Banner Engineering, a leading provider of technology for industrial automation, announces its wireless condition monitoring solution with machine learning for more intuitive predictive maintenance. The QM42VT wireless vibration monitoring sensor from Banner continuously measures RMS velocity, high frequency RMS acceleration, and temperature. This enables the sensor to identify machine problems before they become severe and […]
Three gearbox selection tools available online
Selecting a gearbox goes beyond just determining the required speed and torque output. Duty cycle, radial and axial loads, inertia, and environment all play a factor. Not to mention the gearbox type (inline, right angle), precision level, and service factor. Properly sizing and selecting a gearbox requires consideration of all these criteria, but with numerous […]
Which drive-based safety functions can I use for a controlled stop?
Safe Torque Off (STO) is the most basic of the drive-based safety functions, producing an uncontrolled stop, in accordance with the standard EN/IEC 60204-1. The STO function is suitable for systems with low inertia or high friction that will stop in a relatively short amount of time when power is removed from the motor, and when […]
How do STO inputs affect SIL3/PLe conformity for AC drives?
Safe Torque Off, or STO, is a drive-based safety function that stops the drive from providing power to the motor, without interrupting power to the drive. Activating the STO function produces an uncontrolled stop, meaning the motor coasts to a stop based on the system’s inertia and friction. The STO function also prevents an unexpected […]
What is state space control?
If you design, install, or troubleshoot motion control systems, you’re probably familiar with PID (proportional-integral-derivative) control, which uses feedback to detect errors between the desired position and the actual position and applies corrective commands to compensate for those errors. Although PID control is the most common type of industrial controller, it does have limitations. First, […]
Can piezo motors and electric motors be combined?
Piezo motors and electric motors are employed for very different uses. Piezo motors provide a high power-to-size ratio for very small movements – typically a few millimeters or less. They also have very fast response times and are self-locking, meaning they can hold a load in position during a power-off condition. Electric motors, on the […]
What features make a gearbox suitable for washdown environments?
Washdown processes are common in the food and beverage and pharmaceutical industries, where cleanliness of the manufacturing and handling equipment plays an important role in the quality and safety of the product. In fact, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Hygienic Engineering and Design Group (EHEDG), along with other government and industry-specific agencies, provide […]
What is modulo positioning?
In motion control, there are typically two types of positioning that can be used for a linear or rotary axis: relative, in which each position is based on a previous position, regardless of the actual position of the axis; or absolute, in which each position is referenced to a home, or zero, point. Axes that […]
Three piezo motor designs for rotary motion
One of the best technologies for achieving extremely small, precise movements is the piezo motor. Based on the piezo actuator – layers or stacks of piezo elements that produce motion through the reverse piezoelectric effect – the piezo motor incorporates mechanical elements to produce strokes of several hundred millimeters or more. And while most piezo motors […]
How do I determine what gear ratio I need for my servo system?
The load-to-motor inertia ratio is a critical parameter in servo motor sizing and performance. As we discussed in a previous article, one of the most significant effects of using a gearbox in a servo system is its ability to help optimize the inertia ratio. Why inertia ratio is important If the motor inertia is too […]
