electrical field created by the sensor.
- Accessories: Plates, Brackets, CablesAdapters and Cables for PI Precision Motion ComponentsStandardization is common with adapter plates and brackets, but we can create a custom accessory to fit your application system. PI products ship with the required cables. Customization is always an option.
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Piezo ceramics convert electrical energy directly into mechanical motion and vice versa, based on crystalline solid state effects. Piezo actuators are quite unique in combining force, speed and precise motion into a small package. To make them more accessible for OEM designers, manufacturers can package the actuators inside an arrangement of flexures providing precision guidance, amplified motion along with a simple mounting interface. Flexures are usually made of aluminum, steel or titanium. With the absence of friction and wear, they can provide 10’s of to 100’s of billions of cycles of maintenance-free service. Piezo motion devices allow position changes to be made in milliseconds or even microseconds and with precision down to sub-nanometers without difficulty. Piezo actuators (not to be confused with piezo motors) provide motion output proportional to a drive voltage – usually up to one millimeter and high dynamics with frequencies in the hundreds to thousands of Hz. There is no mechanical wear and no frictional parts to limit resolution: perfect conditions for many precision motion and positioning applications in industry, life sciences, microscopy, medical engineering and in space.
100 Billion Cycles – Can an Actuator be Designed to Provide this Kind of Reliability?
Figure 1. Ceramic-insulated, cofired high-performance piezo stacks outlast polymer-insulated types (Image: PI Ceramic) The short answer is yes. However, before the advent of monolithic, cofired and ceramic encapsulated piezo actuators, the reliability of piezo ceramics was strongly dependent on the environmental conditions at the site of application. For actuators with conformal coatings, humidity, temperature and operating voltage are of considerable influence, since no polymer insulation exists that is absolutely impermeable. For these devices the life expectancy can decrease dramatically at high humidity. Ingressing moisture and the electric field applied can then cause chemical reactions in the component, which are accelerated by higher temperature. The result is initially an increased leakage current and finally a dielectric breakdown, that is a short circuit between the electrodes. During dynamic operation, the service life of the piezo ceramics can be affected by dynamic forces and alternating mechanical stress conditions. Poorly designed ceramic actuators can be affected by micro cracks leading to failure quickly in such cases.
How to do it Right
The answer lies in optimized materials and manufacturing processes, appropriate design and, last but not least, the choice of suitable insulation. The PICMA® cofired piezo stacks (Figure 1) supplied by PI Ceramic are a good example. Based on a stack of layers of specialized ceramic, only a few dozen microns thick, interleaved with electrodes and sintered into a solid structure.
During manufacturing, first, the ceramic material, which is based on a special modified PZT (a ferroelectric ceramic), is ground to make a slurry from which thin ceramic foils are cast (Figure 2). This material is useful for motion positioning applications because PZT ceramic exhibits a small but almost linear dimensional change as a drive voltage is applied across the electrodes. Next, electrodes are screen printed and the layers are laminated to stacks. The ceramic is compacted to remove the air trapped between the individual layers and sintered together with the electrodes (cofiring technology) to create a monolithic block. This is protected against humidity and failures by a ceramic insulation layer. The monolithic design also increases the material stiffness leading to a higher mechanical resonant frequency, prerequisites to fast mechanical response to electric input and highly dynamic applications. The ceramic is not flexible, the motion is fully based on solid state effects.
The exclusive use of inorganic materials, for insulation, and the electrical contacts (Figure 3), also facilitates use in in ultra-high vacuum, as there is no outgassing.
Figure 4 shows accelerated lifetime testing results under high humidity conditions comparing piezo ceramic actuators with conventional conformal coatings and ceramic-insulated PICMA® actuators. Resistance to humidity is especially important for positioning applications in the semiconductor industry. High and constant offset-drive voltages are usually employed here, for example, to keep wafers in a stable position during lithography and inspection.
During this process, the clean rooms are artificially humidified to prevent electrostatic flashovers.
Another high humidity example is from the precision machining world (piezo actuators are used there in fast tool servos, active vibration cancellation and precision alignment applications): Here, cooling liquids can cause a significant increase of the ambient humidity.
Independent Testing for Space Applications
This also applies to applications under space conditions at ultra-low temperatures and high vacuum. When NASA was working on the Mars Mission, multiple types of actuators were considered and tested. For the sample analyzer system of the CheMin laboratory unit of the Curiosity Mars rover (Figure 5) example, PICMA® piezo actuators were selected after 100 billion cycles without failures or loss in performance.
Figure 5. The CheMin spectrometer for chemical and mineralogical analyses in the Mars rover: equipped with piezo actuators from PI Ceramic (Image: NASA) Learn more The CheMin instrument performs chemical and mineralogical analyses on Mars rocks. For supply with suitable rock samples, the rock powder first has to be sorted. To this end, the powder is shaken at various amplitudes and frequencies in the range from 0.9 to 2.2 kHz to achieve homogeneous particle sizes or separation according to density. This task is performed by the PICMA® multilayer piezo actuators. They carry out the oscillations required in material selection and supply at a defined amplitude and frequency.
In advance, the piezo actuators had to pass extensive qualification and testing prior to being allowed on board. Failure is not an option on a 2.5 billion dollar project. Here, the PICMA® actuators were able achieve impressive results: The extensive NASA/JPL performance and service life tests showed zero failures after 100 billion (10 exp 11) cycles.
More independent tests were conducted by the European Community Research Infrastructure to investigate the behavior of piezoelectric actuators in conditions equivalent to 10 years of operation in an active frequency tuner for ILC superconducting cavities (SC).
Minimizing Negative Influences: Stress Loading and Humidity
Figure 6. Patented piezo stack design with lateral slots to avoid uncontrolled expansion of micro cracks during dynamic operation (Image: PI Ceramic) To maximize lifetime and minimize stress in such dynamic applications it is essential to reduce to probability of cracks. This is where the patented slot design of the PICMA® actuators comes into play, as it minimizes the tensile load. The lateral slots prevent an increase in mechanical tensile stress in the stack and thus counteract the formation of uncontrolled cracks (Figure 6).
Another feature to consider is the stress on the electrodes. Repeating the same motion 100 billion times can wear you out. To avoid fractures of the termination electrodes, a patented meander-shaped design (Figure 7) ensures all internal electrodes have a stable electrical contact even at extreme dynamic loads. This is why the PICMA® design will survive where other designs fail. Download paper on PICMA® piezo design and reliability: Reliability & Lifetime of Multilayer Piezo Actuators
Low Operating Voltage
PICMA® actuators are designed to run at minimized operating voltages. In contrast to most conventional actuators they achieve their nominal motion output at operating voltages significantly below 150 V, in the case of bender-type actuators as low as +/-30V. This property is achieved with particularly thin ceramic layers.
Using modern production technologies, the multilayer actuators can be manufactured in virtually any shape. In doing so, all surfaces are encapsulated with the ceramic insulation (Figure 8).
Various basic shapes with round or triangular cross-sections are available, including insulated center holes on benders, chips and stack actuators.
Figure 8. Piezo bender actuators with variable contours: flexibility geometries maintaining the full ceramic encapsulation while requiring very low operating voltages of only +/-30V (Image: PI Ceramic) Flexure Designs for Long Travel and Easy Integration
The operation of the piezo ceramic actuator is characterized by four factors: a) precision; b) speed; c) high force and d) relatively short displacement. Since the positioning precision is derived from molecular effects, if is free of stiction and friction which allows controllability down into the sub-nanometer range if desired. On the other hand, high force motion can be exerted in micro-seconds. This is why piezoelectric mechanisms are at the heart of the latest generation fuel injection valves as well as in today’s semiconductor lithography tools, super-resolution microscopes and a variety of other nanoscale-precision metrology and positioning systems.
Figure 9. A very basic piezo motion amplifier based on a simple parallelogram flexure lever and guiding system. The amplification r (transmission ratio) is given by (a+b)/a . Typical flexure actuators are significantly more complex and are manufactured based on the wire-EDM (electrical discharge machining) process. The motion output of a piezo stack is limited to about 0.1% of its physical length. When longer motion ranges are required along with ease of installation and integration, a flexure actuator with integrated motion amplifier is the right choice. At the heart of these flexure actuators is a piezo stack (Figure 9).
Depending on the design, the motion range can be amplified up to 20X, while at the same time protection from lateral and tensile forces is provided and precision guidance is added. Increasing the motion range however, reduces the stiffness, and a proper balance between maximum displacement and stiffness / force has to be found for the intended application.
Central to the utility of piezoelectric flexure actuators is their range of configurations and their well-thought-out mounting provisions. These are easy mechanisms to integrate into a design (Figures 10, 11). Everything has been considered: their integrated preload mechanisms accommodate even high-dynamic actuation; their optional position feedback sensors are mounted in the right location to provide reproducible, hysteresis-free information; their flexure guidance accommodates common applications without difficulty.
Ease of Control
Today, motion system designers can chose among a wide range of piezo motion controllers, spanning the spectrum of capability and cost.
Features that can be found even in compact, cost-efficient and OEM-friendly units include modern high-speed digital and analog communications interfaces, internal waveform-generation capability, advanced all-digital servo-algorithms with auto-calibration, data-recorders for evaluation of transients and system optimization. (Figures 12, 13)
What’s Next
Piezoelectric devices are increasingly being utilized by product designers and incorporated successfully into a widening range of applications where precision motion control is needed. While piezo stack actuators and the latest generation of flexure actuators deliver a broad product development capability for OEM designers, piezo ceramics provide the basis to many more motion control solutions. Piezo motors, for example, a separate class of piezo motion devices for long travel applications, provide fast and precise motion significantly beyond one millimeter. Piezo motors are divided in to several sub-categories such as resonant motors, inertial motors, inchworm-type motors etc. There are linear and rotary motor configurations each with specific performance characteristics. Stay tuned to learn more or click here for some piezo motor product examples.
Piezo motors combine long travel ranges with high precision motion. This animation explains several types of piezo motors for different applications Blog Categories
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