Employees often become bored and dissatisfied with their jobs when they have to repeat a particular task endlessly. Moreover, they might become so fatigued that they injure themselves doing it. Whether emotional or physical, these negative effects can reduce productive output and increase the chance for making errors. Although these problems can affect any business,…
The changing, improving world of prosthetics
Recent, major improvements that eliminate numerous problems in the design of motion controlled limbs have come from a better understanding of users’ needs. Add to this knowledge base the application of aerospace materials, advanced motor designs, and special safety circuitry, and you have the latest generation of prosthetic devices. Motion-controlled wrists and hands have helped…
Quality by design
By Leslie Langnau Medical equipment design engineers may have an uncommon opportunity with pharmaceutical companies now that the FDA has opened the rules for drug manufacturing. Instead of living with frozen processes, pharmaceutical companies are now encouraged to continuously innovate and improve the ways they produce drugs. The new goal is to release drug products…
5 steps to selecting a step motor for the medical industry
By Mindy Lin Cheng, Application Engineering Specialist and Belal Azim, Marketing Specialist, Lin Engineering Santa Clara, Calif. Whether the medical product is a systolic pump or a Petrie dish, evaluate the following step motor characteristics: 1. Small package 2. High accuracy 3. Smooth motion 4. Low noise 5. High quality & reliability 1. Small package In…
Adrenaline, Adventure & Engineering
By Marshall Matheson “Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports … all others are games.” -Earnest Hemingway This month, Design World is launching “Leadership in Engineering”, a community based print and online promotion to support and gain industry recognition for innovation and advances in engineering across several disciplines. Image appears…
It’s Show Time!
The Medical Design and Manufacturing West exposition and conference brings together the latest advances, leading suppliers, and technical experts in the field, offering engineers a one-stop look at what’s going on in medical design. This year’s show features four special-focus business pavilions: Precision Tec, MEDPAK, and new for 2007, Quality, and Laser Tec. In addition,…
SynqNet® Ships Over 225,000 Axes
WOOD DALE, IL — Danaher Motion today announced that shipments of its SynqNet motion and I/O network exceed 225,000 axes. Machinery builders in the medical imaging, packaging, machine tool, robotics, semiconductor, printed circuit board manufacturing/assembly and flat panel display industries have adopted SynqNet to increase machine throughput, modularity, reliability and serviceability. The 225,000 axes installed…
Wireless Technology Benefits Surgery
In the operating room, patient safety and surgeon efficiency should be compatible. Helping to accomplish both goals is the Infrared Wireless Foot Switch, from LineMaster Switch Corp. FDA approved, this switch is a key component of the new Gemini Surgical Control & Display System from Applied Surgical, LLC. This single master foot control prevents accidental…
Parker Releases New Products & Systems Catalog
Port Washington, NY — Parker's Electromechanical Automation Division announces the release of a new catalog featuring its Bayside brand of motion and control systems products. The 240-page, full-color guide covers linear and rotary positioning stages, frameless kit motors, gearheads, integral gearmotors and a special section devoted to Parker Bayside's Engineered Solutions Group, a highly qualified…
New BK1120 EtherCAT® Bus Coupler
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Companies can now integrate any of the 200+ distributed I/O from Beckhoff Automation's KL family into ultra high speed EtherCAT systems via the new BK1120 Bus Coupler. The BK1120 provides a clear path for next generation industrial Ethernet implementation while offering complete backwards compatibility with existing Beckhoff I/O systems. Separate nodes of…
New Rexroth NYCe4000 Motion Control System
Bosch Rexroth has extended its range of motion control systems to semiconductor and medical applications with the NYCe 4000–a rugged, high-end, compact, multi-axis industrial motion control system with integrated drive technology. The scalable Rexroth NYCe4000 multiple-axis controller integrates the complete control and drive hardware in one unit with a smaller footprint than an industrial PC.…
Beckhoff Automation Establishes Subsidiary in Brazil
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — To increase sales and engineering support for customers in South America, Beckhoff Automation has opened its newest subsidiary in Brazil. Together with distribution partners in Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, Beckhoff is now represented in four countries on the South American continent. Beckhoff Automação Industrial Ltda. is based in São Bernardo do Campo,…
Precision Machines Count on Robust Optical Encoders
by Scott Hewitt, President, Sick Stegmann, Inc., Dayton, Ohio Resolution is one of the most critical factors that must be considered when selecting an encoder and probably the least understood. Resolution is often described in terms of lines, pulses, and counts. Incremental encoders provide a fixed number of square pulses on each channel per shaft…
Danaher Motion SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2006 Highlights
New products reinforce “Helping you build a better machine, faster” Düsseldorf, Germany – Danaher Motion, the specialist in drive and control technology, focused on two new products at the SPS/IPC/Drives Fair in Nuremberg: the “Danaher Motion S700” digital servo amplifier and the compact “Danaher Motion Hybrid Stepper Motor”. The Danaher Motion S700 is a new,…
NKK’s New Toggles and Rockers Meet International Certifications
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — NKK Switches, an industry leader in the design and manufacturing of electromechanical switches, announces the internationally approved P series of toggle and rocker switches with certifications from UL, CSA, C-UL, VDE, SEMKO and SEV. These standard size devices are designed to meet the needs of industrial/commercial, instrumentation and medical applications. The P…
SPS/IPC/Drives Day 2
Wow! What a show. I thought is was crowded yesterday, but by mid-morning most hallways were so packed, you almost felt you were at a sporting event! Surprises coming from companies not usually known for having motion products such as motors/drives/controllers/software, are now bringing it out at the SPS show. Pilz, known as a world…
SPS/IPC/Drives Day 1
SPS/IPC/Drives show in Nürnburg is a break out show! Today I spent the majority of the day walking the show and here is what left an impression: Dozens of companies showing and demonstrating drives and motion controls. It reminds me of the Tokyo System Fair that I attended ten years ago in which company after…
National Instruments Introduces the LabVIEW Digital Filter Design Toolkit 8.20
National Instruments announced the latest version of the NI LabVIEW Digital Filter Design Toolkit, a comprehensive collection of tools for designing and implementing digital filters. As a part of the LabVIEW graphical system design platform, the Digital Filter Design Toolkit delivers features — including new text-based MathScript functions for advanced filter design, new support for…
THK Introduces TY Series of High Speed Linear Actuators
Schaumburg, IL —THK’s new TY Series Linear Actuator is designed to reach super high speeds of up to 5 m/sec. (16.4 ft./sec.), and accelerations up to 5Gs. Integrated with THK’s own Type SHS LM guide, as well as the QZ lubricator, the TY Series operates long-term and maintenance-free. The TY Series features a compact cross…
New Portescap Motor
The Portescap h3 Stepper Motor is a 1.8° step motor with an aluminum housing for sufficient heat dissipation to create high output torque during operation. The stator-enhanced magnets deliver up to 40% more torque in the same footprint. Neodymium iron boron magnets enhance torque density, while the bearing retainer and o-ring help reduce motor noise.…
Rockwell Automation PACK EXPO Highlights
MILWAUKEE, Wi — PACK EXPO this year, Rockwell Automation (Booth No. N-4457) will demonstrate how its wide range of integrated control and information systems can provide manufacturers with significant productivity and cost savings benefits while helping OEMs enhance their competitive position. With a “What Matters” theme, the Rockwell Automation booth will explore issues that are…
Kerk Motion to Showcase New Linear Actuator
Kerk Motion Products will showcase its new Kerk® Linear Actuator in booth # S-114 at the 2006 Pack Expo International, from October 29 to November 2 in Chicago, Illinois. The Kerk Linear Actuator is designed for positioning requirements in electronics, semiconductor, medical, packaging, assembly equipment, automotive, and other challenging applications. The Kerk Linear Actuator is the first linear…
New Low-Cost Positioning Tables
Irwin, PA, — Parker's Electromechanical Automation Division announces the release of the 402XE and 403XE family of linear positioning tables. Designed to reduce overall machine cost and allow manufacturers to speed their time to market, the rugged 402XE and 403XE are available in a complete compact package with motor and limit sensors included, or for…
Aries Drive with Resolver Feedback
Rohnert Park, CA, September 6, 2006 – Parker Automation announces therelease of a resolver feedback option in its successful Aries family oflow-cost, all-digital servo drives. The addition of resolver feedbackincreases the versatility of the Aries drive platform. Now users can choosethe versatile Aries drive for use with resolver feedback in addition tosmart encoders, quadrature encoders…
Hints for designing better servo control systems
By John Gyorki Lee StephensSystems EngineerDanaher MotionWood Dale, Ill. Servo control system engineers chiefly work in two well-defined areas. They design new motion control systems for conveyors, pick and place machines, gantries, machine tools, and much more. On the other hand, they might redesign an existing system that typically comprises older analog controllers, sensors, and…