Finalists were announced on November 5th for the second annual LEAP Awards Motion Control Category. The competition was scored by a panel of independent engineering judges. Below are descriptions of these worthy Motion Control finalists. The overall winner will be recognized at a ceremony in Santa Clara, Calif. in conjunction with the Healthcare Robotics Engineering […]
What ancient myths can teach us about today’s technology
Miles Budimir • Senior Editor As our editorial team was preparing this year’s Motion Systems Handbook, covering the basics of motion technologies as well as their ongoing evolution, I began to wonder about the origins of the technology we cover. This got me thinking about the idea of control systems and automation more generally. This […]
An apocalypse that wasn’t – The rare earth mineral shortage
Leland Teschler, Executive Editor lteschler@wtwhmedia.com On Twitter @ DW_LeeTeschler Scan the news pages from about eight years ago and you will likely notice a lot of hand-wringing about shortages of “critical materials” crucial for high-tech motors. The materials in question were rare-earth metals used for, among other things, making magnets with a super-high energy density. […]
Can mechatronics engineering help alleviate the shortage of skilled manufacturing workers?
If you went to college in the 1990’s or earlier and were interested in engineering, you generally had eight or ten fields of study to choose from: — Mechanical Engineering — Aerospace Engineering — Electrical Engineering — Computer Science (often included in the Engineering department) — Civil Engineering — Industrial Engineering — Chemical Engineering — […]
12 Motion Trends articles offer engineering insight and technical 411
Each year, Design World publishes a Motion Trends issue — a standalone issue that’s the second in its regular four-part Motion Series. Following are links to the expanded versions of some of that issue’s articles. Connectivity and IoT expand control design functionality (a Motion Trends report) Connectivity in manufacturing is not a new idea — […]
Engineered materials and upfront design work (are leading trends for mechanical components)
Seals, chains, cable carriers, springs, retaining rings, and general power-transmission (PT) components continue to see new materials at critical surfaces; proliferation of application-specific versions (especially for compression and wave springs); and increasingly practical online purchasing for both off-the-shelf components and customized orders. Here we explore some of these trends. Online B2B ordering of very specific […]
Unboxing video: Nippon Pulse Motion Checker controllers for two-phase stepper motors
In a recent video, my colleague Miles Budimir and I got the chance to program and play with an MCH-5 motion checker controller from Nippon Pulse America. These come in versions for both unipolar and bipolar stepper motors, and we got a sample of one for bipolar. The controllers provide pulse-direction output signals — so the […]
Space-age engineering: How the Jetsons undermined the understanding of an entire (gear) industry
By Brian Dengel | General Manager • KHK USA Inc. For those of us of a certain age, the thoughts of flying cars and home robots originated with watching popular 1960s cartoon The Jetsons. The Jetsons’ world was that of a simple family living a typical 1960s life, but in a futuristic setting. Mr. George […]
Four lessons learned from igus CEO Frank Blase
On a recent press tour of igus’ Cologne, Germany headquarters, I had the pleasure of chatting with Frank Blase, the company’s CEO—and one of the most approachable and down-to-earth manufacturing leaders you are apt to find. Blase shared some of what has helped him grow his father’s small German company—over several decades—into the global manufacturer […]
How to design quiet gearmotors: Gear engagement, housing geometry, and more
What applications need quiet gearmotors? The answer might surprise you — because the human ear can detect noise at 10 dB lower than ambient levels, and many gearmotors operate in close proximity to people. In this technical article, we outline recent staff engineers’ research and development into the problem (and potential solutions for) gearmotor noise. […]
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