A common function of a conveyer system is to accumulate products — in other words, to stop them from moving along the conveyor to create a buffer, establish a queue, or smooth out differences in material movement between upstream and downstream operations. But traditional accumulation methods allow products to bump into each other and stack up […]
Integrated Motion Systems
Micro motors give robotic hand a boost
Among the changes to small motor design over the years has been the use of powerful rare-earth magnets to increase power density, making for smaller and more powerful motors. These motors are finding their way into medical devices, robotics, as well as the intersection of these two. Case in point; a robotic glove. Ironhand from […]
Nexen announces new Engineered Solutions brochure
Nexen Group, Inc ., a leading manufacturer of precision motion control components, power transmission, and web tension control products, is pleased to announce its new brochure: Engineered Solutions. The brochure highlights Nexen’s capabilities and products, which are presented by motion control application: Holding a load during production and power-off applications: servo brakes, ball screw brakes, […]
Beckhoff introduces contact-free, flying motion technology with XPlanar
Beckhoff is unlocking entirely new possibilities in machine design with the introduction of XPlanar. In this innovative system for flying motion control, planar movers float freely above planar tiles arranged in customizable layouts and enable extremely flexible, precise and highly dynamic positioning. For machine builders and manufacturers, this results in maximum flexibility and simplification in […]
XTS from Beckoff offers hygienic design with optimal cleanability
XTS Hygienic, the stainless steel version of the eXtended Transport System from Beckhoff, is now available in the U.S. The IP69K-rated linear transport solution opens up a wide spectrum of new applications, primarily in food and pharmaceutical industries and for processing and filling liquids. With optimal cleanability, high chemical resistance and no hidden corners, edges […]
Azimuth and Elevation Two-axis Gimbal Mount features high resolution and continuous rotation of axes
OES (Optimal Engineering Systems) has added the AU300-AE-01 and AU300-AE-02, high resolution, high stability Azimuth and Elevation (Yaw and Pitch) Two-axis Gimbal Mounts to its product line. The Azimuth and Elevation Gimbal Mounts are ideal for mounting cameras, antennas, projectors, lasers and instrumentation for scanning, tracking, positioning optics and other applications. Each axis of the […]
5-axis stage with closed-loop motors for high-precision positioning
PI (Physik Instrumente) LP offers a compact 5-axis stage for precision alignment and positioning required in fields such as fiber-optics and photonics. The modular, 5DOF motorized stage consists of a 3-axis linear module and two goniometers. A multi-axis controller and software with automated alignment functionality is also available. Sub-micron precision is guaranteed by highly accurate […]
Power over Ethernet (PoE) and M12 connectors in motion designs
Though the internet of things is most visible to laymen in consumer devices, the IIoT is massive. The majority of applications are in business, factory, and healthcare settings … and more than a third of the nearly $6 trillion IoT market is in manufacturing. Connectivity is the basis of all this IIoT — providing the […]
Part 4: Edge computing and gateways proliferate for industrial machinery
Reconsider the actuators, sensors, and other edge devices covered in Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3 of this series. Such components are fundamental to edge computing. Supported by gateways and controllers with dedicated connectivity functions, these components use their logic resources to process data before sending it onward to controls, the cloud, or […]
Part 2: Wireless in predictive maintenance — and wireless connectivity uses
In Part 1 of this series, we alluded to the increased adoption of wireless technologies for automation. In fact, the market for wireless technologies, one permutation of IIoT connectivity, has exceeded $1B annually … and will grow as global competition in manufacturing pushes organizations to optimize facilities for minimized cost of ownership. Consider the input […]
