I had a great chat recently with Mark Cone of Rollon Corp., and got to see their new motion box in action. The box is a 3-axis Cartesian motion system, so it’s a turnkey motion platform with actuators, closed loop servo-system, a complete electrical enclosure with 3-axis motion controller, HMI, brackets, cable carrier, and motor […]
Editor Blogs
Get ready for National Engineers Week
This year, National Engineers Week runs from February 21st through the 27th. The annual celebration focuses on introducing kids to engineering through a variety of activities. Its aim is to raise awareness of what engineering is, what engineers do, and how kids can get active and involved in engineering. This year, National Engineers Week celebrates […]
The top 5 Motion Control Tips stories of 2015
A look back at the most-clicked posts of 2015 shows a range of interests among readers, from machine safety (which was the most clicked story) to news about the rare-earth magnet market, to selecting the best cable for VFD drives. If you missed any of these stories, here’s your chance to get caught up on them. […]
Of philosophers and welders; not an either/or proposition
The Internet has been in a tizzy over the comments made by Florida Senator Marco Rubio during a recent Republican presidential debate. During the debate, Rubio stated that “Welders make more money than philosophers” and also that “We need more welders and less philosophers.” Ordinarily I wouldn’t wade into such dustups during a political campaign […]
New innovation center at Case encourages out-of-the-box thinking
The contemporary maker movement has done much to raise awareness of engineering and design among the general public. By shining a spotlight on the process of innovation, it has sparked a renewed interest in manufacturing as well as careers in engineering and design. Recently, some colleagues and I were given a tour of a brand […]
Thought leader Monika Minarcin on automotive-semiconductor convergence
October 27th update: Scroll to the bottom of this post for an audio recording of a followup interview with Minarcin. At a recent visit to the new Omron Automation and Safety facilities in Hoffman Estates, Ill., (where facility personnel were in a comical battle with a skunk family also residing at the location) I got the […]
Confession: Technical education is useless without context
Confession: While in college, I slogged all the way through that classic and dreaded engineering “weeder” course, Materials Science, without the slightest idea of why we were studying it. What’s worse, I wasn’t alone in my cluelessness. You see, the notoriously hard course had little context at our university — so we students sat through […]
Technology Tuesdays: Brian Fortman on Trends in Industrial Drives and Controls
For this edition of Technology Tuesdays, I talk with Brian Fortman, Marketing Manager at Texas Instruments for Industrial Drives and Automation, about designing for the next generation of industrial drive and control systems. However, instead of the individual components like controllers and drives, we talk about the board-level circuits and processors, the electronic brains at […]
Shining a light on our nation’s infrastructure
This week, May 11th through the 15th, is Infrastructure Week. Now in its 3rd year, the aim is to raise awareness of the critical importance of infrastructure to America’s economic well-being. Events during the week aim to bring together business, labor, and public officials, centered on Washington DC but including the rest of the country, […]
Motion trend: Automation expands in off-highway industry
by Michael Jermann, Contributing Editor— Efficiency is key when trying to keep operating costs to a minimum, especially in the off-highway industry. When dealing with mobile machinery that could be remotely located or operating in harsh environments, finding, diagnosing and managing equipment wastes time and money. To cut costs and increase efficiency, there is growing […]
