Motion System Design articles

Recent articles from Motion System Design

Segway segue: as Motion System Design celebrates its 50th anniversary, we invite you to check out this article from the June 1959 issue of the magazine.(Celebration: MSD's big Five-O)
June 1, 2009... Check it out, Dean Kamen: Forty years before the Segway, in 1959, a young student at the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, developed a strikingly prophetic design--a stylish, motorized scooter for lightweight local transportation. Invented by Louis Richards...

A rip in time makes nine.(Brushing up)
June 1, 2009... From the erosion of a grain of sand off a cliff to the unbounded expansion of the Universe, Nature tends towards disorder. This tendency has a name--entropy. The phenomenon has specific scientific meaning, but in everyday popular culture, is described succinctly and wittily by the infamous...

May the force be with you.(Design by Objective)
June 1, 2009... If you're looking for some new tactics to pack more power into your next design, don't bother with Jedi mind tricks. Instead, take a look at some of the latest products featured here to make your next project a star.

Heavy-duty brakes fortify wind turbines.(Design by Objective)
June 1, 2009... Emergency braking requirements of today's wind turbines under maximum conditions can be compared to those of a 40-ton mining truck driving down a 25% grade at 87 miles per hour with a cliff 1/4 mile ahead. To meet these demands, ERS Series electrically released, spring-engaged brakes serve as...

Step motors pack power into compact package.(Design by Objective)
June 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The 4418 series of NEMA 17 stepper motors provides up to 35% more torque compared to motors of similar dimensions. Motors are available in three different stack lengths, starting with the nimble 4418S at 1.17-in. thickness and the powerful 4418M measuring 1.58 in....