Compact direct drive spindle

Abstract

A substrate transport apparatus including a frame, at least one arm link rotatably connected to the frame and a shaftless drive section. The shaftless drive section including stacked drive motors for rotating the at least one arm link relative to the frame through a shaftless interface, each of the stacked drive motors including a stator having stator coils disposed on a fixed post fixed relative to the frame and a rotor substantially peripherally surrounding the stator such that the rotor is connected to a respective one of the at least one arm link for rotating the one of the at least one arm link relative to the frame causing an extension or retraction of the one of the at least one arm link, where the stacked drive motors are disposed in the at least one arm link so that part of each stator is within a common arm link.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A substrate transport apparatus comprising:
 a frame;   at least one arm link movably connected to the frame; and   a drive section connected to the frame for driving the at least one arm link and including drive motors arrayed in column, each of the drive motors in column having a housing, a motor stator mounted to the housing, a motor rotor disposed at least partially within the housing and a stator seal, the stator seal being disposed between the motor stator and motor rotor, surrounding the motor rotor and has a sealing surface interface, that interfaces with a sealing housing surface, facing the rotor to seal the motor stator from the motor rotor;   wherein the drive motors in column are arrayed at different heights with respect to each other and the sealing housing surface interfaced, at the sealing surface interface facing the rotors, to the stator seals arrayed in column of each respective in column motor together forms a substantially continuous seal interface of the drive motors sealed by the stator seals arrayed in column to form a continuous barrier seal between the motor rotors, the motor stators, and encoders of each motor.