Much of the world’s sophisticated high-tech electronic products would not be possible without the use of so-called rare-earth materials. In the industrial world, modern, high-power electric motors rely on powerful magnetic materials for their power density edge. Traditionally, these motors have incorporated rare-earth magnets such as neodymium iron boron (NdFeB). Recently, prices of rare-earth materials […]
Editor Blogs
Precise speed control reduces glass imperfections
Glaston America, a manufacturer of glass tempering ovens based in New Jersey, recently selected the Unidrive M family of variable speed drives from Emerson Industrial Automation USA LLC to improve the quality of its products. The company’s biggest customer is Cardinal IG, a manufacturer of residential glass. To ensure its glass tempering ovens meet the […]
The top 5 posts of 2014
‘tis that time of year again when people become reflective, looking back over the old year while looking forward to the new one ahead. So in the spirit of year-end reviews, we thought we’d take a look back at the most popular posts from motioncontroltips.com in 2014. Here are the 5 posts that you clicked […]
The Robot Revolution: The Promise and Peril of Robotics
2014 may very well be the year of the robot. Why? Looking back, this was the year that robots not only became more visible in the consumer world but also became more prevalent in the industrial world as well. Of course, robots have been a part of industry for decades. What’s new is that robots […]
Rockwell, Cisco offer design guide for wireless, connected enterprise
Recently, Rockwell Automation held its annual Automation Fair, which brings together system integrators and machine builders to learn about the latest in automation technology and trends. The main focus of this year’s Automation Fair was the so-called connected enterprise, which involves integrating operational technology (such as drives and controls on the factory floor) with information […]
SMMA Round-up: Motors and Motion Control
The SMMA (Small Motor & Motion Association) held its annual fall Technical Conference in St. Louis this past week. Every fall the conference brings together engineers and motor designers to share and learn about the latest in motor design techniques and the motor and motion control industry in general. This year’s theme was Motors, Materials, […]
Building Safety Into Motion Networks
If you’ve been hearing more about safety, you’re not alone. Across the manufacturing world and certainly in the world of e-commerce, safety has been an increasingly important issue. The area of networking and communications is no different. In particular, networks for motion control, like Sercos, are responding to the growing concern for safety. At the […]
Smart grid: Smart move
While writing a story on the state of the smart grid in the U.S. (you can read the story here), a few things occurred to me. One is that the so-called smart grid is not a new development but rather one that has been on-going for several decades. Another thing I learned was that there […]
Mechanical “Knuckle” Slims Down Pick-and-Place Module
Innovations in motion control often times happen in a small, under-the-radar kind of way. Such is the case with Weiss North America and their HP70 Pick-and-Place direct-drive module, released in the U.S. earlier this year. A unique mechanical “knuckle” design produces motion in the vertical axis, eliminating the need for a separate motor or actuator […]
Adaptive systems squelch unwanted motion
Adaptive Systems motion control technology from Bosch Rexroth helps minimize unwanted movements directly at the drive level in industrial machinery, helping increase process throughput by up to 50 percent. It alleviates movements including oscillations, vibrations, sloshing and sway. Aimed at applications ranging from packaging and printing to material handling, machining and semiconductor manufacturing, the technology […]