As more companies look to automate processing lines, they’re relying on conveyor manufacturers for an assist. Here’s why. By Mike Hosch • Vice President – Industrial Products • Dorner Mfg. Automation demands efficiency, and conveyors are one technology to enhance the productivity of processing lines. No wonder then that conveyors have become integral components in all […]
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Networking and IoT to support automated warehouse for e-commerce
The Internet has changed human life around the world, and one major way has been in the form of e-commerce. Annual U.S. retail e-commerce sales now exceed $320 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. It’s even sustained 15% year-over-year growth, and retail e-commerce sales now account for more than 10% of total sales. […]
POSITAL in launch of BiSS Association: New organization promotes open-source interface technology
POSITAL FRABA his participating as a founding member of the BiSS Association — a new organization dedicated to encourage the use of the BiSS family of open-source industrial communications protocols. BiSS communications protocols were developed by the German company iC-Haus GmbH as an efficient and feature-rich digital interface for communications between industrial sensors, actuators and […]
IDEC now sells new stepper motion control products
IDEC Corp. introduces a line of motion control stepper products in conjunction with Advanced Micro Controls Inc. (AMCI), an established developer of motion control systems. This AMCI by IDEC product line includes controllers, stepper motors, an integrated controller/drive, an integrated drive/stepper motor, and an integrated controller/drive/stepper motor. When combined with an IDEC FC6A PLC and […]
Bodine’s new planetary PMDC gearmotors double torque
Bodine Electric Co. now sells 24A4-60P planetary PMDC gearmotors. These integral gearmotors combine Bodine’s high-performance type 24A PMDC motor with the all-new 60P (60 mm) planetary gearhead. It is suitable for applications that need higher torque than conventional helical or spur gearheads of a similar size can provide … and where very low backlash gearhead […]
Application example: HMI on medical-device manufacturing equipment
Most hospitalized patients receive an IV soon after admission … and sometimes insertion of the needle is painful. But once placed, discomfort subsides — as the plastic tubing that connects the IV bag to the arm is shaped to smoothly glide into veins and remain comfortable during use. Equipment made by Silverstone Automation — the manufacturer’s […]
9 considerations when picking servocouplings for servo applications — and 4 references from couplingtips.com
Couplings for servo applications usually connect precision drives to sensitive loads, so they cannot induce any error. That’s why servocouplings should be zero backlash — to prevent issues with timing and predictability (not to mention failures due to hammering on reversing axes). Couplings for servo applications must also have high torsional stiffness while imparting slight […]
Filament extrusion machine builder gets industrial-grade performance with custom gearing and a PWM drive
Filabot, a manufacturer of plastic-extrusion machines for the 3D printing market, has just released its new and improved EX6 filament extrusion machine. The Filabot EX6 improves overall extrusion process control and consistency compared to previous models, by adding features which are standard on industrial-scale extruders. The EX6 has a higher output compared to other systems […]
Controller-drivers steer stepper-motor-driven sample-transfer machine
Gatan Inc. makes specimen-preparation equipment and recently built an alpha prototype of a new machine. The iPrep prototype mounts to a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and shuttles samples back and forth between a processing chamber and SEM receiving dock. Within the processing chamber, two broad-beam ion guns polish samples. The iPrep’s automated transfer mechanism allows […]
Spur gears: What are they and where are they used?
Spur gears are a type of cylindrical gear, with shafts that are parallel and coplanar, and teeth that are straight and oriented parallel to the shafts. They’re arguably the simplest and most common type of gear – easy to manufacture and suitable for a wide range of applications. The teeth of a spur gear have […]