If you’re anything like me, you followed one of this week’s news obsessions that, unlike a typical week, involved an amazing engineering feat. I’m talking of course about the Costa Concordia cruise ship salvage operation at Isola del Giglio off the western coast of Italy. On Monday, crews began the work of righting the ship […]
Good Things Come in Threes: The 2013 Motion Control Handbook
The 2013 edition of the Motion Control Handbook is the third edition of Design World’s annual motion control compendium. Since the first edition in 2011, we’ve revised sections including either adding new information or (as sometimes was the case) condensing a lot of information down into the really essential material. (You can view the digital […]
Developments in integrated motors
Updated November 2019 || Integrated motors are not a new concept; they’ve been around for a few decades now. But in that time, the separate components from which integrated motor are built have gotten smaller. So now integrated motors are smaller and more compact than ever. No wonder more motor manufacturers are releasing integrated motors […]
SMMA Announces Call for Research into Motor Efficiency
The Electric Motor Education & Research Foundation (EMERF), a 501(c)(3), of SMMA – The Motor & Motion Association – will award a $15,000 grant to a university or research facility for developing pre-competitive research concepts on achieving improvements in power density while simultaneously increasing efficiency in small electric motors. The winning applicant will have initial […]
Bearings Help Smooth Cyclists’ Ride
So-called dropper seatposts for bicycles have been around for a long time. They’re designed to help riders make climbs as efficient as possible by being able to manually control the height of the bicycle seat. For a new dropper seatpost model, stem and seatpost manufacturer L.H. Thomson recently partnered with Saint-Gobain on the company’s new […]
Custom Direct-Drive Motor Assemblies from Applimotion
Loomis, CA – Applimotion offers custom direct-drive motor assemblies with its ULT, UTH, UTS and UTO brushless frameless motor kits. These assemblies typically include precision bearings, special encoders, special mounting features, and cabling to provide a low-profile direct-drive solution. With sizes ranging from 10 mm to 500 mm in diameter, pancake profiles as low as […]
Robotic Nightmare or Robotic Wonder?
A lot of folks may say that the last thing the world needs is a robotic spider, which makes the real thing look like a cute, huggable toy by comparison. But just when you thought you’d seen it all, along comes the not-so eensy weensy T8 from Robugtix, a robotic spider made with 3D printed parts. […]
The 4th and Fireworks
In the spirit of the 4th of July and fireworks, here’s a video clip of an amazing fireworks display in Dubai, ringing in the new year this past January 2013. The pyrotechnic engineering here is impressive, using the 2,722 ft-tall Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, as a kind of vertical stage. http://youtu.be/rJKfPuDiQsI
Kollmorgen and NI Announce Collaboration on Motion Control Offerings
Recently, National Instruments (NI) announced a new collaboration with Kollmorgen. The collaboration expands NI’s motion control offerings by adding access to Kollmorgen’s high-quality servo and drive systems which can be programmed with NI’s LabVIEW SoftMotion Module. According to National Instruments, engineers will be able to put together motion control systems more easily and will have […]
Program Connects Electromagnetics with Thermal Dynamics
CD-adapco has connected two leading simulation programs, SPEED and STAR-CCM+, to provide machine designers with the total machine design solution. It has combined the SPEED specialized design tool for motors, generators and alternators, with STAR-CCM+, a comprehensive heat transfer and thermal fluid flow program. Any machine design works on establishing a viable electro-magnetic design within […]