Power Transmission In A Digital World
Each spring, the editors at Design World prepare a special issue devoted to power transmission, which we call our Power Transmission Guide. It covers the basics of power transmission by spotlighting key components such as gears, actuators, motors and other mechanical components.
In a world that is growing more digital by the day, these tried-and-true components remain at the heart of systems and machines that involve motion of any kind.
The fast-paced nature of today’s automation systems, and the rate at which they are being installed in applications all over the spectrum, means that engineers designing these mechanical systems must ensure that they satisfy everchanging application needs.
In this issue, we spotlight several key power transmission components, including gears and gearing systems, paying particular attention to matching gearmotors to specific application requirements. This includes considerations of the type of motor used, whether brushless dc or permanent magnet synchronous ac or others, and how they match up with different types of gears and gearsets.
Other key power transmission components include bearings. How critical are bearings to motion applications? Just consider what a bearing failure can mean in terms of system reliability and performance — things grind to a halt, not metaphorically, but literally.
Here, we cover rotary bearings that are based on rolling elements, including their manufacture and use in a range of applications. There’s also coverage of plastic bearings and how they compare with bearings made of more traditional materials, including some of the benefits of plastic bearings over these more traditional types.
One of the mainstays of power transmission systems are belt drives. Here we also take a look at some basics of belt and pulley systems including some critical inertia calculations. New industries are also seeing the use of power transmission components as they are central to many newer applications. This issue highlights one such application; the manufacture of batteries and battery components. With the rise of the EV industry and demand growing for more EV applications and uses, batteries are the components that power it all.
Automation in this sector involves the use of pneumatic as well as electric automation components. Such components are used across the entire range of the manufacturing process from material handling to battery cell production, to assembly of battery packs and modules and even the recycling of used batteries.
To keep up with all the latest developments in motion control and power transmission, be sure to follow motioncontroltips.com, linearmotiontips.com, as well as bearingtips.com and couplingtips.com. And don’t forget our flagship site designworldonline.com.
Miles Budimir
Senior Editor
Filed Under: Assembly automation, DIGITAL ISSUES • DESIGN WORLD