Updated January 2020 ⚙️ Power-transmission devices are increasingly customized, and gearsets and gearmotors are no exception. However, today’s custom and standard gear products aren’t mutually exclusive, according to Heinz Gert Hagedorn, who leads sales and development for planetary transmissions at IMS Gear. His company makes modular planetary transmissions and other modular drives based on parts […]
Motors
Better ways to commutate BLDCs — with capacitive sensing
By Jeff Smoot, VP Motion Control, CUI Inc. Capacitive commutation can speed up the assembly of brushless dc motors and be more accurate than conventional Hall sensors. Examine a cordless power tool or a computer hard drive and you’ll likely find a brushless dc motor (BLDC) doing the work. BLDCs have become widely used in recent […]
Rugged drive controls speed on ac motors to one horsepower
A new variable-speed ac motor speed control is simple to setup and operate. The rugged drive — Model 2999 Pacesetter AC speed control from Bodine Electric Co. — also features a NEMA-4X / IP-65 enclosure. It’s suitable for stand-alone ac-gearmotor applications that need controlled acceleration, adjustable operating speed, or reversing. Typical applications include conveyor systems, packaging machines, food-processing equipment, medical or lab equipment […]
Right-angle spiroid gearheads: New options and uses
maxon precision motors now makes right-angle gearheads for maxon’s 22-mm and 32-mm dc motors. These high-torque gearheads transmit power at 90° in the smallest possible form factor (thanks to spiroid technology). Other features: • Quiet operation and high torque transmission • High stiffness and low deflection with large applied loads • Back-drivable (4:1 ratio) and non-back drivable (31:1 ratio) […]
QuickSilver extends Mosolver line to NEMA 17 frame
QuickSilver Controls, Inc. has extended their patented Mosolver (motor + resolver) technology into the compact NEMA 17 frame format. The Mosolver sensor provides 32,000 counts of position information using a compact polyamide sensor coil placed within the stator opposite the rotor. The sensor is protected by the motor structure and does not need a separate […]
What is your cost for unplanned electric motor downtime?
by Bill Martin, Product Manager, Electronic Overload Relays, Rockwell Automation Electric motors, if not properly protected, can cause damage if overloaded. A variety of motor protection devices are available for varying applications to prevent this.. Electric motors are the backbone to today’s modern industry. They provide the mechanical energy needed for most manufacturing processes—but they […]
Choosing a brushless DC motor driver
By Chris Francis Brushless DC motors (BLDC motors) are quite different to drive compared to brushed DC motors. With a brushed DC motor you simply apply a voltage or pulse width modulated voltage and the motor will start turning (if possible) and increase speed with reducing torque until the torque/speed match the load. A brushless […]
A First in Space History – Rosetta Space Probe Lands on Comet after Ten Years of Travel
At the end of May 2014, the Rosetta space probe moved into an orbit around the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in order to, map its surface and prepare for the landing of Philae. This ballistic lander, weighing 100 kg, landed successfully on the comet on November, 12th 2014. The probe is powered by FAULHABER DC motors to […]
5 design considerations for gearmotor applications
Edited by Mary C. Gannon, Senior Editor • To select the best gearmotor for an application, it is important to go into more detail than just selecting the best suitable output speed and torque. Here are five criteria you should consider. While output speed and torque are are clearly important when selecting and designing with […]
New class 6 industrial ethernet SmartMotors
These new Class 6 SmartMotors have a new powerful processor that operates at nearly twice the processor speed of Class 5. The PID rate is fixed at 62.5u seconds with 64K User program memory (twice that of prior SmartMotors) and larger Cam point memory space for cam tables to >3K points. These SmartMotors are able […]