Motion System Design articles from August 2008

Motion System Design archives from August 2008

Efficiency on solid ground: shaft grounding unleashes the full benefits of variable frequency drives.(Variable Frequency Drives)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With growing energy concerns (and prices) it's no wonder that efficiency-boosting components are on the rise in industry. Variable frequency drives (VFDs) are no exception. The components are already common in HVAC...

Getting in gear: gear ratios, service factors, and lubricant choice are just a few of the critical factors involved in gear selection. To avoid downtime and maximize productivity, see what the experts have to say about gear technology in this forum on gearing in automation.(Productivity Forum)(Cover story)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Gearing up for productivity How does gear selection contribute to productivity in today's motion-centric automation environment? Mitch * Cone Drive: Two basic criteria must be considered when choosing a...

Pneumatics gets lumber mills rolling.(Industry Focus: Paper & Wood)
August 1, 2008... In the lumber industry, productivity demands are staggering; output is often measured in lugs per minute, a unit that describes how quickly a machine can process logs and boards. OEMs and timber-processing end users also need machines that can...

Video highlights lumber applications.(What's New)
August 1, 2008... Trimmer fences and precision end trim (PET) saws are two of many applications in the lumber manufacturing industry where electromechanical linear actuators have been successfully applied in place of traditional electrohydraulic actuators. Other...

Insights.(What's New)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Just south of Las Vegas sits Nevada Solar One--a 64-megawatt solar thermal plant, the world's third-biggest solar energy field. The Boulder City facility is the first large-scale solar project of its kind--a...

PTDA adds motion control conference.(What's New)(Conference news)
August 1, 2008... The PTDA 2008 Industry Summit, to be held Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 in Miami Beach, Fla., will offer educational programming, business development and networking opportunities, and--new this year--a motion control technical conference and showcase....

Lamination steels CD now available.(What's New)
August 1, 2008... The Electric Motor Education and Research Foundation (EMERF), a research foundation of SMMA--The Motor and Motion Association, has announced the release of the Lamination Steels Third Edition CD-ROM. Over five years in development, the CD...

Preview of long-awaited math reference debuts.(What's New)
August 1, 2008... The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a five-chapter preview of the highly anticipated online Digital Library of Mathematical Functions (DLMF). In development for more than a decade, the DLMF is designed to be a...

WEG builds transformer plant.(Biz bits)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WEG Electric Motors Corp., Atlanta, a global supplier of motors, drives, and transformers, has broken ground on an advanced transformer plant dedicated to serving U.S. customers in the utility, municipality, wind,...

Download openPOWERLINK free.(Biz bits)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... At this year's Hanover Fair in Germany, the Ethernet POWERLINK Standardization Group (EPSG) announced that the openPOWERLINK solution for the master and slave side may be downloaded from SourceForge.net/projects/openpowerlink free of charge....

austriamicrosystems to sell SQUIGGLE motors.(Biz bits)
August 1, 2008... New Scale Technologies Inc., Victor, N.Y., has named its strategic partner austriamicrosystems, Unterpremstaetten, Austria, as a global agent for its Squiggle motors, micro motion systems, and other products. New Scale develops and manufactures...

Robert Willett to lead Cognex division.(Biz bits)
August 1, 2008... Cognex Corp., Natick, Mass., recently appointed Robert Willett as president of its Modular Vision Systems Division (MVSD). As President of MVSD, he now oversees the largest operating division at Cognex, which generates nearly 90% of the...

BSA sets new date for fall meeting.(Biz bits)(Conference notes)
August 1, 2008... The Bearing Specialists Association (BSA), Glen Ellyn, Ill., has announced that its 2008 fall meeting will be held Sept. 22 to 23 at the Hilton Suites Chicago Magnificent Mile, reflecting a change from previously announced dates. In addition to...

Siemens and ROY-G-BIV form partnership.(Biz bits)
August 1, 2008... Siemens Energy & Automation Inc., Alpharetta, Ga., and ROY-G-BIV Corp., Bingen, Wash., have announced a partnership that combines the Siemens Motion Control Information System (MCIS) software solution with ROY-G-BIV's XMC universal machine...

A day in the life.(Reader PROFILE)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] David Collins, Amusement Ride Engineer TEAM IX Newbury Park, California What kind of background do you have? I've worked in the amusement ride industry for 25 years. Prior to going into this field, I spent...

Steady does it Part 1 of 2: vibration isolation systems are useful, but introduce issues of their own. In this series, we'll review those challenges--and some control-based solutions.(Course Audit)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In this installment: * Passive and active isolation issues * Isolation system behavior * Challenges Increased machine throughput usually requires higher velocities and accelerations, but forces are...

The Lego connection.(In the Loop)
August 1, 2008... All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy--which would be okay, I suppose, if Jack was a banker or actuary, but if he designs motion systems for a living, it could be a real problem. Motion is one of the most challenging disciplines within...

Shock-resistant encoders.(New Products)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sendix encoders with 12-bit analog and 14-bit CANopen outputs are designed for applications requiring rugged, high-resolution encoders. Features & benefits * Die-cast housings, resistance to humidity, IP69K...

Compact brushless servomotors.(New Products)
August 1, 2008... BSM R-series ac servomotors offer a high performance, low-maintenance alternative to stepper motors and dc servos. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Features & benefits * Peak torques to 33.63 lb-in., fast acceleration, small 1.6 and 2.4 in....

Internal locking device.(New Products)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ECOLOC provides strength and stability for heavy-duty applications. Features & benefits * Applications include conveyor belts, turbine rotors, flywheels, brake drums, gears, sprockets * RfN 7003-7006...

Photoelectric sensors.(New Products)
August 1, 2008... Harsh-duty E58 Series has industry's only background rejection sensor with a two-wire circuit design. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Features & benefits * Resistant to chemical attack, moisture intrusion; can withstand heavy shock and...

Wireless encoders.(New Products)
August 1, 2008... SwiftComm interface allows real-time wireless control for encoders in motion applications to provide robust signals over a secure network. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Features & benefits * Unlike Wi-Fi, exhibits fast boot-up and...

Digital drive for control.(New Products)
August 1, 2008... ION 3000 digital drive offers high power of 500 W and 3,000 W to combine many motors for multi-axis motion positioning. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Features & benefits * Magellan Motion Control IC; power amplification; both ION 500 and...

2D laser sensor.(New Products)
August 1, 2008... New Model ZG profiling laser sensor simplifies setup, shortens inspection time, and reduces hardware with a built-in LCD display. Features & benefits * Full height and width inspection; captures entire shapes by measuring X and Z axes...

Shock absorbers, avoiders defend designs.(Design by Objective)(Product/service evaluation)
August 1, 2008... Being subjected to regular blows of shock and vibration has lead to the death of many a component. It doesn't have to be this way. To help your applications withstand the onslaught of jolts and waves, here are some tools for your arsenal. ...

Encoders don't crack under pressure.(Solution snapshot)(Renishaw Inc.)
August 1, 2008... For reasons that can probably go unsaid, delicate optical glass encoders have no business in high-shock applications. A far more appropriate alternative for extreme motion tracking is magnetic rotary encoders. The elegantly simple units consist...