In the emerging economy there is a critical dependency on linear actuator technology. Not just linear actuators, but linear actuators that give high performance at low cost. I am intentionally vague on the performance. Performance can mean many things. For heavy machinery and forestry industry machinery, hydraulic actuators with high force and high power density […]
More on Motors
Motor requirements fall into two general categories; 1) the load requirement and 2) the environmental requirements. Frequently it is the latter, the environmental requirements, that create problems. Load…
Electric Motors
Electric motors are central to the industrial age. They are literally the replacement technology for the “work horse” of the 19th century. Which is probably where the term “work horse” came from in the first place. And when it comes to units of measure, we think about the electric motor in terms of horsepower. […]
New Era Manufacturing
We stand at a cross roads that many people may be unaware of. The world of manufacturing as we know it is about to change. This claim has been made by others in The misperception is partly due to the fact that the rate of change in industry is very slow. In a global economic […]
Next Generation of Control
The thing that programmable controllers don’t typically do well is manage data. This is primarily because the memory is organized to serve the control programming environment and not designed for data applications. Separate memory must be allocated and the transactions necessary to interact with memory must be coded. This means a lot of overhead and […]
More on the mechatronics of robotics
There are several aspects of the mechatronics challenge in robotics. In the previous post, I hinted at some, but on reflection the list is significant and all the issues should be considered. Managing the trajectory is a challenge on computing level just to crunch the numbers and resolve the mechanical organization of the robot into […]
Robots and Controls
Robots are unlike any other mechatronic system. Robots are typically 5 to 6 axis platforms, which, while they may be made up of the same components as any other mechatronic systems, they are subject to very complex control requirements. The control of the robot has to take into account the weights and sizes of […]
Coordinated Motion
An occasional topic of conversation in the control industry is understanding what is meant by coordinated motion. The topic is fairly ambiguous since we have many examples of complex pieces of machinery with high axis counts and which definitely give the impression of coordinated motion. The illusion of coordination is based on the fact that […]
Scale Effect – Part 2
Other considerations of scale effect occur in control systems as well. When considering a control system problem, the bandwidth or scaling of the control parameters themselves are often a major issue. What happens when the velocity of a system needs to be controlled over a range 1000 to 1 or greater? This was the exact […]
Machines & Making Money
I stumbled on some amazing videos of advanced machine tool centers at the European Machine Tool show in 2011. These machining centers were demonstrating some very high performance software called hyperMill developed by Daishin Seiki of Japan. The company’s website is in Japanese, but you will find some high profile video on YouTube, and it […]
Machines & Making Money
I stumbled on some amazing videos of advanced machine tool centers at the European Machine Tool show in 2011. These machining centers were demonstrating some very high performance software called hyperMill developed by Daishin Seiki of Japan. The company’s website is in Japanese, but you will find some high profile video on YouTube, and it […]
Machines & Making Money
I stumbled on some amazing videos of advanced machine tool centers at the European Machine Tool show in 2011. These machining centers were demonstrating some very high performance software called hyperMill developed by Daishin Seiki of Japan. The company’s website is in Japanese, but you will find some high profile video on YouTube, and it […]
I.T. Plus Control means Profits
Information Technology (IT) departments are expected to have a dramatic impact on the companies they work for. Worldwide spending for IT is expected to be approximately $2.7 trillion. Across 12 departments of the US government IT spending was just over $50 Billion. Yes, that’s billion with a “b” and it’s your tax dollars and […]
I.T. Plus Control means Profits
Information Technology (IT) departments are expected to have a dramatic impact on the companies they work for. Worldwide spending for IT is expected to be approximately $2.7 trillion. Across 12 departments of the US government IT spending was just over $50 Billion. Yes, that’s billion with a “b” and it’s your tax dollars and […]
The Future of Manufacturing
The future of manufacturing is going to be based on parameters that we are not used to. The cost per unit is always a factor, but the enabling of new markets will be based on lowering the threshold to production. Most manufacturing processes have been focused on scaling up to very large volumes of parts […]
Tech Shop Comes to Town
I had read about Tech Shop in the trade press a few months ago. This is a great new concept in bringing the tooling necessary to turn any new idea into a functioning prototype. That functioning prototype can be converted into a volume manufacturable product. That product, depending on level of complexity, can be used […]
Tech Shop Comes to Town
I had read about Tech Shop in the trade press a few months ago. This is a great new concept in bringing the tooling necessary to turn any new idea into a functioning prototype. That functioning prototype can be converted into a volume manufacturable product. That product, depending on level of complexity, can be used […]
Rexroth EasyHandling brochure describes approach to designing and implementing handling systems
Bosch Rexroth has published a brochure describing the EasyHandling solution, a comprehensive platform of components, drives and engineering software. Rexroth’s EasyHandling system is more than a modular set of mechanical components, it completes the evolutionary transition from high-quality electrical and mechanical elements to a comprehensive system solution built on standardized interfaces and interoperable controls. The brochure […]
No single way to program control systems: Hardware and software considerations
There has never been a single answer to the question of how we program control systems. This is because people write control programs that are designed to run on processors which are programmed by other people. Invariably personal preferences and subjective evaluations of what is important, what is necessary, what is preferable in the creation […]
Does Solar Power make Dollars and Sense?
I think solar power generation is a great idea. It’s got no moving parts, and it produces electricity where you need it. There is one important consideration; can it be done for the same or less cost compared to coal or nuclear power. When it comes to overall carbon footprint, most industry analysts will tell […]
Bandwidth – Part 2
Bandwidth is a mathematical concept. It is the band around a desired operating value. We can consider the bandwidth of control in a process or the bandwidth of error in statistics. The concept applies to all sorts of things. The speed bandwidth of your car might be described as zero to 100 miles per hour. […]
Bandwidth – Part 2
Bandwidth is a mathematical concept. It is the band around a desired operating value. We can consider the bandwidth of control in a process or the bandwidth of error in statistics. The concept applies to all sorts of things. The speed bandwidth of your car might be described as zero to 100 miles per hour. […]
Bandwidth – Part 2
Bandwidth is a mathematical concept. It is the band around a desired operating value. We can consider the bandwidth of control in a process or the bandwidth of error in statistics. The concept applies to all sorts of things. The speed bandwidth of your car might be described as zero to 100 miles per hour. […]
Bandwidth – Part 2
Bandwidth is a mathematical concept. It is the band around a desired operating value. We can consider the bandwidth of control in a process or the bandwidth of error in statistics. The concept applies to all sorts of things. The speed bandwidth of your car might be described as zero to 100 miles per hour. […]
It’s All About Bandwidth
In the field of motors and controls one of the key parameters of merit is Bandwidth. This parameter can be applied to a number of issues related to motors and controls. Manufacturers of variable frequency drives and servo amplifiers often refer to this parameter, but it’s real importance is often lost in the massive amount […]