PI (Physik Instrumente)

PI (Physik Instrumente) contact details

Head office

Auf der Römerstraße 1
76228 Karlsruhe
Germany

Telephone +49 721 4846-0

Email info@pi.ws

Website physikinstrumente.com

UK subsidiary (PI (Physik Instrumente) Ltd)

Trent House, University Way, Cranfield Technology Park
Cranfield, Bedford MK43 0AN
United Kingdom

Telephone +44 1234 756360

Email uk@pi.ws

Web physikinstrumente.co.uk/en/about/locations

Show PI (Physik Instrumente) headquarters on the map Open in Google Maps →

Contact details as published by HOERBIGER Holding (Positioning Division), checked 2026-10-30. Specify Motion is not affiliated with HOERBIGER Holding (Positioning Division).

PI (Physik Instrumente) product lines

Who PI is

Physik Instrumente (PI) is a German maker of precision motion and positioning systems, based in Karlsruhe. It is best known for piezo technology: piezo actuators that move by nanometres or micrometres, piezo motors with practically unlimited travel, and flexure-guided nanopositioning stages. It also builds motorised linear and rotary stages, air-bearing stages and six-axis hexapods. PI’s pages give a workforce of about 1,900, nine production sites (four in Germany), 16 sales and service subsidiaries and more than 560 granted and pending patents.

For OEM engineers, PI parts often appear where a machine has to align optics, fibres, wafers or samples to sub-micron accuracy. Typical examples are photonics assembly, semiconductor inspection, microscopy and test equipment.

History and ownership

PI’s milestones page dates the company to 1970, at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching. It moved to Waldbronn in 1977, where Dr. Karl Spanner became managing partner. Subsidiaries in the USA (1987) and Japan (1991) followed, and the first hexapods came to market in 1991. PI Ceramic was founded in 1992, and subsidiaries in the UK and France followed in 1993. The company moved to Karlsruhe in 2000.

Product milestones include piezo ultrasonic motors (2001), piezo actuators with ceramic casings (2002) and NEXACT walking drives (2007). Piezo inertia motors and electromagnetic direct drives followed in 2014. PI took a majority holding in miCos GmbH in 2011, bought Nelson Air Corp. in the USA in 2015, and acquired a majority of ACS Motion Control in Israel in 2017. Management passed to Markus Spanner in 2020.

In December 2025 HOERBIGER announced an agreement to buy PI. PI reports that the deal completed as of 31 March 2026. PI is now the Positioning Division of HOERBIGER and keeps its name and brand. Dr. Michael Albiez became CEO on 1 April 2026.

Piezo actuators and motors

Through PI Ceramic, the group makes piezo ceramics and builds them into actuators and motors.

• The P-845 is a preloaded PICMA actuator with 15 to 90 µm travel, 3,000 N push and 700 N pull capacity. It has an integrated strain-gauge sensor for closed-loop operation and resolution down to 0.3 nm.
• The P-235 PICA Power is a high-force stack for up to 30,000 N push. It offers 15 to 180 µm travel, drive voltages of 0 to 1,000 V and vacuum or 150 °C versions.
• PILine ultrasonic motors drive PI’s U-series stages. They lock in place at rest without power, reach up to 500 mm/s and resolve down to 2 nm.

PI also makes PiezoWalk walking drives for high holding forces, inertia drives and PiezoMike linear actuators. A piezo actuator’s travel is small (tens to hundreds of micrometres), so it is usually paired with a coarse stage or a lever. Its stiffness and resonant frequency decide how fast a closed loop can settle.

Stages and hexapods

• The H-850 hexapod carries up to 250 kg on a horizontal base, with ±50 mm X/Y and ±25 mm Z travel, brushless DC gear motors and absolute encoders. PI lists optics, astronomy and aerospace among its uses.
• The H-811 miniature hexapod handles 5 kg with repeatability down to ±0.06 µm in Z. Vacuum and high-performance versions are offered.
• The V-551 is a linear-motor stage with an ironless three-phase motor, a 1 nm absolute encoder, up to 230 mm travel and 500 mm/s.
• The L-417 is a spindle-driven high-load stage for up to 813 mm travel and 45 kg.

Hexapod specifications depend heavily on payload position and orientation. Give the supplier the load mass, centre of gravity and pivot point, not just the travel. Our linear actuator sizing guide covers the moment loads that also apply to single-axis stages.

Controllers

PI supplies the electronics for its mechanics: piezo amplifiers, motion controllers for piezo motors such as the C-867 for PILine, and hexapod controllers such as the C-887. All are commanded through PI’s General Command Set. Group company ACS Motion Control adds high-end motion controllers and drives.

Industries served

PI’s markets include semiconductor and electronics production, photonics and fibre alignment, microscopy and life science, metrology, astronomy, and aerospace and space research.

Global and UK presence

PI’s UK subsidiary, PI (Physik Instrumente) Ltd, is registered in England (company 06488105). It is based at Trent House, University Way, Cranfield Technology Park, Cranfield, Bedford MK43 0AN, telephone +44 1234 756360, email uk@pi.ws. It handles UK sales and support. The head office in Karlsruhe is +49 721 4846-0.

Specify Motion and PI

Specify Motion is independent of PI and HOERBIGER, and is not affiliated with either. We can help source PI products or propose stages, actuators and motion components from our supply network that meet the same published travel, force and precision figures, confirmed by an engineer. Use find a replacement or our linear actuators hub.

PI (Physik Instrumente) history: key dates

1. 1970PI founded at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching
2. 1991Market launch of hexapods
3. 1992PI Ceramic founded
4. 1993Subsidiaries founded in the UK and France
5. 2000Moves to Karlsruhe
6. 2001Launches piezo ultrasonic motors
7. 2017Acquires a majority holding in ACS Motion Control, Israel
8. 2026HOERBIGER completes its acquisition of PI on 31 March

PI (Physik Instrumente) piezo motors

Piezo motor

P-845 preloaded PICMA piezo actuators

Preloaded multilayer piezo actuators with 15 to 90 µm travel, 3,000 N push and 700 N pull capacity, sub-2 nm resolution and an integrated strain-gauge sensor for closed-loop use.

Piezo motor

P-235 PICA Power preloaded piezo actuators

High-force preloaded stack actuators with up to 30,000 N push and 3,500 N pull, 15 to 180 µm travel and 0 to 1,000 V drive; vacuum and 150 °C versions are available.

Piezo motor

PILine ultrasonic piezo motors and stages

Ultrasonic piezo motor technology used in PI's U-series linear and rotary stages: self-locking at rest, up to 500 mm/s, holding force up to 15 N and resolution down to 2 nm.

PI (Physik Instrumente) linear actuators

Linear stage

H-850 hexapod

Six-axis parallel-kinematic hexapod carrying up to 250 kg (H-850.H2A, horizontal base), with ±50 mm X/Y and ±25 mm Z travel, brushless DC gear motors and absolute encoders.

Linear stage

H-811 miniature hexapod

Compact six-axis hexapod for 5 kg (horizontal) loads with ±17 mm X, ±16 mm Y and ±6.5 mm Z travel and repeatability to ±0.06 µm in Z; vacuum and high-performance variants are offered.

Linear stage

V-551 linear-motor stage

Precision stage driven by an ironless three-phase linear motor with a 1 nm absolute encoder, travel of 60 to 230 mm, 500 mm/s and 0.1 µm bidirectional repeatability.

Linear stage

L-417 high-load linear stage

Motor-driven high-load stage with travel to 813 mm, 45 kg load capacity, up to 300 mm/s and repeatability to 1 µm.

Frequently asked questions

What is the PI (Physik Instrumente) website?

PI's global website is physikinstrumente.com, and the UK site is physikinstrumente.co.uk. Both list piezo actuators, piezo motors, stages, hexapods and controllers with product data sheets, and include a product finder for choosing stages by travel and precision.

What is PI's phone number in the UK?

PI (Physik Instrumente) Ltd at Cranfield publishes +44 1234 756360 and the email uk@pi.ws. The head office in Karlsruhe is +49 721 4846-0, with the general email info@pi.ws.

Where is PI's headquarters?

PI's headquarters is Physik Instrumente (PI) SE & Co. KG, Auf der Römerstraße 1, 76228 Karlsruhe, Germany. The company moved to Karlsruhe in 2000 from Waldbronn.

Who owns PI (Physik Instrumente)?

HOERBIGER completed its acquisition of PI on 31 March 2026. PI is now HOERBIGER's Positioning Division but keeps its own name and brand. Before that PI described itself as family-owned; founder Dr. Karl Spanner and later his son Markus led it. HOERBIGER is owned by the HOERBIGER Foundation.

Does PI have a UK office?

Yes. PI (Physik Instrumente) Ltd, registered in England as company 06488105, is based at Trent House, University Way, Cranfield Technology Park, Cranfield, Bedford MK43 0AN. PI set up its UK subsidiary in 1993.

What does PI make?

PI makes piezo actuators and piezo motors, nanopositioning flexure stages, motorised linear and rotary stages, air-bearing stages, six-axis hexapods, voice coil actuators and the controllers that drive them. Group company ACS Motion Control adds motion controllers and drives.

Sources

1. PI: Legal information (head office)
2. PI: Milestones in the development of the PI Group
3. PI press release: HOERBIGER to acquire Physik Instrumente (17 December 2025)
4. PI press release: HOERBIGER completes acquisition of PI
5. PI UK: About PI
6. PI UK: The PI Group
7. PI UK: Locations and addresses
8. PI UK: Legal information
9. PI UK: P-845 preloaded piezo actuators
10. PI UK: P-235 PICA Power piezo actuators
11. PI UK: PILine ultrasonic motors
12. PI UK: Parallel kinematic hexapods
13. PI UK: H-850 hexapod
14. PI UK: V-551 precision linear stage
15. PI UK: Stages with stepper, DC and BLDC motors

Figures are summarised from the sources above and from manufacturers' published data on the date shown. Always confirm against the current datasheet for your exact part.