This year National Engineers Week runs from February 22nd through the 28th. The annual event, which seeks to promote understanding of and interest in engineering to the wider public, features events throughout the week. And one day, February 26th, is Girl Day, devoted to educating young girls on the possibilities of engineering. One group promoting this […]
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Technology Tuesdays Podcast: Don Labriola on stepper motors
For this week’s Design World Technology Tuesdays Podcast, I spoke with Don Labriola, P.E., President of QuickSilver Controls, Inc., about hybrid stepper motors and the concept of microstepping error, including the role stiction plays in stepper motor performance. Click below to listen to this week’s podcast.
The push and pull of rare-earth magnets
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 […]
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 […]
Interview: Rockwell and Design World talk IT/OT convergence
Recently, I got the chance to attend the 2014 Automation Fair in Anaheim, California. One of the big topics was the convergence of information technologies and operational technologies – IT and OT. The idea? Integrated platforms that connect enterprises (and their IT and OT) can boost productivity and product quality, especially for manufacturing and industrial […]
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 […]
