The proliferation of new applications for power-off brakes demands fresh design approaches leveraging leading brake manufacturers’ accumulated design experience. Key to optimizing designs for life, cost, and performance is early collaboration with the brake manufacturer. By Brian Mather • Ogura Industrial Corp. Machine designers in the motion-control industry recognize power-off brakes by the following terms: […]

Linear guides, cam followers, and crossed-roller bearings can satisfy the demanding requirements for space-flight hardware. By IKO engineering staff | www.ikont.com As space activity shifts from governmental agencies to a growing industry driven by commercial entities and even startups, the types of spacecrafts and the missions they support are also expanding. This diversifying industry is […]

The highly dynamic AL8000 linear motors from Beckhoff now meet even greater requirements for accuracy and synchronization with the new TwinCAT Cogging Compensation software. This makes the linear motors particularly suitable for high-precision applications such as milling machines or laser cutting machines. The cogging compensation software makes use of machine learning, which is seamlessly integrated […]

Advanced robotics for industrial and consumer applications demand sophisticated power-dense motion components for joints and linkages that must run smoothly, often at high torque and relatively low speed. The challenge is compounded when the robotic application must also make precise moves. At the core of most leading robotic-actuator options are electric motors. That’s because motor-driven designs […]

Many of today’s precision applications necessitate gears capable of dramatic speed reductions, power densities, and transmission accuracies. Leading choices in these designs include trochoidal and cycloidal gearing as well as gearsets relying on wave-inducing subcomponents having an elliptical or Reuleaux or other polygonal shape. Trochoidal and cycloidal gearing includes elements that rotate and trace curves […]

EXAIR’s dual high-temperature Cabinet Cooler Systems purge and cool overheated electrical control panels in harsh environments up to 200°F (93°C). Cabinet Coolers keep electrical enclosures cool with air as cool as 20°F (-7°C) air to eliminate high temperature malfunctions and protect sensitive electronics from hot, dirty locations, such as foundries, glass plants or steel mills.…

Emerson is at booth #1645 at the Automate Show June 6-9 in Detroit, Michigan. In the booth, Emerson will showcase solutions that improve energy efficiency, connectivity and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). Emerson is committed to making data visible and providing actionable insights to customers. The company’s digital transformation solutions reduce complexity and help customers achieve…

Mitsubishi Electric Automation will exhibit at Automate 2022 in Detroit to highlight solutions for a wide variety of applications and industries. The theme of the exhibit is “better together”, which shows creative solutions developed by a number of companies based on Mitsubishi Electric automation products. The “better together” approach includes an in-booth experience centered on […]

Flexible manufacturing system (FMS) systems leader MCM S.P.A. Machining Center Manufacturing will be participating in the upcoming IMTS show this September at McCormick Place in Chicago — September 12 through 17. They will be at booth # S-8574. MCM will showcase a portion of their eight-machine system FMS, including an RVG pallet system, load stations, […]

EXAIR.com offers numerous resources to help customers make informed decisions. Building an effective and efficient compressed air system involves many factors, and having exact information is necessary when piecing the puzzle together. For this reason, EXAIR provides over seventy 3D model and CAD drawing extensions for products on its website. Save time and maintain accuracy…

Oracle and Festo are joining forces to help educators create new opportunities and solve tough challenges at the Oracle Industry Lab. Opened today, the facility provides hands-on, simulated industry settings for customers to experiment, learn, and bring transformative technologies to life. At the lab, visitors will interact with a sophisticated Festo “Learning Factory” used in…

The Festo-MassRobotics Healthcare Robotics Startup Catalyst program celebrates the milestones achieved by the program’s four selected global startups at the Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum. Key life sciences and robotics speakers to lead the event. The successful Healthcare Robotics Startup Catalyst program came to an end on April 7th, 2022. The concluding ceremony will be held…

EXAIR’s EasySwitch Wet-Dry Vac simplifies the filter change process when switching from vacuuming a dry material to a liquid or vice versa. Utilizing minimal compressed air, the EasySwitch is a powerful pneumatic vacuum that is ideal for any application — wet, dry, light and heavy. The fast and simple conversion to vacuuming liquids is done…

The manufacture and testing of semiconductors involves the competing requirements of nanometer positioning and high throughput. Here, the right encoder can help motion designs deliver on both counts. By HEIDENHAIN CORPORATION staff engineers Semiconductor manufacturing and testing equipment can have the best motion-control bandwidth, artificial intelligence capabilities, and optics in the world, but none of […]

Here we offer some tips for converting a fluid-power-driven axis to electrical actuation. By Ryan Klemetson • Business Development Manager | Tolomatic, Inc. As explained in Part 1 of this article series on motioncontroltips.com, hydraulic systems offer long service life, but they’re not as efficient as electric systems. Electric systems also provide precise position, velocity, […]

Here we compare these two linear-motion technologies — and hint at a common sizing error when converting to electric actuation. By Ryan Klemetson • Business Development Manager | Tolomatic, Inc. Hydraulics offer a long service life, but they’re not as efficient as electric systems. Electric systems also provide precise position, velocity, and speed control with […]

EXAIR.com has added improved web accessibility for people who are affected by a variety of impairments. By addressing these impairments with specific tools, the EXAIR.com website has become the first in the industry to provide ADA compliant tools. Disabilities come in many forms including hearing, visual, mobility and cognitive impairments. EXAIR has removed many of…

EXAIR’s Chip Vac offers a fast, effective way to clean chips or other dry materials from fixtures, floors and work surfaces of machining centers, lathes, saws, mills and other industrial equipment. It can easily be moved from drum to drum to keep different materials separate for recycling. Dusty materials, such as absorbents are trapped by…

New investments in industrial and manufacturing conveying technologies could reach $65.1B by 2026. That’s according to a new report from researchandmarkets.com. Continued push to automate material handling, assembly, and distribution operations are key drivers. Another is the pressure from regulatory changes forcing adoption of conveyors sporting gearless and other energy-efficient motor designs. Still another is […]

EXAIR’s Air Knives are an efficient and highly effective tool for blowoff, cooling, cleaning and drying in a myriad of manufacturing processes. To accommodate the wide variety of unique problems manufacturers face, EXAIR has the ability to customize and tailor Air Knives to different specifications. These Air Knife customizations can range from size, to shape,…

Motion Plus is now in partnership with MICRONIX USA, LLC. This partnership provides a wide array of MICRONIX USA miniature precision piezo stages and motion components available for purchase online through the easy-to-use Motion Plus website at buy.motionplusmore.com. “With the high quality, miniature precision products of MICRONX USA in-stock with our storefront, customers can now […]

EXAIR’s Heavy Duty HEPA Vac is a powerful, HEPA quality, industrial vacuum cleaner that works with 30, 55 or 110 gallon open top drums. This allows you to choose the vac that best suits your applications.  The Heavy Duty HEPA Vac is designed to move more material with less wear. In addition, this vacuum has…

Depending upon the complexity of product design and its application, the DFMEA exercise can quickly become a tedious exercise if not done through a structured format. In this article, we outline five key tactics that can streamline DFMEA analysis. By Bryan Christiansen | Limble CMMS Design Failure Mode Effect Analysis (DFMEA) is a well-known engineering…

Industry-leading automation solution provider, Omron Automation Americas, continues to demonstrate its commitment to research and development opening the new Omron Advanced Motion Research and Development Center. This state-of-the-art facility enables top-talent engineers, led by Curt Wilson, Senior Director Engineering, Advanced Motion, to continue the innovative work pioneered by Delta Tau Data Systems. The center delivers to […]

In this article, we detail how assembly, packaging, and machine-tool OEMs can keep senior plant personnel in charge of the most demanding and intricate tasks — and relegate everything else to pre-programmed work routines and automated workcells. Such approaches make copious use of cobots and augmented reality (AR) tools. By Tim LeCrone • Director of […]