DC drives from Control Techniques, an Emerson Industrial Automation company, were selected by Terminal de Contenedores de Yucatán (TCY) to modernize the control system on an aging ship-to-shore crane in Progreso, México. TCY, owned by Grup TCB of Spain, is a large container and cargo-handling terminal in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. David Asensio, Project Manager for […]
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Motor and Resolver All in One
Advances in motor and feedback technology, such as encoders and resolvers, usually proceed along at an incremental pace (pardon the pun). So-called integrated servomotors have had built-in encoders for quite some time. But a new servo motion actuator integrates a resolver into the structure of a high pole count AC motor. The Mosolver™ from Quicksilver […]
Report Puts North American Power Transmission/Motion Control Market near $68 Billion
According to the newly released PTDA Power Transmission & Motion Control Market Size Report, the North American power transmission and motion control market is estimated at $67.7 billion, comprised of the U.S. market at $54 billion, the Canadian market at $6.4 billion, and the Mexican market at $7.3 billion. The research report, commissioned by the […]
Simplifying Machine Design with Plug-and-play Motion Subsystems
by Tom Maccianti, President, Bell Everman Embedding mechanical motion subsystems into machines improves performance and reduces cost. If you build machines, you probably work with actuators and positioning stages every day. But do you truly get the best performance or lowest cost of ownership from these motion devices? The answer may not be what you […]
How Safe are Lithium-Ion Batteries?
The recent incident of a Tesla Model S all-electric vehicle catching fire is renewing questions about the safety of lithium-ion batteries and their use in transportation applications. The Tesla story is the second high-profile case this year, the other involving Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, both of which involve incidents with lithium-ion batteries. The cases are shining […]
A look ahead
We talked with a select group of motion control technology providers to learn what is in store for system integrators and designers in 2014. Users of motion control technologies can be assured of one thing: energy efficiency and integrated systems will continue to be a focus. And single cable solutions will be one way in […]
Raising the Costa Concordia
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 […]
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 […]
