Motion System Design articles from April 2008

Motion System Design archives from April 2008

Timing belt drives.(Companion Spotlight: Synchronous Pulleys)
April 1, 2008... Self-guiding Conidrive timing belt drives feature the N10 belt-pulley system with an offset conical projection profile on the bearing surface to ensure positive fit without pulley flanges, even for narrow belts. Features & benefits *...

Timing pulleys.(Companion Spotlight: Synchronous Pulleys)
April 1, 2008... Customized timing pulleys meet specific design requirements to minimize inertia, with special machining, tolerances, and finishes. Features & benefits * Aluminum, steel, stainless steel, delrin, nylon, etc. * All pitch types XL, L,...

Stainless-steel sprockets.(Companion Spotlight: Synchronous Pulleys)
April 1, 2008... Stainless steel sprockets for synchronous belt drive systems carry high horsepower ratings. Features & benefits * Taper-Lock bushing system allows for easy sprocket installation and removal; resist rust, foam degreasers, and caustic...

Synchronous belt drives.(Companion Spotlight: Synchronous Pulleys)
April 1, 2008... Synchronous Plus drives combine a high-capacity belt with a flexible, dual-sprocket design with both metric and standard-tapped holes. Features & benefits * 50% more horsepower capacity than standard construction high-torque drives...

Risky business.(Design by Objective)(Banner Engineering Corp.)(Schunk Inc.)(Castell Iso-Lok)
April 1, 2008... Protecting equipment and machinery--and above all, the people who run it--is top of mind for many automation enterprises worldwide, because it makes sense from both an ethical and business perspective. Featured here are some of the latest tools...

New motor-and-brake system takes the risk out of explosive environments.(Solution snapshot)(Deprag Schulz GmbH)
April 1, 2008... Explosion prevention is a "hot topic" within systems engineering, since friction, overheating, or sparks can quickly lead to disaster in potentially explosive environments. Deprag Schulz GmbH, a manufacturer of air motors headquartered in...

Safeguarding market to reach $2.8 billion.(Selection snapshot)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Machine safeguarding is the fastest growing segment of the overall discrete manufacturing automation market, according to a new study from ARC Advisory Group, Dedham, Mass. The worldwide market for machine safeguarding solutions is expected to...

Baseball by the numbers.(In the loop)
April 1, 2008... The start of a new Major League Baseball season is upon us, marking a tradition that goes back to May 4, 1869, when the world's first professional ball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, took the field at Ohio's Union Grounds to play the Great...

Force/torque sensors.(MSD 101)
April 1, 2008... A force/torque sensor is a transducer that measures and outputs forces and torques. Six-axis units (also called multi-axis force/torque and F/T transducers) measure all three Cartesian coordinates: X, Y, and Z. These transducers react to...

Wedge design solves conveyor conundrum.(Industry Focus: Food and Beverage)
April 1, 2008... Material handling dilemmas and tight floor space are common concerns among food and beverage producers everywhere. Odom's Tennessee Pride, Madison, Tenn.--one of the largest private sausage makers in the country--is no exception. The company...

Europe thirsty for beverage packaging machinery.(Industry Focus: Food and Beverage)
April 1, 2008... Market analysis firm IMS Research, Austin, Tex., forecasts that in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa), sales of packaging machinery equipment will increase to 13 billion [euro] by 2012. Beverage packaging is expected to grow at the...

InSights.(What's New)
April 1, 2008... This visualization depicting a frozen moment of Internet activity is part of a special exhibit called "Design and the Elastic Mind," open through May 12 at New York City's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Young Hyun and Bradley Huffaker,...

New LED wins student $30,000.(What's New)
April 1, 2008... Martin Schubert, a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute student, has developed a new type of light emitting diode (LED) that could allow LEDs to be widely used as light sources for liquid crystal displays (LCDs) on everything from televisions and...

Bowling technology champion strikes it rich.(What's New)
April 1, 2008... An engineer from Indiana is the winner of a United States Bowling Congress (USBC) technology contest to design a device that measures the amount of friction on a bowling lane. Testing the coefficient of friction of lane surfaces is important so...

Franklin Institute to host debate on hi-tech issues.(What's New)
April 1, 2008... The Franklin Institute has teamed with Science Debate 2008, The Council on Competitiveness, and several Pennsylvania universities to host a presidential debate dedicated to the economy and technology, climate change, health policy, and...

Free catalog offers resources for education.(What's New)
April 1, 2008... The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) recently announced the availability of its new downloadable 2008 SME Publications Catalog. Manufacturing engineers, designers, managers and other practitioners now have immediate access to the...

alpha & Wittenstein opens Canadian office.(Biz bits)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] To better serve its northern neighbors, alpha & Wittenstein, Bartlett, Ill., has opened a North American Global Center of Excellence in Canada. The new office is located in Waterdown, Ontario and can be reached at...

SKF acquires ABBA Linear Tech.(Biz bits)
April 1, 2008... SKF USA Inc., Bethlehem, Pa., recently acquired ABBA Linear Tech Co., Taipei, Taiwan, a manufacturer of profile rail guides that enable precise positioning for factory automation, medical, assembly, machine tool, semiconductor processing, and...

WAGO expands U.S. headquarters.(Biz bits)
April 1, 2008... WAGO Corp., Germantown, Wis., has completed the expansion of its North American headquarters, increasing the company's manufacturing and storage facility from 60,000 to 75,000 sq ft. WAGO produces spring pressure connection products designed to...

Fenner Precision acquires Winfield Industries.(Biz bits)
April 1, 2008... Fenner Precision, Manheim, Pa., recently acquired Winfield Industries Inc., Buffalo, N.Y. Fenner Precision designs and manufactures belts, rollers, and pulleys for the paper propulsion industry, while Winfield manufactures polyurethane and...

Webcast explores gearbox, gearmotor considerations.(Biz bits)
April 1, 2008... How do you select a motor and gearbox (speed reducer) separately, and then perfectly match them for your OEM application? Is it better to specify a pre-engineered gearmotor? These are some of the questions that will be answered in the upcoming,...

Microstepping driver.(New Products)
April 1, 2008... RoHS compliant version of R208 microstepping driver features a compact design with low power dissipation and automatic current reduction. Features & benefits * Provides up to 2.0 A phase current to any bipolar step motor * Micro...

Parallel grippers.(New Products)
April 1, 2008... JGP pneumatic parallel grippers are extremely compact and universal for use in clean to slightly dirty environments. Features & benefits * Available in sizes 64 to 160 * Fits limited space and when interfering contours must be...

Timing belts.(New Products)
April 1, 2008... Three new high-performance industrial timing belts--Conti SynchroForce CXP, SynchroForce CXA, and the SynchroForce Extreme--are available in four different compounds for three section types. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Features & benefits...

Single-axis control.(New Products)
April 1, 2008... Freedom Series motion control development tool eliminates the confusion associated with motion systems integration. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Features & benefits * This all-inclusive package features utility and design flexibility...

Ac servomotor.(New Products)
April 1, 2008... EXC-series ac servomotor is a cost-improved version of the N-series family of ac servomotors from Rockwell Automation for use in light industrial, commercial, and medical applications. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Features & benefits *...

A day in the life: Derek Norfield, Director of Applications Datastick Systems Inc. Lynchburg, Va.(Reader PROFILE)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] How long have you worked with vibration? I started in the mid '60s during my apprenticeship with an electric motor manufacturer in southern England. Once I finished college, I began working for a European...

Ethernet switches hit their stride with easy operation.(Save time with connectivity solutions)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Stride industrial-grade unmanaged Ethernet switches and media converters are built specifically for industrial environments. The new switches are designed for PLC, HMI, and drive networks. Available are 5-port and...

Waterproof connector cables offer one-touch locking.(Save time with connectivity solutions)
April 1, 2008... A new series of IP67-rated circular industrial connectors features a one-touch bayonet locking system, enabling connection in just 1/8th of a turn and with an audible click to indicate complete insertion. Connectors come in plug or socket...

Connectivity line welcomes family of four I/O modules.(Save time with connectivity solutions)(Balluff Inc.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... A family of four machine-mount DeviceNet I/O modules has joined a new line of ODVA-approved connectivity products that allow users to design and build virtually any DeviceNet network. The machine-mount blocks come in 16 input-only, 16 point...

Ethernet connectivity gets tough.(Save time with connectivity solutions)
April 1, 2008... A new line of DataTuff industrial Ethernet connectivity components includes cord sets, jacks, plug kits, tools, and accessories, to complement an existing line of industrial Ethernet unshielded and shielded twisted pair cables for end-to-end...

Go back to class.(Web Contents)
April 1, 2008... In Larry Berardinis' newest blog at www.mechatronic-design.com, engineers are encouraged to "go back to class" with him as he talks about mechatronics --an interdisciplinary technology he's been a champion of for more than 20 years. Join his...

Fastening, joining solutions.(Web Contents)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A website at www.orbitform.com is as a solution center for the forming, fastening, joining, and assembly industries. It allows users to find and compare equipment features, along with downloadable Solidworks files,...

Automation gears up.(Web Contents)
April 1, 2008... RAE Corp., a maker of fractional horsepower motors, gearmotors, and controls, recently updated its website at www.raemotors.com. Stock products are available for online viewing with key specifications and dimensions provided for ordering....

V-belt selection--it's a veritable cinch: consider application loads and drive type before you pick your belt.(Power transmission belts)
April 1, 2008... The most common systems for transmitting power from a drive to a driven shaft are belt, gear, and chain drives. But V-belt drive systems, also called friction drives (because power is transmitted as a result of the belt's adherence to the...

What not to do when sizing rodless cylinders.(Pneumatic cylinders)
April 1, 2008... If you think sizing a rodless cylinder is easy as Pi, think again. Knowing the available air pressure, proper working stroke, and overall length is simple enough. But other factors, such as determining the effects of moment loads, dynamic...

Walk this way: you don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand basic piezotechnology mechanics: If you place an electric field over a piezo crystal, it changes shape. Simple and reliable, one new linear motor based on these piezos operates like the locomotion of an insect.(Reverse engineering)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The motor is one solid piece shaped with multiple legs that can elongate as well as bend sideways. Called Piezo LEGS by its developer, the unit moves incrementally by synchronizing the movement of each pair of its...

Safety (becoming) job one.(Safety dance)
April 1, 2008... Machine safety components are the fastest spreading of discrete-manufacturing automation. Why? Workplace injuries cost U.S. businesses more than $171 billion a year, there's continued demand for industrial machinery, and safety offsets declines...

Helical gearboxes.(Product Spotlight: Gears & Gearing)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "A" series of helical right angle gearboxes and gearmotors features a compact size, high efficiency, low noise, and symmetrical shape. Features & benefits * Three new sizes and additional ratios cover torque...

Planetary reducer.(Product Spotlight: Gears & Gearing)
April 1, 2008... Dodge MagnaGear XTR planetary reducer offers maximum reliability and performance in high torque applications. Features & benefits * Parallel shaft or right angle configurations; torque capacities to 920,000 lb-in. * Modular design...

Bevel gear drives.(Product Spotlight: Gears & Gearing)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Modular-design, wide-wheel TDB254WR bevel gear drives bring greater stability, efficiency, and design flexibility in a compact footprint to traction drives for pallet, reach, narrow aisle and stand-up trucks, AGVs,...

Worm gear speed reducer.(Product Spotlight: Gears & Gearing)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Stainless-steel 700 series worm gear speed reducer provides maximum corrosion resistance in caustic washdown environments in the food and beverage industries. Features & benefits * Rounded housing, plastic...

In-line reducer.(Product Spotlight: Gears & Gearing)
April 1, 2008... Cyclo in-line reducer is designed for the food industry and high-pressure washdown applications. Features & benefits * Enhanced C-face quill design * FKM antimicrobial, multi-lipped, rotary output seal acts as flinger to expel...

Helical gears.(Product Spotlight: Gears & Gearing)
April 1, 2008... Belt-driven, SMXtra helical gear unit is shaft-mounted and secured with a torque arm rather than a base-mounted unit to allow trouble-free interchangeability with other, less available ranges. Features & benefits * 12 sizes in parallel...