Round rail linear guides can offer the lowest overall cost of ownership, but machine designers often specify profile-rail for its compactness as well as its higher rigidity, load capacity, and accuracy. Here’s how to extend the life of these linear-motion components. By Curtis McCreight • product line specialist | Thomson Industries Dave Buckley • industrial […]
Beckhoff extends electric cylinder lineup
Beckhoff is adding more devices to its scalable AA3000 electric cylinder series to extend the advantages in total cost of ownership, footprint, energy efficiency and sustainability to more applications. The new AA3100 devices offer the necessary force, dynamics and compactness needed for linear motion applications. However, this direct-drive solution delivers all the advantages of servo […]
New SX series Linear Shaft Motors boast greater power in mid-size package
Nippon Pulse now offers a new series of motors to its extensive line of Linear Shaft Motor servomotors. The SX series features high-energy magnets for greater force in mid-range sizes, to supplement the existing sizes of the standard S-series motors. The SX series motors are available in 6, 8 and 10mm shaft diameters. Each size […]
Telescoping linear actuators for space-constrained applications
Rollon has introduced its TLS Series of telescoping linear actuators. The new series is designed to maximize productivity for applications where space is limited — especially for applications with minimal vertical clearance, such as between the machine and ceiling, or horizontally between machines. TLS telescoping actuators integrate seamlessly into multi-axis systems and are available in […]
Linear actuators power mobile machinery
To meet the growing demand for electrification, manufacturers are designing more powerful electric actuators for mobile equipment. Mobile equipment such as fork lifts and other off-highway equipment is changing. With more emphasis on rethinking the drive systems for this type of equipment, there is a slow but steady turn toward other drive technologies, one of […]
Floor rail system adds flexibility to assembly lines
LOSYCO, a specialist in rail-based intra-logistics and feeding systems, has provided five floor-level LOXrail floor rail system tracks for a German machine manufacturer’s two assembly lines. A newly developed transport solution allows the transport system to be adapted to three different track widths. A telescopic axis connects two customized carriers with a 1.5-ton payload, each […]
AMETEK offers reduced lead times for LDTs
AMETEK Factory Automation has further reduced the lead time for the 953A Linear Displacement Transducer (LDT). AMETEK is committed to streamline the production processes and optimizing supply chain management, and this has resulted in a substantial decrease in the time it takes to deliver this critical component to customers worldwide. The market for position sensors, […]
Simplifying overhead machine tending with long-travel automation
Cartesian robots with the right design upgrades can assume manual transfer operations. By Michael Everman • Founder and CTO | Bell-Everman Manufacturing and packaging operations using manual material or parts handling operations can reap immediate benefits from automation with long-travel Cartesian robots having custom end-of-arm tooling (EoAT) and advanced sensing capabilities. These robots can support […]
Track roller linear guides: Two needs for lubrication
Many track-roller linear guides necessitate lubrication at two different points in their assembly: Within the rolling-element rotary bearings at the heart of each track-roller wheel and Along the linear track-roller raceway. As with most any mechanical power-transmission devices, lubrication of these two critical areas extends the linear guide’s service life by minimizing or eliminating the […]
Hollow-core linear voice coil servo motor features 19.1 mm stroke, high force-to-size ratio
The HVCM-051-032-013-01 Linear Voice Coil Motor from Moticont features a high force-to-size ratio and a 19.1 mm (0.75 in.) stroke. The motor is a low inertia, high acceleration/deceleration, high speed, clean and quiet, non-commutated, hollow core brushless servo motor. A true dc servo motor, it can be used to achieve resolutions of less than 1 […]
Advanced wafer transport automation improves precision and processing time
By Danielle Collins | Business Development Manager — Semiconductor • Bosch Rexroth With computer chip shortages affecting virtually every industry, semiconductor manufacturers are working rapidly to build new fabs and expand existing production lines. This increase in manufacturing capacity creates major opportunities — and challenges — for automation technology suppliers. Consider that the typical chip […]
Miniature voice-coil servo motor features half-inch stroke
Newly released from Moticont, the miniature GVCM-019-022-02 Linear Voice Coil Servo Motor, is just three-fourths of an inch (19.0 mm) in diameter and features a half inch (12.7 mm) stroke. This small linear actuator, also referred to as an electric cylinder, features 8.4 oz (2.3 N) of continuous force and 26.6 oz (7.4 N) of […]
Ballscrew splines updated for 21st-century technological needs
The two types of ballscrew splines from NB Corp. are the SPBR and the SPBF. The SPBR type has a rotary ballscrew nut and rotary ball spline nut. The rotary ballscrew nut is an integration of ballscrew nut and angular contact bearings. The rotary ball spline nut is an integration of ball spline nut and […]
Mobile version of Gates Design Power now available
Gates just released a mobile version of Gates Design Power — a digital design tool to support the engineering of belt drive systems on customers’ mobile devices. “With the launch of Design Power Mobile, we’re demonstrating our ongoing commitment to accelerate our Chain to Belt initiative, driving the conversion of legacy drive technologies to clean, […]
Crossed roller bearing XY stages for leading metrology applications
ALIO Industries is meeting the exacting demands of OEMs producing cutting edge 3D metrology tools in what is a dynamic and ever more competitive sector as industry demands more and more accurate metrology solutions. ALIO provides near air-bearing performance crossed roller bearing XY Nano Metrology stages with up to 450-mm travel range. The stages use […]
High-precision, high-load goniometer stages with +/- 30 degrees of travel
Optimal Engineering Systems, Inc. (OES) has added four goniometers to their expanding catalog of high precision positioning stages. The new, AK160-30 Goniometer Series feature precision ground worm gears with a 400:1 ratio and pre-loaded cross roller guides offer +/- 30 degrees of travel with 30 kg of load. This series of goniometer stages feature four […]
Thomson moves operations to larger facility to make room for growth
Thomson Industries, a provider of linear motion control solutions, is moving its Kristianstad, Sweden, operations into a larger space to meet the growing demand for its motion control technology. The Kristianstad plant has been a steadily growing supplier of Thomson electric linear actuators and linear motion systems to European customers and is on track for […]
High-precision motion stage has the right stuff
In-house designed and built motion control components are used to design and build a high-precision motion stage. ProDrive Technologies In many specialized manufacturing operations, precision is non-negotiable. Yet, at the same time, many system designers and integrators are also being challenged to increase performance and reduce costs. To meet the dual demands to increase performance […]
Top trends in linear motion technology: Part 2 of 2
For the annual Design World Trends issue, we asked industry experts to share their insights into linear-motion trends. Here’s more of what they had to say on linear actuators, linear guides, and stages. Meet the experts Dave Walden | Applications engineer • PBC Linear Eric Rice | Product market manager — electric automation • Festo Samuel Orozco | […]
Top trends in linear motion technology: Part 1 of 2
We recently asked several industry experts about trends they’re seeing in the design and use of linear actuators, linear guides, and stages. Here’s what those experts had to say. Meet the experts Saurabh Khetan | Product line manager — Leadscrews • Thomson Industries Inc. Justin Lackey | Product manager — Systems • Bosch Rexroth Kelly Walden | V.P. […]
Bosch Rexroth adds new BSCL Ball Rail to linear-guide portfolio
Bosch Rexroth now offers a new lineup of BSCL linear guides. The new BSCL ball rails address applications requiring linear bearings in the mid-performance range, and the new structural design delivers an optimum price to performance ratio. BSCL ball rails are available in five sizes, six runner block types, three preload classes and three accuracy classes. […]
Electric cylinders feature 1.25-micron resolution
Moticont has released new metric and imperial dimensioned electric cylinders or linear voice coil servo actuators. The new compact 25.4 mm (1.000 in.) stroke SDLM-025-095-01-01M and SDLM-025-095-01-01 linear dc servo actuators feature high repeatability, high acceleration/deceleration, and zero cogging. These high force-to-size electric cylinders have linear encoders mounted internally for closed loop servo operation. Additionally, […]
NEMA 6 linear actuator offers precision for tight spaces
With the LSA14, Nanotec introduces its first linear actuator with 14-mm flange (NEMA 6). As one of the smallest linear actuators with stepper motor on the market, this compact unit is suitable for applications with space restrictions, such as medical or analytical instruments, or lab automation and optical applications. This external actuator has a resolution […]
New Moog program guarantees customized roller screws in six weeks
Moog has launched its “Roller Screw Fast-Delivery Program” to ship industrial customers the most requested roller screws, diameters from 15 to 39 mm (0.59 to 1.53 in.) within six weeks of receiving an order. “The major challenge customers currently face is the uncertainty of their supply chain,” said Roberto Donghi, site manager for Moog’s Bergamo, […]
Ewellix launches e-MOVEKIT to reduce design, validation time for mobile machinery
The new e-MOVEKIT from Ewellix is aimed at helping designers and manufacturers of mobile machinery simplify the specification, assembly, and testing of electric linear actuation systems. The e-MOVEKIT has been developed in response to the growing trend towards electrification of motion systems in mobile and off-highway equipment. In particular, the demand to replace traditional hydraulic […]