Rolling Motion Industries (RMI) has released two high-efficiency traction drives — the MAR-17-1-2.1 Traction Drive and the MAR-23-1-2.1 Traction Drive. These are 1-Way traction drives with only six moving parts and use an engineered traction fluid with a coefficient of friction of just 0.1 to 0.12. These traction drives typically last three times longer than […]
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Galaxie Gearbox from WITTENSTEIN nominated as finalist for Germany’s Deutscher Zukunftspreis 2018
WITTENSTEIN’s Galaxie gearbox has been chosen as a finalist for the 2018 Federal President’s Award for Innovation in Science and Technology, recognized as “A radically new gearbox class – productivity leaps in the engineering industry”. The jury for the Deutscher Zukunftspreis 2018 announced the three finalists for this year’s award. Galaxie inventors Dr. Manfred Wittenstein […]
Danfoss acquires Finnish manufacturer of large electric motors
Danfoss has expanded its electrification capability with acquisition of world-leading expert in large electric motors and generators, AXCO-Motors. AXCO-Motors is a technology leader in large electric solutions (from 250 kW and up to 6 MW) for applications like maritime vessels and off-highway vehicles. Danfoss said it is responding to the growing customer demand for electric solutions […]
Power and free conveyors: Where do they excel?
Power and free conveyors are designed for manufacturing environments where products need to be transported in a non-linear fashion — that is, where materials aren’t necessarily delivered in the order they were loaded or at the same pace. Traditional “linear” conveyors, on the other hand, lack the flexibility to handle manufacturing environments where different production […]
How to specify motion components for cleanroom environments: Part 2
In this two-part article, we cover the products, materials, and features that designers and engineers should specify when choosing motion components for cleanroom environments. In part 1, we looked at how to reduce particle generation due to friction between moving components. In this second part, we’ll look at another source of contamination — outgassing — […]
Frameless brushless dc motors in hybrid solid-state LIDAR Applications
Edited by Terry Persun || Use of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) in the automotive industry is growing exponentially. The two most common variations are solid-state LiDAR and hybrid spinning LiDAR. Solid-state LiDAR are non-spinning systems. Some employ a phased array to steer the laser beam sans moving parts; others include a tiny mirror to steer […]
Oriental Motor 60-mm DG II rotary actuator with AlphaStep AZ Series absolute encoder stepper motor
Oriental Motor is pleased to expand the DGII Series product lineup and AlphaStep hybrid control system with the introduction of the new 60 mm DGII rotary actuator. The DGII Series is a line of products that combine a high rigidity hollow rotary table with an AlphaStep absolute encoder AZ series closed loop stepper motor and […]
How to specify motion components for cleanroom environments: Part 1
In this two-part article, we cover the products, materials, and features that designers and engineers should specify when choosing motion components for cleanroom environments. In part 1, we look at how to reduce particle generation due to friction between moving components. Designers of automation systems are tasked with many competing demands, such as balancing cost and performance, […]
What are slip rings and why do some motors use them?
Slip rings — also referred to as rotary electrical joints, electric swivels, and collector rings — are devices that can transmit power, electrical signals, or data between a stationary component and a rotating component. The design of a slip ring will depend on its application — transmitting data, for example, requires a slip ring with higher […]
When is internal braking for stopping insufficient — and a clutch or brake necessary?
For a given motion profile, when are other options for stopping insufficient — and a clutch or brake necessary? Good question. At the core of most motion axes are electric motors. Stopping loads on their axes can be done with the electric motor itself — called internal braking in certain contexts — or with an […]