A recent report on CBS’ 60 Minutes news program spotlighting the increasing use of robotics in automation is causing quite a stir. The report includes the input of two MIT Professors, Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, who claim that despite corporate profits having returned and business investment on the rise, the one thing that hasn’t […]
Editorial Roundtable – January 2013
The Design World editorial team shares the news and trends from their respective beats. Editor Paul Heney talks about what’s new in the fluid power world, Leslie Langnau updates us on developments in 3D printing, Miles Budimir talks about the top trends in motion control from 2012 and going forward in 2013, and Natasha Townsend […]
2012: The Top 5 Storylines in Motion Control
In the time-honored end-of-December tradition of looking back over the year coming to a close, here are some of the most significant storylines that we saw throughout the year in the motion control industry. While they may not have first sprung up in 2012, they certainly came to our attention this year and folks in […]
Scanning the News in Motion Control: From Chip Level Hardware to System Design Software
If I had to make a list of the 2012 hot topics of the year in automation and motion control, energy efficiency would be high on that list. In fact, last month I wrote about some new tools from several automation suppliers aimed at improving energy efficiency of machines and motion systems. It turns out […]
Interactive Robotic Seal Shows Therapeutic Benefits
Most of us are familiar with robots in many different areas of life. They’ve long been a staple in factory automation and are increasingly found in homes as vacuum cleaners and lawn mowers as well as children’s toys. But robots can also act as therapeutic aides, helping improve people’s cognitive and psychological well being. Meet […]
CD-adapco Releases Version 9.1 of SPEED PC-BDC
Melville, NY – CD-adapco has released the new 9.1 PC-BDC version of SPEED with over 150 revisions and updates added to extend, amplify and broaden the program’s capability and ease-of-use. PC-BDC is intended for designing and calculating brushless PM motors, drives and generators, line-start PM motors, and wound field synchronous machines. The accelerated speed of […]
Servo Drives Handle Stepper, DC, and Voice Coil Motors
Covina, Cal. – QuickSilver Controls Inc. has added the capability to operate DC motors and voice coil motors, with either incremental or analog feedback, to their SilverSterling™ controller line. The extension of capabilities allow a mix of motor types within the same system, sharing the communications and programming facilities as well as the advanced tuning […]
Custom High Torque Gear Motors from Applimotion
Loomis, Cal. – Applimotion has introduced custom gear motors for high torque, low speed and low profile applications. The assemblies combine precision gearing and direct drive frameless motor kits to form a new high torque alternative to coupling a servo motor to a traditional gear box. Applimotion combines its ULT, UTH, and UTS low-profile frameless […]
Securing Your Industrial Control System
Not a day goes by without news of a new computer security threat. Whether it’s the Stuxnet virus, a hacker gaining access to consumers’ credit card numbers or social security numbers, or companies and government agencies reporting network security breaches, our increasingly interconnected world makes us more vulnerable to these kinds of threats. But the […]
New Encoder Diagnostic Tool from Leine & Linde
Schaumburg, Ill. – Leine and Linde has released an updated version of their ADS (Advanced Diagnostic System) encoder diagnostic tool. The new ADS Online is the company’s proprietary advanced encoder diagnostic tool tailored to supporting condition-based maintenance. The system analyzes rotary encoder condition and warns of impending faults before they occur. This is especially useful […]