BlueBeam is a specially developed blue-light LED, which Pepperl+Fuchs uses in the new ENI58IL incremental rotary encoders, thereby offering performance features that have so far only been possible in high-performance special solutions. The blue light from the new emitter LEDs exhibits a decreased diffraction compared to a longer-wave infrared light of the same gap width […]
New inertial platform stabilization solution from Elmo
Elmo Motion Control’s new off-the-shelf Inertial Platform Stabilization (IPS) solution combines rugged hardware—a miniature, high-precision motion controller and the company’s signature compact servo drives—with embedded Software-in-the-loop (SIL) control capability. The Elmo Application Studio II (EASII) software tool is used to create a ready-to-use, high-performance solution with finely tuned synchronization and absolute accuracy that enables faster […]
60mm diameter, 2-pole slotless brushless motor
Koford Engineering LLC has introduced a new 48v 2-pole 60mm diameter slotless sensorless brushless motor with a 512 watt continuous output at 15,792 rpm at 48 volts. The peak motor efficiency is 93%. The 24 volt version outputs 256 watts at 7,560 rpm and has a peak efficiency of 92%. The motor weighs 1.00 kg. […]
NIBA/PTDA Joint Industry Summit a success
More than 1,300 participants from the belting and power transmission/motion control (PT/MC) industries came together September 27-30 in Hollywood, Fla., where tools and information for Powering Thoughts/Conveying Ideas were delivered through relevant presentations, the latest in business and market information and a venue to help build the networks that are so critical to business success. […]
Four lessons learned from igus CEO Frank Blase
On a recent press tour of igus’ Cologne, Germany headquarters, I had the pleasure of chatting with Frank Blase, the company’s CEO—and one of the most approachable and down-to-earth manufacturing leaders you are apt to find. Blase shared some of what has helped him grow his father’s small German company—over several decades—into the $1+ billion […]
Koford debuts 60-mm diameter 2-pole slotless brushless motor
Koford Engineering LLC has introduced a new 48-V 2-pole 60-mm diameter slotless sensorless brushless motor. The motor features 512 W continuous output at 15,792 rpm at 48 V with a peak motor efficiency of 93%. The 24-V version outputs 256 W at 7,560 rpm and has a peak efficiency of 92%. These motors are also […]
PTDA honors Andy Nations with Warren Pike Award
The Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) has named Andy Nations, CEO, B&D Industrial (Macon, Ga.), the 27th recipient of its Warren Pike Award for lifetime achievement in the power transmission/motion control (PT/MC) industry. Nations received the award, named for PTDA’s co-founder and first president, at the PTDA Annual Business Meeting during the NIBA/PTDA Joint Industry […]
Pallet conveyors for assembly — enabling flexible automation with versatility
By Kate Nadeau, engineer with mk North America Automation and robotics are the here and now (and future) of America’s manufacturing sector, which means the time is also right for advanced conveyors. These conveyors are lean and durable as well as dependable, fast, intelligent, and adaptable. Unlike yesteryear’s conveyors, today’s advanced conveyor systems (which will enable […]
How to design quiet gearmotors: Gear engagement, housing geometry, and more
What applications need quiet gearmotors? The answer might surprise you — because the human ear can detect noise at 10 dB lower than ambient levels, and many gearmotors operate in close proximity to people. In this technical article, we outline recent staff engineers’ research and development into the problem (and potential solutions for) gearmotor noise. […]
Where do chain drives still make sense?
Chain drives are a tried and true method of linear actuation and are used in much industrial machinery. A typical chain drive consists of two key components; a chain and a sprocket. The chain itself is composed of several components including a pin, bushing, roller, pin link plate, and a roller link plate. The chain […]
New organization promotes no-charge, open-source interface technology for industrial control systems
POSITAL FRABA has announced that it is participating as a founding member of the BiSS Association e.V., a new organization dedicated to encouraging the use of the BiSS family of open-source industrial communications protocols. BiSS communications protocols were developed by the German company iC-Haus GmbH as an efficient and feature-rich digital interface for communications between […]
How to address overshoot in servo control
There are three characteristics that indicate when a servo system is properly tuned: response time, settling time, and overshoot. Response time is the time it takes the system to reach a specified percentage of the target value, while settling time is the time it takes for the target value to be settled, within a specified […]
Direct-drive motor designs: What variations are there?
The most basic definition of a direct-drive motor is a type of design that allows the motor to be connected directly to the driven load. Doing so eliminates mechanical transmission elements that tend to add compliance into a drive system such as gears, couplings, belts and pulleys, and chain drives. Direct-drive motors are sometimes also […]
Customizable universal electric actuator allows active or passive actuation
Aventics’ new universal electric actuator for industrial applications features a highly flexible design for customization to the customer’s application. The new Aventics best in class universal electric actuator is heavy-duty and suitable for normal or extreme environments. The highly flexible design allows the actuator to be customizable to the customer’s application. A wide range of […]
Electromechanical cylinder is powerful, features hygienic design
With the second generation EMC electromechanical cylinder, Rexroth expands the possibilities for utilizing these compact drive units. With their hygienic design and IP65 protection class, they are now suitable for applications with frequent cleaning cycles in the food industry. The new size EMC100-XC-2 increases the power density for feeding forces of up to 56 kN, […]
High-torque, brushless dc motors for orthopedic applications from Portescap
Portescap’s newest surgical motor for large-bone orthopedic powered hand tools is a size 12 (31.5 mm diameter) mini motor available in 9.6-V, 12-V and 14.4-V. With cannulated and non-cannulated options, these motors can deliver peak torques of up to 1,720 mNm in a compact envelope. These drives are suitable for various applications such as orthopedic […]
AutomationDirect adds more Koyo incremental and absolute encoders
AutomationDirect has expanded its Koyo encoder product line to include additional incremental encoder output options and higher resolutions for absolute encoders. The TRD-S Series of 6-mm solid shaft and TRD-SH Series of 8-mm hollow shaft incremental encoders now have 5-12 Vdc open collector output versions in addition to the existing 12-24 Vdc open collector or […]
Lin Engineering hybrid stepper motors now in NEMA-6 frame sizes
Lin Engineering now sells 106 Series hybrid stepper motors with a step angle of 3.46° and 104 steps per revolution. The compact motors are just 16 mm wide but deliver to 1.85 oz-in. holding torque. That equates to quadruple the holding torque of can-stack PM steppers … and in fact, the 106 Series hybrid stepper […]
Q-link VFD from Franklin Control Systems features smartphone connectivity
Franklin Control Systems’ Q-link Variable Frequency Drive provides a unique user experience through intuitive smartphone operation. The drive was designed from the ground up for HVAC applications and users in that industry, with streamlined start-up, reporting, and support. The Q-link provides an array of inputs and outputs including damper control. The Q-link uses R3 filtering […]
AMKASMART Series decentralized drive solutions
The AMKASMART portfolio from AMK Automation is designed for automation machine builders and automation processes to provide compact, integrated solutions that save money, time and can easily integrate into existing systems. The portfolio includes ihXT servo motors, iSA motion control, iC and iX decentralized servo converters. The ihXT servo motors are ideal as decentralized auxiliary drives […]
New synchronous motors from Rexroth
The new IndraDyn S series MS2N carefully performs intelligent scans all the way up to the motor. This is possible because the individual measurements of each individual motor, as well as saturation and temperature data, are stored in the respective motor’s memory and automatically processed by IndraDrive controllers. This information greatly increases the precision of […]
ITT Enidine to display vibration-isolation and energy absorption setups at Helitech 2017
ITT Inc. and its Enidine brand will showcase a portfolio of unique rotorcraft setups at Helitech Intl. 2017 — October 3 to 5 in London. Enidine’s highly engineered setups are central to increasing the longevity of flight critical rotorcraft components, protecting cabin interiors from noise and vibration, and improving the safety and comfort of passengers […]
Lenze m850 synchronous servo motors for average dynamic performance
Lenze, a global leader and manufacturer of electrical and mechanical drives, motion control and automation technologies, is pleased to announce the release of the new m850 synchronous servo motors with moderately dynamic responsiveness in the upper power range. The m850 series offers servo motors that are compact, easy to control, and run efficiently. They are […]
Lenze (with ei3) now offers OEMs setup to launch IoT services
Lenze — in collaboration with IoT specialist ei3 — now offers a combination of remote analysis and remote maintenance services. The Industrial IoT specialist, ei3, is based in New York and has been working with manufacturing companies since 1999. Its setup is currently running in over 20,000 machine systems in more than 90 countries. Many machine and […]
What are digital signal processors (DSPs) for motion control?
Digital signal processors (or DSPs) are dedicated ICs that can be programmed to execute specific types of calculations or algorithms. They differ from standard microprocessors in that they are not designed to do much if any of the supervisory tasks that microprocessors typically handle. This is why they can execute algorithms much faster than microprocessors […]