Brother Gearmotors has partnered with Dart Controls, Inc. in an agreement that allows Brother Gearmotors to offer Dart’s premium selection of Brushless DC drives as add-ons to Brother’s extensive portfolio of gearmotors. A brushless DC drive is a type of adjustable-speed drive required by electrically commutated motors (ECMs), such as brushless DC, to control motor […]
New low-voltage drive for North American market from ABB
The ACS580 all-compatible general-purpose, low-voltage drive for the North American market is the newest entry in ABB’s low-voltage AC drive portfolio. The ACS580 drive provides user-friendly, energy-efficient motor and process control, keeping user systems running smoothly while saving time and money over the product lifecycle. It’s designed to control pumps, fans, conveyors, mixers and many […]
What’s the difference between an industrial PC for motion control and a regular PC?
The basic difference between regular, desktop PCs used in office environments and specialized industrial PCs is the construction. Industrial PCs are built to be more rugged and reliable with protections from common environmental contaminants such as dust, debris and even water, as well as containing features to minimize effects from shock and vibration. They are […]
Lenze celebrates 70 years of easy machine automation
Lenze, a global manufacturer of electrical and mechanical drives, motion control and automation technologies, recently marked 70 years of being in business. In mid-October, more than 400 international experts from the industry, along with journalists, came together at the company’s German headquarters in Gross Berkel (near Hamelin) for the Future Day of Machine Manufacturing. They […]
What is a rack and roller pinion?
A rack and roller pinion system is a variation of a standard rack-and-pinion. It takes the traditional rack and pinion concept and advances it by replacing spur gear teeth with bearing supported rollers that engage a unique rack tooth profile. Rollers ride the rack-tooth surfaces with repeatability to about 2.5 μm from one direction (or […]
High-speed precision large-bore ring motor from ThinGap
ThinGap has developed a large-bore compact ring motor optimized for precision and high-speed applications. ThinGap’s brushless frameless PM motor model TGO77 has an outside diameter of 77 mm (3.03 in.), 59 mm (2.32 in.) inside diameter, and 18 mm (0.709 in.) overall height. Continuous torque is approaching 0.2 Nm at speeds up to 30,000 rpm. […]
What are PCI motion control cards?
PCI stands for peripheral component interconnect (PCI.) It is a computer bus for connecting together various hardware devices. A PCI motion control card is simply a card that is PCI compatible, that is, one that plugs into a PCI bus on a PC or industrial PC. In fact, for motion control cards, the most common […]
HEIDENHAIN to spotlight encoders for automation at SPS IPC Drives show
At the upcoming SPS IPC Drives show on November 28-30, HEIDENHAIN will be presenting encoders designed specifically for the requirements of the robotics, medical technology, and drive technology industries. At the show, HEIDENHAIN will present the ECI 4000 absolute inductive rotary encoder for hollow shaft diameters of 180 mm. Not only is this encoder robust […]
How to get Functional Safety certification by using encoders on robot joints?
Designers of machines and industrial equipment are taking safety seriously. Even though the European market was the first to mandate functional safety for industrial machinery and automation, design for safety is now a global engineering concern. The basis for functional safety is the need to reduce the risk of injury in industrial machinery and systems, […]
Nexen BD caliper brakes offer higher clamping force
Nexen Group, Inc. offers three models of BD (brute disk) caliper brakes; air actuated, spring actuated/air released, and spring actuated/hydraulically released. The innovative BD design uses arms to provide a mechanical advantage, allowing higher clamping force. (Stopping power can be multiplied by installing additional caliper brakes on each disc.) Torque ranges from 8,000 to 23,000 […]