Home / Motorized Linear Stages / Thorlabs PT1-Z8 vs CYGX60-0801-25-42
Replacement for a discontinued stageThorlabs PT1-Z8 vs CYGX60-0801-25-42
Discontinued Thorlabs discontinued the PT1-Z8 on 22 March 2024. Confirm current availability and any successor part with Thorlabs before you replace it — this page is not a statement that you cannot still buy one.
The PT1-Z8 was discontinued on 22 March 2024. The stage on your bench still works; the question is what to fit when it does not, or when the next axis has to match it.
Discontinued 22 March 2024 — a like-for-purpose axis you can still buy
Closed loop, a published backlash figure, and the PT1 mounting interface
Every Thorlabs figure below is read from their own published document, cited at the foot of this page. Figures that share a unit but were not measured the same way are kept in a separate table and marked — why that distinction decides the comparison.
Measured the same way
directly comparable| Parameter | Thorlabs PT1-Z8 | CYGX60-0801-25-42 | Unit | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | 25 | 25 | mm | Total stroke. Theirs is the Z825B actuator travel. |
| Maximum velocity | 3.0 (speed range 50 µm/s to 3.0 mm/s) | 10 | mm/s | Manufacturer maximum, both catalogues. |
| Lead screw | 1.0 mm pitch | φ8, 1 mm lead | — | Screw lead per revolution. |
| Position feedback | Motor-mounted rotary encoder, 34,304 counts per lead screw revolution | None. Limit and origin sensor entry only | — | What the drive knows about position. |
| Calculated resolution | 29 (manual notes actual resolution depends on applied load) | Not published | nm | Smallest commandable increment. |
| Operating temperature | -20 to 65 | Not published | °C | Manufacturer stated range. |
Same unit, different measurement
not comparable as printed| Parameter | Published figures | Why they do not compare |
|---|---|---|
| Load (kg) | Thorlabs 9 (axial load capacity of the Z825B actuator) — An actuator rating: the axial force the drive can push. It is not a statement about what the PT1 platform carries. Ours 7 (stage payload) — A stage rating: the payload on the table, presumed horizontal and centred. The catalogue does not state the test condition. | These are not the same measurement — one is a drive force, the other a platform payload. Do not read 9 against 7 as a nine-to-seven comparison. Size the axis on the actual moving mass and orientation, and ask engineering to confirm ours for that condition. |
| Repeatability (µm) | Thorlabs Not published in this manual. It specifies backlash < 8 µm. — The Z800 manual gives backlash, not repeatability. Figures quoted elsewhere online are not in the document we read, so they are not reproduced here. Ours ± 0.3 — The supplied catalogue gives one ± figure and does not say whether it is unidirectional or bidirectional. | These are not comparable figures, because one of them does not exist: their manual does not publish repeatability at all, and ours does not state its basis. We also do not publish a backlash figure, which they do — that is a gap on our side, not theirs. |
What separates them
drive classThey are not the same class of machine, and that matters more than any single number.
PT1-Z8 — Closed-loop DC servo: a rotary encoder on the motor feeds position back to the controller, which corrects to the commanded point.
CYGX60-0801-25-42 — Open-loop stepper: the controller counts steps and trusts the mechanics. There is no position feedback, so a missed step is not detected or corrected.
Everything below is read out of the two published catalogues. Where a figure is the manufacturer's, the source is named. Where the two numbers share a unit but were not measured the same way, they are in a separate table and the difference is spelled out, because in this category that is where specification errors come from.
When to stay with Thorlabs
honestly- You are keeping the axis on Kinesis or APT. The PT1-Z8 is a closed-loop servo axis inside a working motion system; a stepper stage does not drop into it, and the controller does not carry over.
- You need the PT1 mounting interface. The platforms are different sizes with different tapped patterns, so this is a re-fixturing job, not a swap. Measure before you order.
- You need a backlash figure on paper. Thorlabs publishes < 8 µm for the actuator; the supplied catalogue does not publish backlash for our stage at all.
When the CYGX60-0801-25-42 is the better buy
what we actually compete on- The axis is doing mechanical positioning rather than closed-loop motion control — most fixturing and alignment work.
- You want more than three times the maximum velocity on the same 25 mm of travel and the same 1 mm screw lead.
- The part is discontinued and you need a like-for-purpose axis now rather than a used unit of unknown history.
Source
where their figures come fromThorlabs figures on this page are read from Z806, Z812, Z812B and Z825B — Z800 Series Motorized DC Servo Actuator, 17630-D01, Thorlabs, Part 3, Specifications. Manufacturer manual for the actuator fitted to the PT1-Z8. It specifies the actuator; the stage it drives is specified separately. We do not reprint their drawings or images. Confirm the current revision against Thorlabs before you design to any of it — and confirm ours in the quotation before you order.
The CYGX60-0801-25-42
full specifications and drawing
Stock and despatch are confirmed on the quotation for the quantity you need.