Increasing globalization and industrialization are spurring high-capacity manufacturing with even less tolerance for errors than ever before. These applications are leveraging servomotors and drives in their quest to achieve better efficiency with automation. This is because servomotors are one of the most commonly used motors for precision positioning and load-responsive motion. Servomotors power applications in […]
Industry News
Motion systems application examples: Conveyors for many uses
Ranging from discrete product transport to bulk-material carriage, conveyor functions are as varied as the places in which they work. Engineers make conveyors meet specific applications by tailoring about a dozen conveyor design elements: belt or chain size, morphology and material; bases and support frames; controller, drive, and motor or motors; mode of belt or […]
Bonfiglioli will help develop O&K Antriebstechnik — manufacturer of planetary gears
An agreement to develop German company O&K Antriebstechnik was recently announced in Milan by Sonia Bonfiglioli, Bonfiglioli Riduttori SpA Chairman, and Enrico Carraro, Carraro SpA Chairman. O&K Antriebstechnik specializes in the design and manufacture of components (large planetary gears) for track machines and cranes, mining machines, and marine applications. According to this agreement, in which two Italian industrial families […]
PTDA foundation announces 2016 trustees
The PTDA Foundation 2016 Board of Trustees was announced at the PTDA 2015 Industry Summit in Chicago, Ill. Michael Kelly, VP & national sales manager, Kaman Industrial Technologies Corporation (Bloomfield, Conn.), elected for a two-year term, succeeds Barbara J. Ross, Garlock Sealing Technologies (Palmyra, N.Y.), as the Foundation’s president in 2016. Brian Short, corporate account […]
Groschopp: New website + motor-selection tool
Groschopp Inc. recently launched a mobile-friendly website that focuses on making the search for a motor or gearmotor simple for the user — with a motor-selection tool and more. The website at groschopp.com adds a new motor search tool that enables users to easily maneuver through Groschopp products. “Motor manufacturing websites can be overwhelming to use because of the […]
New innovation center at Case encourages out-of-the-box thinking
The contemporary maker movement has done much to raise awareness of engineering and design among the general public. By shining a spotlight on the process of innovation, it has sparked a renewed interest in manufacturing as well as careers in engineering and design. Recently, some colleagues and I were given a tour of a brand […]
5 myths about safety in machinery
by Motion Controls and Drives Team, Kollmorgen Safety has been a hot topic in automation and motion control—and the publication of EU Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC has focused more attention on the subject. Here’s what machine builders need to know about this and other safety directives—and the five most common myths about them. Also known as […]
Winding technique improves induction motor performance
by Dan Jones, President, Incremotion Associates This new technique promises to deliver both higher efficiency and better power factor for induction motors. Induction motors are the workhorse of industry. They drive everything from industrial manufacturing processes to consumer equipment like washers and dryers, among others. And they’ve been around since Nikola Tesla applied for patents […]
Thought leader Monika Minarcin on automotive-semiconductor convergence
October 27th update: Scroll to the bottom of this post for an audio recording of a followup interview with Minarcin. At a recent visit to the new Omron Automation and Safety facilities in Hoffman Estates, Ill., (where facility personnel were in a comical battle with a skunk family also residing at the location) I got the […]
New Kübler slip rings for the packaging industry
Slip rings deliver rotary transmission of energy, signals and data between stationary and rotating platforms in myriad designs, including those in the packaging industry. Now, the new Kübler SRI085 slip ring can transmit up to three load and three signal channels. Inductive signal channels make this slip ring nearly maintenance free. The SRI085 is fully encapsulated against ingression of abrasive dust. It is […]