Each year, Design World publishes a Motion Trends issue — a standalone issue that’s the second in its regular four-part Motion Series. Following are the expanded versions of some of that issue’s articles. Connectivity and IoT expand control design functionality (a Motion Trends report) Connectivity in manufacturing is not a new idea — it’s been […]
Motion Trends: Integration, software tools top controller trends
As machines become more complex, designers are looking for more integrated solutions to simplify overall machine design. So engineers are becoming more savvy about their automation choices, and are seeking solutions that offer better precision and performance all in one package. And controls manufacturers have heard the message. For instance, Lenze just recently introduced a […]
POSITAL expands rotary encoder offerings with new through-hollow incremental encoders
POSITAL has extended is portfolio of rotary encoders with a new family of through-hollow incremental encoders. These devices are designed to be installed with the machine shaft passing through the sensor. They can be used to monitor rotary motion in a wide variety of machinery, including servomotors, material handling equipment and printing presses, offering cost-effective, […]
Kuebler Sendix S36 motor-feedback encoders win first place SPS IPC Drives Automation Award
Kuebler recently won the first place Automation Award for its new Sendix S36 motor feedback encoders — getting 31.9% of all SPS IPC Drives show-visitor votes. The Automation Award is a leading prize in the international automation industry and is presented annually at the SPS IPC Drives trade fair in Nuremberg, Germany. Five products are […]
NORD Gear brings integrated material handling solutions to MODEX 2018
NORD delivers integrated power technologies to help the world’s largest consumer goods manufacturers, online retailers, warehouses and airports produce and move products faster, with less energy and more control. NORD will be showing its integrated material handling solutions at MODEX 2018 Booth B930, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga., April 9-12, 2018. […]
How to select a network for a motion controller?
Over a range of motion control applications, there is no one-size-fits-all approach for selecting a network. However, there are several key factors to consider when deciding on the best networking option for your particular application. For starters (and perhaps most importantly), consider timing; that is, how quickly the system reacts to inputs or changes in […]
Beckhoff touch panels with 10.1-in. widescreen displays
Beckhoff Automation has announced the release of the CP6x00 Control Panels and Panel PCs with 10.1-in. widescreen displays. The expanded line of entry-level panels from Beckhoff, first launched with 7-in. displays, has been expanded by three new cabinet-mounted devices, each with a 10.1-in. widescreen display. PC-based control technology in the cost-sensitive, lower to middle performance […]
IDEC introduces MicroSmart FC6A Plus PLC
IDEC Corporation announces the release of its MicroSmart FC6A Plus, a PLC with up to 2,060 local I/O. With its expanded I/O capacity, the FC6A Plus can control and monitor the largest machines or entire small-scale manufacturing facilities, a capability seldom found in a micro PLC. To ensure high-level performance with this expanded I/O count, […]
Dorner appoints new sales manager for Indiana
Scott Volk has been appointed Territory Sales Manager covering Indiana for Dorner Mfg. Corp. Volk will be working with sales channel partners and key accounts to grow the company’s industrial and sanitary conveyor business throughout the state. Volk comes to Dorner with more than 10 years of territory sales experience in automation, fluid power, and safety […]
400 Volt Users Now Gain Sigma-7 Performance
Yaskawa’s newest servo systems for both voltage standards Waukegan, Ill. The Drives & Motion Division of Yaskawa America, Inc. announces the addition of a complete line of 400 Volt servo motors and amplifiers to its flagship series of Sigma-7 servo systems, extending the performance advantages of Sigma-7 products to all types of industrial users. The […]
Fortive selling Portescap, Kollmorgen, and Thomson to Altra Industrial Motion
Fortive Corp. — a 2016 spinoff of Danaher — has agreed to combine four operating companies from its Automation & Specialty platform (A&S platform) with Altra Industrial Motion Corp. to form a global leader in the power transmission and motion control market. The A&S platform business includes the market-leading brands of Kollmorgen, Thomson, Portescap, and […]
New ultra-thin power-off brake from SEPAC
SEPAC’s new line of extremely thin power-off brakes, the UTSEB Series (Ultra Thin Spring-Engaged Brakes), is offered in five standard frame sizes from 1.14 to 2.68 in. in diameter and lengths from 0.47 to 0.67 in. The ultra-thin design provides a short package size when the brake is mounted to the rear of a motor; […]
New zero-backlash, spring-engaged brake family
Nexen Group Inc. has announced the Zero-Backlash Spring Engaged (ZSE) brake family. The pneumatically-released ZSE offers high torque, high speed, and zero backlash ideal for holding applications. Unlike brakes using leaf springs to transmit torque, the ZSE is zero-backlash up to 100% of its rated holding torque. Nexen has released four different sizes (450, 600, […]
Stepper drive is internationally certified for use in hazardous locations
Applied Motion has announced the first and only step motor drive internationally certified for use in hazardous locations. The STAC6-Q-H Stepper Drive is ATEX and IECEx certified for Class I, Zone 2 locations, and UL certified for Class 1, Div. 2, Group C & D locations; Class 1, Zone 2 locations. The HazLoc Step Motor […]
New encoders for servo motors from Kuebler support a range of interfaces
Kuebler’s new Sendix 36 motor feedback system is designed to operate with servo motors of various sizes, performance levels, electrical interfaces and technical requirements, including high rotational speed and high temperature—making it ideal for semiconductor manufacturing, packaging and other factory automation systems. With its compact 36-mm housing, the S36 is equipped to handle all single-turn […]
Top five conveyor trends of 2018 — including new materials, drives, and pallet-carrying variations
By Kate Nadeau | mk North America With all of the recent talk about automation and the factory of the future, it’s easy to forget the workhorse of nearly every processing or manufacturing plant — the conveyor. As technologies develop and factories get leaner and smarter, so does the conveyor. Big, bulky conveyors with oversized […]
Innovations in connectivity from cables and connectors for motion designs
Easy connections to sensors, field devices, and other automation solutions are becoming the norm in motion control — that’s according to Brian O’Connor, director of product and market development at Aerotech. In fact, the increasing affordability of electronics (and subsequent rise of IIoT) have spurred all branches of industrial automation to more networked designs. But […]
Connectivity and IoT expand control design functionality (a Motion Trends report)
A recent survey of industry experts had many underscore that connectivity in manufacturing is not a new idea. But here’s what they say are significant new developments in IIoT. MEET THE CONNECTIVITY and IoT EXPERTS … O’Connor • Aerotech: Connectivity in manufacturing is not a new idea — it’s been around for decades — but […]
New autoclavable BLDC motor controller from Portescap
Portescap now sells an autoclavable Brushless DC motor controller — the CNT1530 — for driving large bone orthopedic handpiece motors. The controller leverages Portescap’s market leading autoclavable design capability and surgical application expertise to provide a reliable, customizable setup to the orthopedic market. This new controller will help improve surgical hand tool’s performance and reliability, […]
Brakes and clutches: Top trends in IoT — and uses on ac-motor conveyors and servodesigns
Clutches and brakes work in motion systems to stop or hold or index axes — but must do so to application specifications. No wonder then that the trend in this technology is away strictly stock parts. According to Lesli Riehemann, president at Mach III Clutch Inc., customized brakes and clutches are now 75 to 80% […]
Gears of new materials and in custom variations (with emerging helical, planetary, and other gearing uses)
Power transmission through gearsets is a mainstay of motion control, as gears allow full use of electric-motor capabilities. Recent years have brought gear innovations with new materials; custom gear variations; and all-new applications for helical, planetary, and strain-wave gearing. We asked several industry experts to share their thoughts these trends and the proliferation of OEM […]
Distributor insight: Conversation with Warren Osak on motion-control trends
In a recent phone interview, we got to chat with Warren Osak, CEO of Toronto-based Electromate Inc. — a distributor founded in 1986 that focuses on electromechanical motion control. More specifically, Osak’s company sells primarily servo systems and stepper systems — often for demanding or challenging applications requiring high precision, accuracy, and bi-directional repeatability. Electromate […]
Electric motors: Trends in stepper, battery-powered, and integrated motion designs
From induction motors in electric vehicles to tiny coreless dc motors in drug-delivery equipment, electric motors continue to proliferate. Last year we saw consumer products, implantable medical devices, and automation of previously manual tasks spur the most innovation in motor design and use. This year those trends continue — and now we see increased use […]
True non-contact rotary encoder
Joral LLC introduces the PE18 ProxEncoder non-contact rotary encoder product line. Modeled in a threaded proximity switch housing, the 18mm true non-contact encoder is designed to capture rotary motion where conventional sensors fail. Two USPTO patents enable the PE18 ProxEncoder to detect on-axis rotation with up to 0.5-in. (12mm) air gap between the application and […]
What’s the difference between ac and dc stepper drives?
Drives for stepper motors can have inputs that are either ac or dc. What happens inside the drive is that the input signal is converted to a series of square wave pulses that are applied to the motor’s windings to power the motor and produce motion. However, stepper motors themselves function as ac motors (they […]