Design Guides

DC motors are motion components that take electrical power in the form of direct current (or some manipulated form of direct current) and convert it into mechanical rotation. The motors do this through the use of magnetic fields that arise from the electric currents to spur rotation of a rotor fixed with an output shaft.…

Linear bearings include mechanical components that allows relative motion between two surfaces — with one surface supporting the other and minimum friction between the two. The two basic types of linear guides include plain (sliding motion) and rolling element … with the same general function but vastly different design and performance characteristics. In this Design…

Linear motion is essential to countless automated designs — including a burgeoning array of XYZ Cartesian assemblies. Many such designs pair a rotary motor with a mechanical device such as a screw, belt and pulley set, or rack and pinion assembly. Some linear designs are specified as sets of separate components for the OEM or…

Crossed-roller linear guides are based on a non-recirculating linear bearing design in which cylindrical roller bearing elements are oriented in a crisscross pattern. Because the rollers don’t recirculate, these guides provide high load capacity and good stiffness … with smoother motion than recirculating-bearing counterparts. That’s because the rollers don’t suffer from the pulsations that recirculating…

Linear-motion systems are essential in everything from manually operated industrial drawers and doors to advanced Cartesian robots. Mechanisms that include the former operate without power, using inertia or manual power to move loads. Components to complete the latter include ready-to-install drive and guidance designs in the form of self-contained motor-driven actuators or linear-motion machinery subsections.…

Many applications call for the use of electromechanical linear actuation — which includes electric motors paired with various mechanical components for controlled movement of equipment or payloads. Options for linear actuation have proliferated in recent years. Actuators and linear-motion options today are also easier than ever to integrate into machinery … and they’re often less…

Motion control systems can vary from simple, straightforward single-axis direct-drive systems with little wiring to large and complex multi-axis robotic systems with a hornet’s nest of cables. This is usually where cabling, which was an afterthought, now takes center stage. Especially where there are lots of cables and wiring, cable management becomes an issue. A…

Gearmotors are complete motion components that include a gear reducer integrated with an electric motor. Usually the motor includes the gears (often as an assembled gearbox) at the output to reduce speed and boost output torque. Engineers typically use gearmotors on axes that need high efficiency; move heavy objects; or necessitate inertia that’s finely tuned…

The function of gearing is to mesh with other gear elements to transmit altered torque and rotation. In fact, gearing can change the speed, torque and direction of motion from a drive source. In this Design Guide, the editors of Design World detail the most common gear types for precision applications — as well as…

Conveyors move loose bulk material or discrete packaged products from one place to another in automated material-handling settings. The array of materials, controls, and modular subcomponents for conveyors has only proliferated in recent years … allowing all-new conveyor designs for customized sorting, filing, and warehouse-automation tasks. In this Design Guide, the editors of Design World…

Crossed-roller linear guides are based on a non-recirculating linear bearing design in which cylindrical roller bearing elements are oriented in a crisscross pattern. Because the rollers don’t recirculate, these guides provide high load capacity and good stiffness … with smoother motion than recirculating-bearing counterparts. Download this design guide to learn more!

Human-machine interfaces or HMIs (until recently called man-machine interfaces or MMIs) are access terminals on machinery, in management stations, and countless remote locations that give plant personnel and other end users a way to visually monitor and adjust automated operations, machine controls, and output functions. This human-machine interaction is through a graphical user interface (GUI)…

Automation of discrete motion and process tasks is essential to modern manufacturing and distribution. However, automation can pose numerous dangers to nearby human personnel as well as equipment. The threats of electrocutions, burns, amputations, crushed fingers and hands, and blindness are most acute near slicing and sawing operations; spinning, reciprocating, spooling, winding, pressing, and punching…

Automation of discrete motion tasks is core to modern manufacturing. Encoder technologies in these designs use optical, capacitive, inductive, or magnetic operation to track speed and position. As we’ll detail in this Design Guide, the most suitable encoder type for a given machine function depends on the required accuracy, ruggedness, and signal type — as…

Power and signal connectivity components include terminal blocks, relays, motor contactors, and motor starters. Use of these components endures and complements burgeoning technologies that integrate various connectivity and control functionalities into systems on a chip (SoCs), embedded single-board computers, and smart components for distributed control. In this Design Guide, the editors of Design World detail…

Belts and pulleys lift loads, use mechanical advantage to apply forces, and transmit power. They also form the basis of industrial conveyors big and small. In this Design Guide, the editors of Design World review both V and synchronous belt types — including the fundamentals of their operation. Topics on sizing and selection are also…

In this Design Guide, the editors of Design World present information on ballscrew-based linear-motion drive types. Of course, determining the most suitable rotary-to-linear screw drive for a given machine axis depends on the loads it will move, travel speeds, duty cycles, cost constraints, and the environment in which the machine will run. That’s why in…

There are many ways to build linear systems for motion in the X, Y, and/or Z directions — also called Cartesian coordinates. Industry terms for these systems depend on how the axes are assembled, where the load is positioned, and (to some extent) the type of use for which the system was designed. In many…

Integrating servo drives into motion systems forces engineers to make decisions that will ultimately affect the entire machine build. Specification choices include picking between analog and digital servo drives; torque-mode or linear servo operation; PCB-mount or fully enclosed standalone construction; and partially to fully distributed drive topologies. In this Design Guide, the editors of Design…