LIMON is worth a first-round RFQ when your engineering team owns the PLC, machine safety and final integration, but wants help defining the XY/XYZ motion hardware. Rollon is another strong route for named modular gantry combinations. HIWIN offers a clearly specified three-axis architecture with a configurator. Bosch Rexroth is worth examining when you want a preassembled Cartesian subsystem and may also want a matched electrical package.

That is the useful way to compare modular XY/XYZ gantry systems for an OEM project. The question is not simply “Who sells three axes?” It is “Which X, Y and Z assemblies fit our machine, and which integration tasks will remain the OEM’s responsibility?” If your team already has controls expertise, a project-configured hardware package may be exactly what you need. If you want the supplier to do much more before delivery, quote that scope explicitly.

For a broader list organized by project type, see our seven-company multi-axis shortlist. This article takes the next step: four named product routes, one OEM purchasing task.

Which modular XY/XYZ gantry systems fit an OEM with its own PLC team?

Start with the architecture. A name like “XYZ system” tells you the directions of travel; it does not tell you whether the X axis is doubled, whether Z is a cantilever, or whether the quote includes servos and controls. Here are four published starting points.

All listed items are product-family baseline references; the four systems have not been tested under identical load conditions for direct side-by-side comparison.. The named LIMON combinations come from our current comprehensive catalog; their per-axis figures and transport-load notes must be checked against the actual bridge length, guideway and mounting arrangement. Rollon, HIWIN and Bosch likewise require a selected configuration before a performance comparison makes sense.

A configurable XYZ gantry for OEMs earns its place on a shortlist when the supplier can turn that starting architecture into a drawing and a clear handover. That is the test for these modular XY/XYZ gantry systems.

Put all four suppliers against one machine brief

Here is a *sample RFQ for comparison*:

An OEM wants a dry, indoor XYZ transfer head over a machine station, with 800 mm X, 400 mm Y and 150 mm Z usable travel. The tool, gripper and handled part total 3 kg at the tool. The target is 0.6 m/s on X/Y, 0.2 m/s on Z, 1.5 m/s² acceleration, a four-second cycle, and ±0.10 mm repeatability at the tool under load. The OEM will supply the PLC, machine guarding and site commissioning.

That looks specific. It still leaves two important calculations open: the moving mass of each gantry axis, and Z-axis holding performance upon power loss.

Those two answers can change the motor, brake, structure and quote. So the table below is an initial screening result, not a pass/fail certificate.

For modular XY/XYZ gantry systems, this is the point where a catalog label becomes an engineering question.

Why keep the sample this strict? If one supplier quotes bare mechanical hardware only while another includes motors, cabling and parameter configuration, the resulting quotations are not comparable.

Ask for the same duty and the same supply boundary first. Then compare cost, fit and schedule.

Read the product-family names before comparing the numbers

1.LIMON: two drive routes, with the machine builder in the design loop

The Ixyz examples give an OEM a belt-driven X/Y/Z starting layout. The Yxyz-XB examples show a different, screw-driven route. In both cases, the catalog names the component axes rather than hiding the system behind a generic “custom gantry” label. That is useful when your frame, mounting surface or tool position will drive the final arrangement.

Our role is to review the requested stroke, moving mass, installation direction, precision definition, environment and interfaces; select the motion components and discuss mounting parts or a project-specific platform. We can also scope motors and drives for a quoted configuration. Your team can then integrate the hardware into its PLC and machine architecture. What we supply is defined by the drawing and written quotation, not by a universal “turnkey” promise. The LIMON system overview explains our selection and support route.

This is where LIMON can be a strong RFQ candidate: you keep control of the machine and controls architecture, while the axis package is shaped around the actual job. Need a gantry that must clear an existing frame? Need to decide between a belt layout and a screw-driven one before committing to a bridge? That is a worthwhile engineering conversation. It is not a claim that LIMON beats another supplier on speed or precision without a matched test.

2.Rollon: named 2XYZ combinations for modular handling

Rollon’s named 2XYZ versions make the drive mix visible early. Its all-belt combination and the belt-X/Y, screw-Z version lead to different checks for vertical holding, speed and maintenance. The Rollon product center also provides sizing and CAD routes. Ask exactly which version, size, accessories and electrical items are quoted.

3.HIWIN: a defined double-X, table-Y, cantilever-Z architecture

HIWIN’s HS3 names go further into a fixed axis architecture: double X, table Y, cantilever Z. The online HS3 family table ties each size to named X/Y/Z axis units, and the configurator exposes drawings. If your machine cannot accept the double-X footprint or cantilever Z, that matters before any speed comparison.

4.Bosch Rexroth: a preassembled 3D room gantry route

Bosch’s 3D room gantry begins at a higher assembly level. Its official system page describes preassembled mechanics, open interfaces and an optional electrical drive package. That may reduce work at the subsystem boundary. Nonetheless, you still need to explicitly define the PLC interface, machine-safety requirements and acceptance criteria within your RFQ document.

Mechanical assembly or ready-to-install subsystem: who owns the handover?

“Ready to install” is easy to misread. A Cartesian robot mechanical assembly may arrive built and still need your team to wire it, connect a PLC, develop safe machine behavior and prove the cycle. If the OEM has those skills, buying a more modular hardware package can be sensible. If it does not, ask for a broader delivered scope from the start.

The handover is often the decisive difference between modular XY/XYZ gantry systems that look similar in a photograph.

The published LIMON multi-axis page, Rollon XYZ page, HIWIN HS3 page and Bosch system page establish the product and option language above. The contracted package is the quotation, BOM and responsibility list. A blank line in a product page is a question for the supplier, not proof that it cannot provide the item.

Replacing an existing axis adds a different installation question to this new-build gantry comparison. Our Bosch Rexroth linear module alternatives: installation and support guide separates guide interchange, complete-axis functional replacement and direct installation. Matching the motion task does not, by itself, mean the replacement will bolt onto the same mounting plate or connect to the same controls.

Ask for the drawing package that will let your team build the machine

Before you pick a supplier, ask for more than a product rendering. A useful multi-axis motion hardware RFQ should request:

1.A configured general arrangementshowing usable X/Y/Z travel, bridge clearance, installation orientation and maintenance access.

2.Mounting and tool interfaces:base hole pattern, locating features, tool plate, cable-carrier envelope, connector positions and service clearances.

3.A mass and duty calculation:payload at the tool, mass carried by each axis, acceleration, move profile, duty cycle and moments. Identify the Z power-off holding method.

4.A precision statement at the tool:repeatability, absolute positioning accuracy if needed, test span, payload, temperature and acceptance method. Do not substitute one axis’s catalog repeatability for XYZ tool-point performance.

5.An electrical and controls schedule:motor, encoder, drive, brake, cables, field network, PLC interface, parameter files and who owns tuning.

6.A responsibility schedule:who assembles, aligns, wires, guards, commissions, tests, trains and supports the system in the destination country.

If you are searching for three-axis system CAD drawings, ask for the configured model, not a generic family file. The drawing must match the selected stroke, motor orientation and accessory package. For an XY/XYZ gantry with an existing PLC, interface and commissioning ownership are as important as stroke. And gantry motor and drive integration should be a priced scope item, not an assumption buried in the phrase “complete system.”

The drive itself still needs a decision. Our belt, ball-screw, rack-and-pinion and linear-motor guide gives the fuller six-factor matrix. Here, the drive choice is one input to the supplier RFQ, not a separate ranking of technologies.

When should LIMON be in your first RFQ round?

If you are looking for modular linear axes for machine builders, have an internal PLC and machine-integration team, and need a defined XY/XYZ hardware package rather than an assumed control stack, include LIMON. The Ixyz and Yxyz combinations give us named starting architectures; our engineering discussion can work through axis selection, mounting parts, motors/drives and the final deliverable. That is a concrete reason to ask us for a proposal, even when you are also comparing established catalog systems.

Among modular XY/XYZ gantry systems, this is the specific role we want to earn: a hardware proposal your engineers can integrate, with the open points stated plainly.

If your first requirement is a ready-to-install Cartesian system with a particular controller, software behavior and supplier-led site acceptance, state that before shortlisting. Bosch’s configured subsystem route and HIWIN’s assembled servo-package option may be closer to that purchasing model; every supplier’s actual scope still needs written confirmation. Do not let an attractive mechanical quote stand in for a complete machine package.

The practical next step is simple: send one drawing and one duty profile to all four suppliers. Ask each to mark included, optional, or OEM responsibility beside every mechanical, electrical and commissioning item. We will do the same for a LIMON proposal. Contact LIMON with your project details when the envelope and task are ready.

FAQs

Can I buy only the XY/XYZ mechanics and use my own PLC?

Yes, that is a valid procurement model. Specify the axes or assembled mechanical package, then make the motor, drive, encoder, cables and PLC interface explicit in the quotation. For a standard LIMON component order, your team handles machine-level electrical/PLC integration and site commissioning unless a wider project scope is agreed.

Does a named XYZ combination guarantee the advertised load and repeatability in my machine?

No. A name identifies a starting architecture. A longer bridge, different tool offset, vertical load or faster cycle changes the actual duty. Request the selected configuration and performance at your tool point. That applies to modular XY/XYZ gantry systems from every supplier in this comparison.

Is a preassembled gantry the same as a turnkey machine?

No. Preassembly describes the supplied subsystem. It does not, on its own, specify your PLC program, machine guarding, full-cell wiring or site acceptance. Put each of those tasks in the RFQ and compare the written responses.