Miles Budimir - Motion Control Tips

Low-profile XY stage features 1-micron resolution, 2-micron repeatability

March 26, 2019 By Miles Budimir Leave a Comment

The AU200-100×100-SC (Solid Core) stage is the newest addition to the expanding line of precision XY stages from OES (Optimal-Engineering Systems, Inc.) The linear travel of the X and Y axes is 100 mm x 100 mm (3.937 in. x 3.937 in.) and the resolution of the X and Y axes is 20 microns (non-micro-step) or 1 micron (20 micro-steps per step motor driver in use), the typical repeatability is 2 microns, and the typical positional accuracy is 3 microns. A low-profile XY stage measuring just 80 mm (3.150 in.) high with a compact footprint (including the motors) of 348 mm x 348 mm (13.701 in. x 13.701 in.), the stage is designed for alignment, assembly, laser drilling and machining, industrial, medical, testing, scanning, semiconductor handling, and optical applications.

Preloaded V-groove and crossed roller bearings and ground 4 mm per-turn lead screws having just 2 microns of backlash all contribute to the high precision and stiffness of the AU200-100×100-SC stage. The table measures 300 mm x 300 mm (11.811 in. x 11.811 in.) and has a precision pattern of 21 drilled and threaded mounting holes to easily add special tooling or fixtures, and for easy integration into new and existing applications. Additional tooling plates are also available for custom and interchangeable applications.

The standard two-phase (1.8˚) stepper motors have knobs for manual adjustments of each axis of the stage. However, the knobs can be replaced with incremental encoders for position verification. As an option, servo motors and compatible motion controllers are also available from OES, or the AU200-100×100-SC stage can be ordered as a complete plug-and-play motion control system.

For more information, visit http://www.oesincorp.com.

Motion Trends: Drive manufacturers deliver on customization

March 26, 2019 By Miles Budimir Leave a Comment

Drive manufacturers are updating their products to satisfy the changing needs of designer demands. This includes more powerful drives with added functions, better efficiency and better connectivity, among other features.

An on-going trend across industries is that manufacturers are seeing more of a demand for custom products to suit highly specific customer needs and applications. For some drive manufacturers, this takes the shape of working closely with their customers on their designs.

In fact, companies like ABM Drives base much of their business on working closely with customers to develop custom products. As Gabriel Venzin, President of ABM Drives notes, most of their products are engineering in close cooperation with their customers.

Engineers at Lenze see much the same thing and offer a host of specialized services to aide customers. “Lenze offers full application engineering services which include programming assistance, hardware selection, product demonstration, in-house testing and onsite commissioning,” says Kevin Corcoran, Application Engineer with Lenze Americas. “In addition, field service or after sales technical support are available and there is also 24-hour emergency phone support for customers with critical machine stoppages outside of business hours” adds Corcoran.

Another theme is interoperability. More often than not a design sources components from multiple vendors or even sports legacy and newer components from the same vendor, and so the need for all these pieces to work together is critical. So because multiple vendors are involved in a single project, interoperability becomes more important.

INVEOR MP series drive controllers from ABM Drives can be combined with the company’s motors and gearboxes to simplify setup in a range of applications including warehouse logistic systems.

According to Venzin from ABM Drives, the company “always designs products that can be combined resulting in different end products – various gearboxes can be equipped with an ac induction motor or Sinochron PMAC motors and motor mounted or cabinet installed inverters or no inverter if the customers wished to do so.”

The same is true for Lenze. The company “takes several measures to allow for interconnection between our products”, says Corcoran. “The EASY Engineering Tool suite is used to promote simple access to products both legacy and current. Many of our products share similar fieldbuses that allow them to integrate easily into a Lenze PLC or even a 3rd party fieldbus structure.”

What else is driving business for drive manufacturers? For one, both expanding as well as entirely new applications. For instance, ABM Drives reports that they’ve seen more interest for their products across a broad swatch of applications and industries. AGVs (automated guided vehicles) are one area to consider. AGVs and other battery-powered equipment demands increased partly due to labor shortages and include more and more flexible assembly platforms instead of fixed assembly lines. Some vehicles are being converted to electric due to noise concerns allowing operation during night time or weekends or close in noise-sensitive buildings such as hospitals and nursing homes.

Also, applications in automated warehousing (so-called AS/RS systems) are seeing more demand for integrated systems that incorporate Industry 4.0 functions and combine conventional conveyor systems with AGVs. Some other applications like all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and utility task vehicles (UTVs) have a need for drives, but limited battery life and associated cost still holds back quick expansion in these areas.

As for the future of engineering education and internship or training programs, ABM Drives is actively involved in bringing about the next generation of engineers and tech workers. As a German company ABM has always employed apprentices for functions such as mechatronics and machining. They also provide opportunities for internships for technology students from university programs. In the end, the company strongly believes that training of young professionals for all key functions is a must for long term survival and success of the company.

Servo drive controls highly dynamic processes with greater precision

March 26, 2019 By Miles Budimir Leave a Comment

With the latest upgrade to its ACOPOSmulti multi-axis servo drive, B&R now enables even shorter cycle times down to 50 μsec. Highly dynamic processes can now be controlled more precisely than ever.

For demanding motion control applications, such as those found in the printing and packaging industries, movements must be controlled quickly and precisely. The ACOPOSmulti’s short cycle time of 50 µsec for current, speed and position control opens up new possibilities for virtual sensor technology.

Using a virtual motor position encoder eliminates the need for an encoder, encoder cable and evaluation unit in the servo drive and at the same time increases availability. Other special functions for more precise control and faster reactions can be implemented using virtual sensor technology. These include model-based control with autotuning and a repetitive control function for predictive lag error compensation.

For more information, visit www.br-automation.com.

Motion Trends: Customization tops gearmotor design trends

March 23, 2019 By Miles Budimir Leave a Comment

Wider industry trends towards more customized offerings from component manufacturers are also driving gearmotor designs. Manufacturers are offering designers more customized solutions via more in-house engineering resources, simplifying the design process. More custom solutions also mean greater integration with other components in a design, better connectivity and fewer compatibility issues.

For example, Gabriel Venzin, President of ABM Drives, shares how his company provides value-added services such as in-house engineering support to their customers. “ABM’s base business model is based on joint development of end-products with customer engineering input,” notes Venzin. “The products on most of our projects are being engineered in close cooperation with and input from the customer’s technical departments.”

Joint cooperation is the norm especially for components designed for specific, unique applications. One area where manufacturers are seeing increased demand is in automated guided vehicles (AGVs). A major trend in transportation has been in the direction of electric vehicles and here gearmotors excel. Some of the most common uses are in automated warehousing applications such as automated storage and retrieval (AS/RS) systems. However, gearmotors can also be used in other vehicle applications such as in forklifts, lifting technology, construction equipment, and packaging machinery, to name a few.

Brushless dc gearmotors from Brother Gearmotor are offered with inline and right-angle shafts as well as hollow-shaft configurations with gear ratios from 5:1 to 240:1.

A typical requirement for gearmotors used in AGVs is that their size should be as compact as possible because of space limitations. And because AGVs are battery powered, the gearmotor power consumption needs to be minimized. One way to do this is to pair low-voltage dc motors with high-efficiency gearboxes. As dc motors have higher peak torque for a given size they can be smaller and lighter than other motor options.

For instance, brushless dc gearmotors from Brother are being used in AGV applications. There are a range of options depending on the specific requirements, including the motor type and housing, but also differing motor voltages including 12, 24, and 48 V.

Miniature piezo components for medical device manufacturing

March 22, 2019 By Miles Budimir Leave a Comment

PI Ceramic (a division of PI Physik Instrumente) introduces a new family of micro components, including mini transducers, suitable for the most precise applications, including medical imaging, nanopositioning, fiber alignment, and optics/photonics.

One of the latest applications of miniature piezo tube transducers can be found in scanning fiber/scanning catheter endoscopes (SFE). These miniature endoscopes provide laser-based high-resolution video to enable minimally invasive procedures. Miniaturized piezo plates are used to drive pumps for micro-dosing and nano-dosing of drugs. Ultrasonic piezo transducers can be used for bubble detection in dialysis or blood transfusion applications and for atomization of medication (aerosol generation) to name a few.

Piezo ceramic actuators and transducers achieve high dynamics with frequencies up to millions of Hertz and excellent reliability. Various shapes and small dimensions are possible to create precision motion based on crystalline solid-state effects. For example, the new ultra-small piezo tube transducers come in two standard sizes: 0.2/0.5 mm ID/OD (inner/outer diameter) with 4-mm length, and 0.9/1.5 mm ID/OD with 15-mm length.

Custom geometries (length, diameter) and custom materials are available, in addition to the large variety of standard piezo tubes and tubular stack transducers offered by PI. Customers can choose from electrodes applied in thick-film and thin film technology. Other options include multi-segmented electrodes for multi-axis scanning operation and modified response behavior as well as wrap-around contacts for easy integration into a mechanical assembly. Lead-free is also available.

For more information, visit www.pi-usa.us/en.

maxon opens new manufacturing facility in Massachusetts

March 21, 2019 By Miles Budimir Leave a Comment

maxon precision motors, a division of maxon motor of Sachsein, Switzerland, has opened a new manufacturing facility in Taunton, MA. The two-story, 59,000 sq. foot facility is located within the Myles Standish Business Park in Taunton at 125 Dever Drive.

Company officials led by Chris Blake, mpm President welcomed state/local officials and invited guests to a grand opening event at the facility the morning of March 19^th which included a ribbon cutting ceremony and tours of the building.

maxon ribbon cutting ceremony. L to R (Louis Ricciardi, Taunton Development Corp., Tom Hoye, Mayor of Taunton, Chris Blake, mpm President, Karl Walter Braun, maxon Shareholder, Eugen Elmiger, maxon CEO)

The new building will provide design engineering and production operations, significantly advancing maxon precision motors presence and capabilities in North America. Its opening is an integral component in an ongoing global growth strategy underway by the privately owned Swiss company, in business since 1961.

maxon motor is a provider of precision dc motors and drive technology with distribution and sales in 40 countries worldwide. maxon’s products include brushed and brushless DC motors, gearheads, sensors/encoders and customized drives. Its highly engineered products are used in a wide range of industries and applications including medical technology, industrial automation, robotics, security and communications, aerospace, automotive, and measurement/testing.

The new facility replaces a former sales/distribution and assembly operation at 101 Waldron Road in Fall River, MA, and will significantly expand maxon precision motors capabilities and employment. USA customers will benefit from closer collaboration that will provide value added opportunities with faster turnaround. Plus, a localized supply chain with domestic vendors will help build stronger customer relationships while reducing lead times.

“Our vision is to be an integral part of maxon’s global growth strategy,” explained Mr. Blake, who heads up the US management team. “With expanded engineering services in place, our customers will enjoy a closer collaboration on design and manufacturing and have a more direct line to our team during concept development, which will include rapid prototyping to better execute customer-specific products.”

For more information, visit www.maxonmotor.com.

Applied Motion Products debuts programming tools for Python language

March 19, 2019 By Miles Budimir Leave a Comment

Applied Motion Products now offers a set of free tools for programmers using Python, the popular computer programming language, to use with its stepper and servo motors to quickly and efficiently integrate motor control into their applications. These new tools, including an application note and sample code, guide Python programmers in sending high-level motion commands, using Applied Motion’s Serial Command Language (SCL), to one or more axes of stepper and/or servo motors. Step-by-step instructions and examples explain how to:

Establish communications between a Python application and the motion control axes
Send commands to one or more axes
Handle replies from the axes including acknowledgments and data requests

Simple and intuitive, the SCL commands are text-based, making them easy to read and understand. Programmers can stream SCL commands to one or more motor axes at a time, creating straightforward sequences of motion profiles on multiple axes. SCL provides commands for motion control including homing, absolute, relative and jog move types as well as input/output control, drive status, alarm status, and much more. SCL commands can be sent over Ethernet TCP or UDP, RS-485, and RS-232 connections.

Based on the popularity of the Python language, the new tools from Applied Motion Products can help users worldwide to incorporate step motors and servo motors into their projects using a simple, yet powerful command set specifically designed for motion control.

To download Applied Motion Python programming tools for its stepper and servo motors, visit https://www.applied-motion.com/news/2019/03/new-application-note-python-programmers.

For information on the company’s motors, visit https://www.applied-motion.com/products.

New high-speed, compact brushless motors from Portescap

March 19, 2019 By Miles Budimir Leave a Comment

Portescap has expanded its Ultra ECTM range of brushless dc slotless motors with the introduction of the new 35ECS motor. This 2-pole motor offers ultra high speed and power (up to 330 W, max continuous) without compromising on the smooth operation and long life offered by Portescap’s brushless slotless motors.

The new 35ECS motor is available in two lengths: the 35ECS60 and the 35ECS80. The 35ECS60 and 35ECS80 motors feature Portescap’s patented Ultra EC coil technology which provides unparalleled torque and power density with limited core losses over a wide range of working speeds without friction and brush wear. These motors feature a patented high-speed rotor design as well to sustain speeds up to 40,000 rpm. The 35ECS80 is unique and opens new areas for slim/long package with impressive torque capabilities at high speeds, while the 35ECS60 allows high speed capabilities at low voltages. Thanks to its rugged design, the 35ECS can sustain peak torque during 2 sec up to 1.1 Nm (35ECS60) and 2.0 Nm (35ECS80).

The 35ECS motors can be used in a range of applications, including industrial applications, enhancing the life and reliability of a device without compromising on power and machine throughput and saving energy. The new 35ECSs are an ideal choice for applications such as battery-operated hand tools (industrial tightening devices or drills), factory automation equipment (large fans or vacuum pumps), and also for applications with diameter constraints.

The new 35ECS motors feature a laser-welded front flange to ensure the strongest housing to sustain high torque reaction. A temperature probe on the coil head ensures an optimized control of motor performances in heavy duty applications. These motors are offered with hall sensors and a total of six different coils to match speed and voltage requirements. Upon request, Portescap can also provide options for customization including gearboxes, encoders, coil variations and mechanical interface modifications.

For more information, visit www.portescap.com.

What are photoelectric proximity sensors?

March 12, 2019 By Miles Budimir Leave a Comment

Proximity sensors are used to sense the presence of objects or materials across a broad range of industrial and manufacturing applications. Key to their operation is that they don’t require physical contact with the target or object being sensed. This is why they’re often called non-contact sensors.

One of the most common types of proximity sensor is the photoelectric sensor. These sensors detect objects directly in front of them by the detecting the sensor’s own transmitted light reflected back from an object’s surface. A common arrangement is that both the emitter and receiver are housed in the same unit, but not all photoelectric sensors are constructed this way.

An example of a reflective sensor with both the emitter and receiver in a single housing. (Image via Pepperl+Fuchs)

There are three basic configurations for photoelectric proximity sensors; reflective, through-beam, and proximity.

Reflective sensors – In this type of sensor, a beam of light is sent out from an emitter and is bounced off of a reflector back to a detector. When the light beam is able to reflect back, this registers as no object being present. The beam failing to reflect back means there is an obstruction, which registers as the presence of an object. These sensors are less accurate than other types, but they’re also easier to install and wire and typically cost less than through-beam sensors.

The diagram shows a typical through-beam photoelectric sensor setup with separate emitter and receiver components. A break in the light beam indicates the presence of an object. (Image via Omron Industrial Automation)

Through-beam sensors – In this type of setup, an emitter sends out a beam of light usually directly in the line-of-sight of the emitter to a receiver. When an object breaks this beam of light, it’s detected as a presence. This type of setup requires two components; an emitter and a separate detector, which makes it a bit more complex to install and wire. However, the advantage is that it’s the most accurate of the sensing methods with the longest sensing range.

Proximity (diffuse) sensor – Diffuse photoelectric sensors are similar in some respects to reflective sensors. This is because like reflective sensors they emit a light beam in the direction of the object to be detected. However, instead of a reflector used to bounce the light back to a detector, the object to be sensed functions as the reflector, bouncing some of the light back to be detected and register an object’s presence.

New 200-W high-torque brushless servo motor from maxon

March 12, 2019 By Miles Budimir Leave a Comment

The new EC-i 52XL 200-W brushless servo motor from maxon features a flux collector rotor which provides outstanding torque performance compared to the existing EC-i 52 180-W high torque motor. Especially on the industrial automation front, when space is limited but high torque and dynamics are required, the maxon EC-i 52XL motor with its extended length (80 to 110 mm) is the ideal motor choice.

Its extra power can be even more significant at relatively low speed which makes it a powerful fit to a variety of industrial applications including material handling and transport systems.

Because of its optimized magnet ring, the brushless EC-i 52XL motor with an iron winding offers a high torque density and a low cogging torque. The multi-pole internal rotor is extremely dynamic. Its solid design, with a steel flange and steel housing, makes this motor a robust solution for industrial applications.

Other features include 24, 36 and 48 Vdc windings, 8 pole pairs, and optional gearheads, encoders and drive electronics.

For more information visit www.maxonmotorusa.com.