System for orienting an annular body

Abstract

The invention relates to a system (1) for orienting an annular body (2) relative to a structure body processing surface (3) of a structure body (4) to be processed, comprising: a pneumatic actuator device (8), which has at least one actuator (7) and to which the annular body (2) is coupled in terms of movement or can be coupled in terms of movement, and a pressure controller unit (15), which is fluidically connected to the pneumatic actuator device, wherein, in order to control the orientation of the annular body (2) relative to the structure body processing surface (3) of the structure body (4), the pressure controller unit (15) supplies and / or discharges a mass flow of compressed air to / from the pneumatic actuator device (8). The invention furthermore relates to a method for orienting an annular body (2).

Description

[0001] System for aligning a ring body

[0002] The invention relates to a system for aligning a ring body relative to a structural body machining side of a structural body to be machined.

[0003] Such systems are preferably used in machining facilities for processing structural components, where fine structures are applied to a machining surface during the manufacturing process. The components to be processed can be wafers, as used in chip and semiconductor manufacturing. These components typically have a circular cross-section. The machining surface is designed to be as flat or planar as possible, so that all surface points forming the machining surface lie in a common plane. In one example process, the component to be processed is bombarded with ions, electrons, or photons within a machining chamber of the machine to remove material and thus create recessed structures / channels.Material removal can occur through atomization of the structural material caused by the bombardment, through a chemical reaction between the structural material and the particles / molecules bombarding the structural material, or through a combination of these mechanisms. For example, in so-called dry etching or plasma-assisted etching, an ion stream is provided for processing by means of a plasma generated in the processing chamber, whereby a corresponding vacuum is created in the processing chamber.

[0004] For a good machining result, the structures / channels must run at a defined angle, specifically perpendicular to a machining surface of the structure. The resulting angle is influenced by the trajectory of the particles / molecules, for example, the ions, which in turn depends on the shape and position of the plasma. While the trajectory above the center of the structure corresponds to the desired perpendicular orientation to the machining surface, a deviation of the angle increases with increasing distance from a central axis of the structure perpendicular to the machining surface—in the case of a structure with a circular cross-section, this means in the radial direction—due to the interaction of the plasma with, for example, the walls of the machining chamber and / or the machining surface, thus degrading the machining result in these areas.

[0005] To address this problem, it is known to use an annular body, also known as a focus ring or edge ring, to ensure the perpendicular trajectory of the ions across the entire radial extent of the structure. However, this requires that the top surface of the annular body be in the same plane as the machining surface of the structure. However, operating conditions can lead to material being removed from the top surface of the annular body during the process, so that the top surface is no longer, or at least not partially, in the same plane as the machining surface of the structure. This negatively affects the trajectory and thus the machining result. Furthermore, different manufacturers sometimes produce annular bodies of varying thicknesses, i.e.,the distance between the top of the ring body and an opposite bottom of the ring body, and / or these thicknesses vary due to manufacturing, which also means that the top of the ring body does not lie, or does not lie completely, in the plane of the structural body machining side when a worn or damaged ring body is replaced by another ring body.

[0006] The object of the present invention is to improve the machining result.

[0007] The previously defined task is solved by a system for aligning a ring body relative to a structural body machining side of a structural body to be machined, comprising:

[0008] - a pneumatic actuator device comprising at least one actuator, with which the ring body is motion-coupled or motion-coupled, and

[0009] - a pressure regulator device fluidically connected to the pneumatic actuator device, wherein the pressure regulator device supplies and / or discharges a mass flow of compressed air to and / or from the ring body relative to the structural body machining side of the pneumatic actuator device for the purpose of controlling the alignment of the ring body relative to the structural body machining side of the pneumatic actuator device.

[0010] Alignment, in this context, means that the ring body is positioned relative to the processing surface of the structure body in such a way that the upper surface of the ring body is moved by the actuator into the plane in which the processing surface of the structure body lies and / or held there. This ensures that the ring body, or more precisely the upper surface of the ring body, can be used to positively influence the trajectory of the ions.

[0011] The criterion that the top surface of the ring body lies in the plane of the structural body machining surface is to be understood as meaning that the distance between the top surface of the ring body and the plane of the structural body machining surface is sufficiently small to achieve an influence on the plasma necessary for a good machining result.

[0012] For alignment, the at least one actuator or actuator element is moved along a direction of movement by the supply or removal of a mass flow of compressed air. During this movement, the ring body is also moved along the direction of movement by the coupling between the ring body and the actuator assembly. Preferably, the direction of movement of the at least one actuator is perpendicular to the plane in which the machining side of the structure body is located, so that the ring body is moved by the actuator assembly perpendicular to the machining side of the structure body. The supply and / or removal of a mass flow of compressed air can also be referred to as pneumatic actuation.

[0013] The actuator of the pneumatic actuator system can be designed as a single- or double-acting pneumatic cylinder, in whose actuator housing an actuator element is movably mounted. The actuator element can, for example, consist of a piston and a piston rod. The piston is mounted in the actuator housing in such a way that it forms at least one pressure chamber with an interior space of the actuator housing. Compressed air can be supplied to and / or discharged from this pressure chamber to change its volume and thus the position of the actuator element within the actuator housing.

[0014] Preferred embodiments of the system are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0015] Advantageously, the actuator and / or the actuator element of the actuator has a contacting section that contacts the underside of the annular body for motion coupling. The actuator element can, in particular, be a piston with a piston rod attached to it, which projects at least partially through an opening formed in the actuator housing. In this case, the contacting section can be formed by an end of the piston rod facing away from the piston, which accordingly contacts the underside of the annular body for motion coupling, i.e., such that the annular body rests with its underside on the end of the piston rod facing away from the piston. The section of the annular body that is in contact with the contacting section can also be referred to as the bearing point.It is also possible that the contact section is formed on the actuator housing, for example in the form of a suitably shaped surface, and contacts the ring body for motion coupling. The actuator housing can be arranged, for example, such that the actuator element is fixedly mounted on a designated section of the machining chamber and / or the machining system, and the actuator housing is movable relative to this mounting.

[0016] Preferably, the pneumatic actuator assembly has several, in particular three, actuators. The use of multiple actuators allows the ring body to be brought into contact with multiple contact sections for motion coupling. Increasing the number of contact points on the ring body ensures stable mounting of the ring body.

[0017] Preferably, the actuators are evenly distributed in the circumferential direction. This ensures that the ring body rests stably and evenly and that the distance between the contact points is constant in the circumferential direction.

[0018] In an advantageous embodiment of the system, a ring support with a bearing surface is arranged on a contacting section of the actuator housing and / or an actuator element of the actuator, wherein the bearing surface contacts an underside of the ring body for motion coupling between the actuator device and the ring body. The ring support can be designed such that the ring body rests completely on the bearing surface of the ring support, so that the ring body is not supported at individual contact points, but rather over a flat surface.

[0019] Preferably, at least one further actuator of the actuator assembly is arranged on the contact surface of the ring support, which contacts the underside of the ring body. This allows for a first alignment of the ring body by aligning the ring support and a second alignment of the ring body by the at least one further actuator arranged on the contact surface of the ring support. For example, the first alignment can be coarser than the second. Accordingly, the first alignment can also be referred to as coarse alignment and the second as fine alignment. For example, after a first arrangement of the ring body on the system, more precisely on the contact section or sections provided for this purpose, the coarse alignment is performed first.After completion of the rough alignment, i.e., once the ring support has reached its intended position, fine alignment is performed using the additional actuator arranged on the support surface. During this process, the ring body is moved into the position required for the process, so that its upper surface lies in the plane of the structural body's machining surface. For example, the first alignment can be performed with an accuracy of 100 / cm² and the second with an accuracy of 1 / cm². It is also possible for the additional actuator of the actuator assembly, which can also be referred to as the fine actuator, to dampen vibrations in order to prevent or at least dampen the transmission of mechanical vibrations into the ring body. Preferably, several, in particular three, additional actuators are arranged on the support surface of the ring support, especially distributed evenly in the circumferential direction.Preferably, a further ring support with a further contact surface is arranged on the contacting section of the further actuator, wherein the further contact surface contacts the underside of the ring body for motion coupling between the actuator device and the ring body.

[0020] Preferably, the pressure regulator device and / or a control system connected to the pressure regulator device is configured to maintain a predetermined and / or adjustable angle between the machining surface of the structural body and the top surface of the ring body. If the actuator assembly has several actuators distributed circumferentially that contact the ring body directly in sections, or several additional actuators arranged on the support surface of the ring, these can be used for further alignment, allowing the angle between the plane in which the machining surface of the structural body lies and the plane in which the top surface of the ring body lies to be changed. This is particularly advantageous if the ring body has a non-constant thickness around its circumference, either due to uneven material removal or manufacturing defects / tolerances.The specified and / or specifiable angle can also be referred to as an angular offset.

[0021] Preferably, the actuators are designed, at least in sections, as rubber-elastic bodies. For example, the respective actuator could be designed as a bellows cylinder. The design as a rubber-elastic body enables, for example, the provision of high forces with a short stroke, i.e., with a small difference between a first position in which the expansion of the rubber-elastic body is minimal and a second position in which the expansion of the rubber-elastic body is maximal, and the provision of the force required for pivoting the conditioning unit, as well as vibration damping in the system.

[0022] Preferably, the pneumatic actuator assembly has at least one sensor for detecting a state of the pneumatic actuator assembly. The state of the pneumatic actuator assembly is understood to mean, in particular, the position of an actuator element of at least one actuator of the actuator assembly or a pressure prevailing in an actuator or an actuator pressure chamber. For example, if the actuator of the respective actuator assembly is designed as a double-acting pneumatic cylinder in which a piston can be moved from a first position to a second position depending on the mass flow of compressed air supplied and / or discharged, a state of the corresponding actuator assembly can be the current position of the piston, which can be connected to the ring body, for example, by the piston rod arranged on or formed by the piston.Due to the motion coupling between the actuator and the ring body, the position of the actuator's piston is a measure of the orientation of the ring body, more precisely the top surface of the ring body, relative to the machining surface of the structure. In the case of an actuator designed as a rubber-elastic body, sensors, for example strain sensors, bending sensors, or the like, can detect the current extension of the rubber-elastic body, which in turn is a measure of the ring body's orientation.

[0023] Preferably, the pressure regulator device of the system comprises a plurality of plate-shaped valve modules, which are preferably arranged in a row in a single direction and / or are part of a valve manifold. For example, the plate-shaped valve modules can be arranged such that they each abut each other with the outer surface that has the greatest extent along a spatial direction, the row direction then being a direction perpendicular to this spatial direction. In this way, a particularly compact design of the pressure regulator device can be achieved.

[0024] Preferably, the pressure regulator device comprises at least one proportional valve, in particular a piezo-proportional valve, which enables a level of control required to improve the machining result. In particular, the piezo-proportional valve can include a piezo actuator designed as a piezo bender, which is exemplary in its strip-like form and may have a rubber-elastic sealing element. The piezo bender can be arranged in a housing in which an opening for the passage of compressed air may be formed, wherein the opening can be closed by the rubber-elastic sealing element in a closed position of the piezo-proportional valve.

[0025] The previously defined problem is also solved by a method for aligning an annular body relative to a structural body machining surface of a structural body to be machined. The method is combined with a system for aligning the annular body relative to the structural body machining surface of the structural body to be machined, in particular with a system according to the invention, comprising: a pneumatic actuator assembly having at least one actuator with which the annular body is motion-coupled or motion-coupleable, and a pressure regulator device which is fluidically connected to the pneumatic actuator assembly, wherein the pressure regulator device supplies and / or discharges a mass flow of compressed air to and / or from the pneumatic actuator assembly for controlling the alignment of the annular body relative to the structural body machining surface of the structural body.

[0026] The procedure includes the following steps:

[0027] - Contacting a contacting section of the actuator device with a structural body underside to create a motion coupling between the actuator device and the ring body,

[0028] - Control of the alignment of the ring body relative to the structural body machining surface by supplying and / or removing a mass flow of compressed air to the pneumatic actuator device. Preferably, when implemented with a system whose actuator device has at least two actuators, the method further comprises the following steps:

[0029] - pneumatic actuation of the actuators of the pneumatic actuator device, so that each actuator element is moved into a respective end position,

[0030] - for each of the pneumatic actuators, detection of a respective pressure end value, in particular with the sensor with which the respective pneumatic actuator is actuated when the respective actuator element reaches the end position ,

[0031] - Based on the respective final pressure value, generating a target pressure profile for each pneumatic actuator,

[0032] - Pneumatic actuation of each pneumatic actuator according to the respective target pressure profile in order to move the actuator elements synchronously to a target position.

[0033] By generating the target pressure profiles based on the previously determined end-pressure values, synchronous movement of the actuator elements can be achieved. This is particularly relevant when the pneumatic actuators differ in certain properties relevant to their positioning, such as the spring force of a spring acting on the actuator element and / or the friction acting on the actuator element, and / or when different types of actuators, such as a combination of pneumatic cylinders and bellows cylinders, are used in the system. The respective end-pressure value can be detected using the sensors integrated into the system. The target pressure profile can be generated by the controller and / or the pressure regulator for each individual actuator or for multiple actuators grouped together.In particular, it can be advantageous to group the actuators that work together for the first alignment into a first group and the additional actuators that work together for a second alignment. Synchronous movement of the actuator elements is particularly useful for maintaining the specified and / or predefined angle.

[0034] The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawing and shown therein

[0035] Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of an implementation form of a system for positioning a ring body,

[0036] Figure 2 shows the system schematically depicted in Figure 1 in a bottom view and a side view.

[0037] Figure 3 shows a schematic representation of another embodiment of the system for positioning a ring body.

[0038] Figure 4 shows a schematic representation of another embodiment of the system for positioning a ring body, and

[0039] Figure 5 shows the system schematically depicted in Figure 4 in a bottom view and a side view.

[0040] Figures 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of a system 1 for aligning a ring body 2 relative to a machining surface 3 of a structural body 4. The system 1 is an exemplary part of a machining device (not fully depicted). The structural body 4 is supported on a circular machining support 6 with its underside 5 facing away from the machining surface 3. The machining support 6 is itself supported by suitable support structures of the machining device (not shown). The inner diameter of the ring body 2 is dimensioned such that the machining support 6 can be arranged within it, while maintaining a minimal radial distance.

[0041] System 1 comprises an actuator assembly 8, comprising three actuators 7, each of which has an actuator element 9 formed by a piston 11 movably mounted in an actuator housing 10 and a piston rod 12 connected to the piston 11. The piston rod 12 projects at least partially beyond the actuator housing 10 through an opening formed in the housing 10. A contact section 13 is formed at each end of the piston rod 12 facing away from the piston 11, on which, for example, an annular body underside 14 rests. In this case, the annular body 2 is thus supported at three points, which can also be described as bearing points.

[0042] The exemplary system 1 further comprises a pressure regulator 15, which is fluidically connected via fluid lines 16 to the actuators 7 of the actuator assembly 8 in order to supply and / or discharge a mass flow of compressed air to them and to effect the displacement. As previously described, the actuator assembly 8 comprises a total of three actuators 7. The pressure regulator 15 exemplarily comprises a plurality of plate-shaped valve modules 17 arranged in a row along a linear direction, with each valve module 17 being connected via the respective fluid line 16 to one actuator 7 of the actuator assembly 8, thus allowing a mass flow of compressed air to be supplied and / or discharged to each actuator 7 separately. The fluid lines 16 are shown purely as simple lines for illustrative purposes; alternatively, a supply of compressed air via a separate inlet line and a discharge via a separate outlet line could be implemented.

[0043] The pressure regulator device 15 is connected to a controller 18 for illustrative purposes only. Alternatively, the controller 18 can be integrated into the pressure regulator device 15.

[0044] The structural body 4 shown has a circular cross-section and a central axis 19. The actuators 7 of the actuator assembly 8 are evenly distributed around the central axis 19 in a circumferential direction, such that they form an angle of 120° to each other in the circumferential direction, as can be seen particularly in the bottom view in Figure 2. For example, the actuators 7 are arranged on a common diameter and are each equidistant from the central axis 19 in the radial direction. The radial direction is oriented perpendicular to the central axis 19. The actuators 7 are oriented such that the respective actuator element 9 of each actuator 7 is moved along a common direction of movement, which coincides with the central axis 19 of the structural body 4. Accordingly, the displacement of the actuators 7, and thus of the ring body 2, occurs perpendicular to the machining surface 3 of the structural body.

[0045] The actuators 7 of the actuator assembly 8 each have a sensor 20 for detecting the position of the actuator element 9 of the respective actuator 7. The sensors 20 are connected to the controller 18 via signal lines 21 to transmit information about the position. The pressure regulator 15 is also connected to the controller 18 via a signal line 21. To align an annular body top surface 22 relative to the structural body machining surface 3, the controller 18 provides a target pressure signal for each of the actuators 7, depending on the information about the position of the respective actuator element 9. The pressure regulator 15 then supplies and / or discharges a mass flow of compressed air to the respective actuator 7 according to the target pressure signal.

[0046] The extent of the ring body 2 between the underside of the ring body 14 and the top side of the ring body 22 can also be referred to as the thickness of the ring body 2.

[0047] In the system 1 shown, the actuators 7 of the actuator device 8 can be controlled independently of each other by the control 18 via the pressure regulator device 15, the control 18 being configured to set an angular offset between the plane in which the structural body machining surface 3 runs and the plane in which the ring body top 22 runs.

[0048] Figure 3 shows another embodiment of system 1 for aligning the ring body 2 relative to the machining surface 3 of a structural body 4. This embodiment again features, for alignment purposes, an exemplary pneumatic actuator assembly 8 with three actuators 7, each connected via fluid lines 16 to a valve module 17 of the pressure regulator 15. The pressure regulator 15 supplies and / or discharges a mass flow of compressed air to each of the actuators 7 to control the alignment of the ring body 2 relative to the machining surface 3. The actuators 7 of the pneumatic actuator assembly 8 are also designed as pneumatic cylinders, in which an actuator element 9 is movably mounted in an actuator housing 10. The actuator element 9 is formed by a piston 11 and a piston rod 12 arranged thereon, the piston rod 12 protruding through an opening formed in the actuator 10.At the contacting section 13 formed at the end of the piston rod 12 facing away from the piston 11, a ring support 23 is arranged, on the bearing surface 24 of which the ring body 2 is supported with its underside 14 to establish a motion coupling between the actuator assembly 9 and the ring body 2. By way of example, the ring support 23 shown has the same radial extent as the ring body 2, so that the latter rests completely on the ring support 23. In the embodiment shown, the actuators 7 of the actuator assembly 8 are evenly distributed circumferentially around the central axis 19 of the structural body 4, so that the actuators 7 have an angle of 120° to each other.

[0049] For example, the actuators 7 are arranged on a common diameter and are each spaced at the same distance in the radial direction from the central axis 19. They are aligned such that the respective actuator element 9 of one of the actuators 7 is moved along a common direction of movement, which coincides, for example, with the central axis 19 of the structural body 4. Accordingly, the actuators 7, and thus the ring support 23, are moved perpendicular to the machining surface 3 of the structural body.

[0050] Figures 4 and 5 show another embodiment of system 1 for aligning the ring body 2 relative to a structural body machining surface 3 of the structural body 4. For aligning the ring body 2 relative to the structural body machining surface 3, the system includes, by way of example, a pneumatic actuator assembly 8 with one actuator 7 and three further actuators 25, each of which is connected via fluid lines 16 to a valve module 17 of the pressure regulator device 15. The pressure regulator device 15 supplies and / or discharges a mass flow of compressed air to and / or from actuator 7 and each of the further actuators 25 to control the alignment of the ring body 2 relative to the structural body machining surface 3. The actuator 7 and the other actuators 25 of the pneumatic actuator device 8 are designed as pneumatic cylinders in the present case, in which an actuator element 9 is movably mounted in an actuator housing 10.The actuator element 9 is formed by a piston 11 and a piston rod 12 arranged thereon, the piston rod 12 projecting through an opening formed in the actuator 7. It is also conceivable that the actuator 7 and the other actuators 25 differ in type. For example, the actuator 7 can be designed as a pneumatic cylinder and the other actuators 25 as bellows cylinders. The ring support 23 is arranged at the contacting section 13 of the actuator 7, which is located at the end of the piston rod 12 facing away from the piston 11. The three other actuators 25 are arranged on the support surface 24 of the ring support 23 and have a further ring support 26 on their contacting section 13, on whose further support surface 27 the ring body 2 is mounted with its underside 14 to establish a motion coupling between the actuator assembly 8 and the ring body 2.

[0051] In the example shown, both the ring support 23 and the further ring support 26 have the same radial extent as the ring body 2. This allows the ring body 2 to rest completely on the further ring support 26, and the assembly of ring support 23 and further ring support 26 can be easily moved along the direction of movement relative to the machining surface 6. In the illustrated embodiment, the further actuators 25 of the actuator assembly 8 are evenly distributed circumferentially around the central axis 19 of the structural body 4, such that the further actuators 25 are at an angle of 120° to each other. Actuator 7 is shown, purely by way of example, in the center of the ring support 23. This is particularly evident in Figure 5, where the outer contours of the further actuators 25 are shown with dashed lines.

[0052] Actuator 7 and the other actuators 25 of the actuator assembly 8 can be controlled independently of one another by the controller 18 such that a first alignment of the ring body 2 is carried out by means of actuator 7, which can also be referred to as coarse alignment, and subsequently a second alignment is carried out by means of the corresponding control of the other actuators 25. The accuracy of the first and second alignments can differ. The other actuators 25 of the actuator assembly 8 can also be controlled independently of one another by the controller 18 via the pressure regulator device 15 in order to set an angular offset between the plane in which the structural body machining surface 3 runs and the plane in which the upper surface 22 of the ring body runs.

[0053] For the alignment of the ring body 2, the actuator 7 and the other actuators 25 of the actuator assembly 8 each have a sensor 20 for detecting the position of the respective actuator element 9. The sensors 20 are connected to the controller 18 via signal lines 21 to transmit information about the position. The pressure regulator 15 is also connected to the controller 18 via a signal line 21. To align the upper surface 22 of the ring body relative to the structural body machining surface 3, the controller 18 provides a target pressure signal to the actuator 7 and each of the other actuators 25, depending on the information about the position of the respective actuator element 9. The pressure regulator 15 then supplies and / or discharges a mass flow of compressed air according to the target pressure signal.

Claims

Claims 1. System (1) for aligning a ring body (2) relative to a structural body machining surface (3) of a structural body (4) to be machined , comprising: - a pneumatic actuator device (8) pointing to at least one actuator (7) with which the ring body (2) is motion-coupled or motion-coupled, and - a pressure regulator device (15) which is fluidically connected to the pneumatic actuator device, wherein the pressure regulator device (15) supplies and / or discharges a mass flow of compressed air to and / or from the pneumatic actuator device (8) for the purpose of controlling the alignment of the ring body (2) relative to the structural body machining surface (3) of the structural body (4).

2. System (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one actuator (7) has a contacting section (13) which contacts a ring body underside (14) for coupling the movement of the actuator device (8) with the ring body (2).

3. System (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pneumatic actuator device (8) has several, in particular three, actuators (7).

4. System (1) according to claim 3 , characterized in that the actuators (7) are uniformly distributed in the circumferential direction.

5. System (1) according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that a ring support (23) with a contact surface (24) is arranged on the contacting section (13), wherein the contact surface (24) contacts a ring body underside (14) for motion coupling between actuator device (8) and ring body (2).

6. System (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that at least one further actuator (25) of the actuator device (8) is arranged on the support surface (24) of the ring support (23), wherein a contacting section (13) of the further actuator (25) contacts the underside (14) of the ring body for motion coupling between actuator device (8) and ring body (2).

7. System (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that a further ring support (26) with a further support surface (27) is arranged on the contacting section (13) of the further actuator (25), wherein the further support surface (27) contacts the underside (14) of the ring body for motion coupling between actuator device (8) and ring body (2).

8. System (1) according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that several, in particular three, further actuators (25) are arranged on the support surface (24) of the ring support (23), in particular evenly distributed in the circumferential direction.

9. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pressure regulator device (15) and / or a control unit (18) connected to the pressure regulator device (15) via a signal is used to maintain a predetermined angle between the structural body machining surface (3) of the structural body (4) and a ring body top surface (22) is prepared.

10. System (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pressure regulator device (15) has a plurality of plate-shaped valve modules (17) which are preferably arranged in a row in a direction and / or are part of a valve manifold.

11. System (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pressure regulator device (15) has at least one proportional valve, in particular a piezo proportional valve.

12. Method for aligning an annular body (2) relative to a structural body machining surface (3) of a structural body (4) to be machined, comprising a system (1) for aligning the annular body (2) relative to the structural body machining surface (3) of the structural body (4), in particular comprising a system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising: a pneumatic actuator device (8) having at least one actuator (7) with which the annular body (2) is motion-coupled or motion-coupled, and a pressure regulator device (15) which is fluidically connected to the pneumatic actuator device, wherein the pressure regulator device (15) supplies and / or discharges a mass flow of compressed air to and / or from the pneumatic actuator device (8) for controlling the alignment of the annular body (2) relative to the structural body machining surface (3) of the structural body (4), comprising the steps: - Contacting a contacting section (13) of the actuator device (8) with a structural body underside (5) to establish a motion coupling between the actuator device (8) and the ring body (2) , - Control of the alignment of the ring body (2) relative to the structural body machining surface (3) by supplying and / or removing a mass flow of compressed air to the pneumatic actuator device (8) .

13. Method for aligning a ring body (2) according to claim 12 with a system (1) according to any one of claims 3 to 11, comprising the steps: - pneumatic actuation of the actuators (7, 25) of the pneumatic actuator device (8) , so that each actuator element (9) is moved into a respective end position, - for each of the pneumatic actuators (7, 25), detecting a respective pressure end value, in particular with the sensor (20), with which the respective pneumatic actuator (7, 25) is actuated when the respective actuator element (9) reaches the end position, - based on the respective final pressure value, generating a respective target pressure profile for each pneumatic actuator (7.25) , - pneumatic actuation of each pneumatic actuator (7 , 25) according to the respective target pressure profile in order to move the actuator elements (7.25) synchronously to a target position.

Images