Stainless steel motors from B&R meet strict hygienic design standards and are now easier than ever to use. Employing quick connectors, users can connect and disconnect the motor in the field. The new connector technology makes the motors much easier to work with and allows the machine to be cabled as usual, even in areas […]
U.S. supply-chain growth has tiny mighty manufacturers to thank
U.S. manufacturing is experiencing supply-chain growth. Manufacturers have added 877,000 jobs over the last five years … for its first sustained job growth since the 1990s. What’s more, 230,000 small manufacturing firms have led this trend, adding the majority of new manufacturing jobs every year, while forming the backbone of U.S. supply chains. Here’s a PDF […]
Astonishingly small servo drive survives HALT for guaranteed life
One family of motor drives — tiny ultra-high-current Gold Bee drives from Elmo Motion Control — recently passed highly accelerated life testing (HALT) for accelerated temperatures, electrical cycles, thermal shocks and vibrations. The tests show that the small servo drive successfully withstands temperatures from -75° to +110° C and easily endures mechanical vibrations exceeding 30 […]
Elmo’s flying vision corrects position on the fly
Some advanced motion-control applications — especially in the semiconductor and medical industries — need changes to target positions on the fly. Usually, the need for position changes arises from some position error detected by a vision-measurement system. Here, the goal is to get the machine to move quickly towards the final target; capture a picture; […]
How clean power, shared bus make motion drives efficient
The following is an article from Elmo Motion Control that explains how some of their drives work and how that translates to better efficiency. Machine builders always try to boost throughput while keeping a lid on costs. The best way to reach this goal is through the use of machine control capable of high dynamics and high-accuracy, generally […]
Sub-nm moves from dual-axis EtherCAT PWM servo drives
ACS Motion Control now sells a NPMPM Series EtherCAT pulse-width-modulation (PWM) servo drives. They deliver the accuracy of linear drives without their drawbacks. The PWM servo drives are significantly smaller, much more efficient, produce less heat dissipation, better protected and lower in cost. More after the jump. An optional 10-MHz laser encoder interface and a control algorithm lets positioning systems get speeds above 2 […]
Tiny kit-style encoder: New option for linear measurement
A tiny linear encoder from RSF Elektronik is an MS 15 optical kit-style with the smallest mechanical profile in the industry. Available in North America through HEIDENHAIN, the encoder works in machinery for metrology, semiconductor, medical and automation. The MS 15 optical kit-style encoder is 36 x 13.5 x 14.8mm in size, and provides a 40 […]
Interview: Rich Mintz on boosting motion design efficiencies
Originally published May 19, 2015. | July 7, 2015 update: Hear the followup podcast of Rich Mintz on how to right-size a drive system — as well as the new developments in material-handling applications that are driving the need for efficiency — here. Recently, I got the chance to talk with Rich Mintz, senior market-development manager […]
IndraDrive Mi electric drives: Cabinet-free and modular
Motor-integrated and near-motor IndraDrive Mi electric drives integrate right into machines. These plus other Bosch Rexroth technologies now let designers build compact, cabinet-free machines that are more modular than ever. More specifically, Bosch Rexroth decentralized supply and mains modules let machine builders integrate all drive components directly into the machine without a control cabinet. The […]
Arduinos and cheap controllers meet high-performance motion
It’s happening — Arduinos are finding use in high-performance motion applications … even those with industrial-grade motion controls. Recently, I got the chance to sit down and talk with Abe Amirana, director at Teknic Inc., and Teknic’s Brendan Flosenzier, applications engineer, about the evolution of Arduinos, Raspberry Pis, and other low-cost microcontrollers and minicomputers now finding use in industrial […]