Safety is a critical machine design criteria. For example, the most common functional safety standards for machines in automation are EN/IEC 62061 and EN/ISO 13849-1. Both deal with safety via electronic solutions. This is in contrast to traditional safety systems that used electromechanical components for safety functions. Functional safety is generally understood to apply to […]
Industrial Automation
Efficient integrated gearmotors power intralogistics application
The intralogistics industry is a fastest-growing market — and one motion-component supplier aims to address the industry’s unique needs. “Three of the world’s top five material-handling suppliers use NORD drive technology, and we have long-term supply agreements with two of the suppliers,” says NORD Gear Corp. president and CEO Torsten Schultz One solution for intralogistics […]
Bosch Rexroth launches GoSelect online ordering tool
Bosch Rexroth now offers design engineers GoSelect — a new online ordering tool designed to streamline product selection and simplify cost quoting. The user-friendly interface offers pricing and availability on hundreds of products. Users can instantly download CAD drawings which come in a variety of formats, including PDF3D, STEP, IGES and DXF. An intuitive filter […]
New SmartSense24 sensorless brake and clutch monitoring from Regent Controls Inc.
Regent Controls, a Carlyle Johnson Company, now sells a SmartSense24 Sensorless Brake or Clutch Status Monitor. The first product of its kind, SmartSense24 controls and monitors spring-applied electrically-released brakes and clutches — increasing the life of these motion components. The controller provides real-time status and wear condition on an LED display by electronically sensing armature […]
How is machine vibration defined?
Machine vibration is a normal, and typically unavoidable, result of moving and rotating parts, often caused by standard manufacturing and assembly tolerances that lead to clearances between mating parts or imbalances in rotating parts. And while routine machine wear can cause vibration to increase over time, when a machine experiences a significant or sudden increase or […]
Bosch Rexroth to showcase Factory of the Future technology at The Assembly Show
Bosch Rexroth will showcase its intelligent, step-by-step approach to building the Factory of the Future in booth 531 during The Assembly Show 2019, October 22-24, 2019 at the Donald E. Stevens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. The company will have booth exhibits demonstrating a full range of integrated mechatronics concepts and transport systems that can […]
Motion technologies and software for next-generation eBikes
Since their emergence in the early 1990s, eBikes have undergone a steady series of improvements in range, reliability, and performance that have won them a growing number of loyal users worldwide. Equipped with specially engineered frames, high-capacity Li-Ion batteries, and highly efficient drive control electronics, today’s eBikes have become a low-carbon option to cars for […]
Video: What is a torque limiter?
Torque limiters are mechanical and electromechanical power-transmission devices that protect machine sections (or workpieces they’re servicing) from overloads, crashes, and damage from jams. Torque limiters work either by slipping or completely disconnecting the drive from the driven load. Some torque limiters of the former type (especially those employing friction plates) are also called slip clutches. […]
What is safe motion monitoring?
Machines and equipment placed on the European market must conform with essential health and safety requirements of the Machinery Directive. The Directive specifies that manufacturers of machines and equipment must conduct a risk assessment and implement measures to eliminate or reduce hazards that pose a risk to people, equipment, product, or the environment. These hazards […]
What is the Machinery Directive and how does it relate to motion system safety?
Machines and equipment placed on the EU market must be CE-marked, indicating conformity with the essential safety and health requirements of the Machinery Directive. The Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC is a set of legal requirements for manufacturers and distributors of machines in or to the EU market that ensures the safety of operators, maintenance personnel, equipment, and […]