Motion Control Tips

Delta Line has expanded its offering of motors with integrated electronics to include stepper motors. These smart stepper motors eliminate the need for a separate drive and controller, providing a complete stepper motor solution in a single, easy-to-integrate device. Delta Line’s ISI57 and ISI60 stepper motors with integrated electronics provide significant space savings, not only […]

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 […]

Applications that use closed-loop control often require communication networks that provide deterministic, real-time control of data transmission. This means the network guarantees that a message will be transmitted, or an event will be responded to, in a specified, predictable period of time — not faster or slower (deterministic) — and that the message will be transmitted […]

Orbex Group debuted a line of ultra-compact high-performance gimbal motors. Featuring a pancake-style form factor, the motors are wound to operate at low speeds typical for gimbals while exhibiting a high torque constant for fast response when needed. The new gimbal motors are engineered to minimize cogging torque, ensuring smooth rotation for stable imaging or […]

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 […]

Wachendorff Automation now features a heavy-duty variant in the company’s compact 36-mm design in its range of incremental encoders in the WDGP series, as well as absolute encoders in the WDGA series. This version is characterized by a high bearing load of 300 N axial and radial, as well as the increased protection class of […]

In motion applications, motors are typically chosen based on their torque and speed capabilities, using a torque-speed curve that describes the motor’s performance when paired with a specific type of drive and operated under specific conditions. But motors can also be rated, or specified, by their output power. Here, we’ll look at how output power […]

Haydon Kerk Pittman, a business unit of AMETEK’s Advanced Motion Solutions division, has released its new Pittman Express online motor calculator. The Express tool lets users identify and select the right motor for their applications quickly and easily. When a user enters an ideal load point, torque, and speed, the Express tool returns a list […]

The stepIM NEMA 17 EtherCAT model from STXI Motion is the newest addition to the company’s family of integrated closed-loop servo stepper motors. The IP65-rated stepIM NEMA 17 delivers an efficient and economical solution for applications requiring the performance of a servo at the price of a stepper. “The new stepIM NEMA 17 closed-loop stepper […]

One of the most important parameters when sizing a motion system is the inertia of the load being moved. Regardless of the type of motor being used — AC induction, stepper, brushless DC, or AC servo — the ratio of the load inertia to the motor inertia has an important influence on system performance. If the […]

KEB America, Inc. announces that the KEB F6 VFD and S6 Servo Drive now supports Modbus TCP/IP communication protocol. In addition to Modbus TCP/IP, the other supported Ethernet-based network communication protocols include EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, ProfiNet, and Powerlink. “The variety of supported communication protocols in our drives give machine builders a lot of flexibility,” said Jonathan […]

NORD’s newly redesigned 100 frame motors are the first step in updating their asynchronous motor portfolio with an optimized electrical, mechanical, and visual design. The new 3 and 4 hp premium efficient motors offer a simplified assembly including the elimination of a copper rotor as the motors produce the same energy efficiency without it. This […]

Motion Industries, Inc., a leading distributor of maintenance, repair and operation replacement parts, and a premier provider of industrial technology solutions, announces the formation of its automation business brand: Motion Automation Intelligence (MotionAi). Comprising its highly specialized value-add engineering divisions—including AMMC, Axis, Braas, F&L, Integro, Kaman Automation and Numatic Engineering—MotionAi is a hi-tech automation solutions […]

Over the past several years, embedded solutions have found their way into the motion control space, with terms such as embedded motion, embedded motion control, and embedded motion controller commonly used in product descriptions and technical articles. Although there are no standard definitions for these terms, they all refer to some level of integration of […]

The new MELSERVO-J5D servo amplifiers from Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc. offer a unique servo-based solution for applications that need to handle regenerative energy. The common dc bus servo drives are ideal for medium to large servo applications that require multiple drive units capable of managing regenerative energy. Available in 400 V and 1 kW to […]

With each discrete step that a stepper motor makes, the inertia of the system causes the motor to slightly overshoot (or undershoot) the intended step angle. The motor then oscillates, or “rings,” until it finally settles at the commanded position. If the frequency of these step-by-step oscillations is at or near the motor’s natural frequency, […]

US Digital has expanded its line of miniature encoders with a new shafted encoder. The S16 Micro Optical Shaft Encoder is about 40 percent smaller than US Digital’s next smallest shafted encoder, the S4T, but comes with higher resolution — up to 4,096 CPR before quadrature — and comes with index. “This is going to […]

For most types of motors, operating with a supply voltage that is higher than the rated voltage — referred to as overvoltage — can cause an increase in current, and heat, high enough to damage the coils and other motor components. But in some cases, a stepper motor can be operated at a voltage higher than rated […]

Battery-powered motor applications need careful design work to match motor performance and power-consumption profiles to the battery type. Optimal motor and battery pairing relies on the selection of an efficient motor as well as a battery with the appropriate capacity, cost, size, maintainability, and discharge duration and curve. By Scott McMillan • Senior Applications Engineer […]

Servo motors are used in applications where precise control of position, speed, or torque is required. But many different types of motors can be considered servo motors — the defining feature of a servo motor is that it incorporates or reads feedback in a closed-loop system. In fact, although many servo applications use synchronous AC motors, […]

Motion Industries, Inc., a leading distributor of maintenance, repair, and operation replacement parts, and a premier provider of industrial technology solutions, has completed the purchase of Kaman Distribution Group (“KDG”) for a purchase price of approximately $1.3 billion in cash, effective January 3, 2022. The strategic addition of KDG to Motion will significantly boost the […]

We cover a wide variety of topics here at motioncontroltips.com — from Industrial Ethernet and networking to springs and shock absorbers. So, naturally, our most-read articles typically span a wide range of subjects. But 2021 was a bit different, with all but one article being related to motors, and more than half of the articles […]

Aerotech Inc. has released the HEX150-140HL, a miniature hexapod six degree-of-freedom (DOF) positioning system that provides precise translation in the X, Y and Z directions and rotation around each of these axes. The HEX150-140HL delivers significantly better minimal incremental motion and more linear travel than its competitors — all within a compact yet stiff platform. “This hexapod’s combination of small […]

Negative-Stiffness vibration isolation has played an integral role in supporting systems for ground testing and development of spacecraft and components, both inside and outside of vacuum chambers. Steve Varma Operations Manager Minus K Technology Spacecraft ground testing is sensitive to the smallest vibrations, can be caused by a multitude of factors. Every structure is transmitting vibrations from […]