Motion System Design articles from May 2003

Motion System Design archives from May 2003

Get ready to rumble. (In the Loop).(Column)
May 1, 2003... The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently released some startling statistics. Last year, more than 3.5 million people were injured and almost 43,000 were killed in traffic accidents on U.S. highways. Since 1996, highway...

New hope for Mideast. (In Response).(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... Your characterization of the situation going on, both at home and abroad, needs to be commended. It is not often that the truth is stated as plainly and clearly for all to see. The freedom of the Iraqi people brings about a possibility in the...

Lead by example. (In Response).(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... My question is "What does God want us to do and where were the adults during this protest?" Maybe the adults should be leading by example. I fully support what the U.S. wants to do to get Saddam Hussein out of power, but I do not support...

Heartfelt thanks. (In Response).(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... One awesome article, Larry. I thank you for writing it. It made me feel good that someone has the guts to publish something like that. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Doug Shelton Aquamute51@msn.com

Who was that human shield? (In Response).(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... After I read your April editorial, I went searching for more info about Kenneth Joseph. I came across this site: http://www.dailypundit.com/archi ves/008867.php Toward the end, somebody named John posts this: "I hold no brief for...

Check info on the 'net. (In Response).(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... I read your article sent by my brother Alfred in Detroit. I agree with your sentiment about never forgetting 9-11. I myself witnessed that second plane crashing into Tower 2. I am a veteran as well, so I'm familiar with matters military and...

Anti-war, not anti-America. (In Response).(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... Seems to me that the best time to stage anti-war protests would be before the war, in hopes that war can be averted. Waiting for the war to start would be self-defeating. Speaking only for myself, I oppose this war for the following...

Anniversaries. (Industry News).(Entertron)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Entertron, Gasport, N.Y., is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Founded in 1978, the company offered one of the first embedded/board-level programmable logic controllers. The PLC marketplace at that time was focused mainly on large rack-style...

Yates to track and analyze orders. (Industry News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Yates to track and analyze orders so they can understand and forecast product demand requirements. When fully implemented, Yates expects that the software will speed up processing of assemblies, allow the sales force to enter product...

Show your awareness. (Industry News).
May 1, 2003... H&P is conducting a series of brand-awareness studies for both the hydraulic and pneumatic markets. As a reader of the magazine, we'd like to know your thoughts on various manufacturers. Simply fill out the card bound into this issue and fax it...

Gems acquires Pressure Devices. (Industry News).(Gems Sensors Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Gems Sensors Inc., Plainville, Conn., has acquired West Union, S.C.-based Pressure Devices Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of a wide selection of industrial pressure switches. Gems is a Danaher Corp. business and can be found online at...

ICUEE 2003 registration opens. (Industry News).(International Construction and Utility Equipment Expo)
May 1, 2003... ICUEE, the International Construction and Utility Equipment Expo, is on tap for September 23-25, 2003, at the Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center in Louisville. Registration at the show Web site, www.icuee.com, is now open. Over 800 manufacturers...

Meet the survey winner. (Industry News).(Michael A. Bodach)
May 1, 2003... Motion System Design recently conducted a survey about the motion control industry. It offered an Olympus D-380 digital camera to a lucky respondent. Michael A. Bodach, controls engineer, manufacturing research and development, of Boeing Co.,...

Steps taken toward all-electric aircraft. (Industry News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Since the 1970s, power electronics has become the favored means of controlling electromechanical power. Research was directed toward more compact devices with high efficiency. Over the last decade, progress has been linked to that in static...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
May 1, 2003... Information for Lapp USA listed in its Partners in Innovation in the March issue of Motion System Design was incorrect. The correct address is 29 Hanover Road, Florham Park, N.J. Lapp's phone number is (88) 456-3539. Its Web site is...

Ceramic balls improve dental instruments. (Industry News).(International Dental Show)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... International Dental Show visitors learned about the benefits of Cerbec ceramic balls in bearings. According to the manufacturer, Saint-Gobain Advanced Ceramics, Cerbec balls can lower total operating costs. Several Cerbec customers, such as...

Vulcan Materials Co. (On the move).(award)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... WEG Electric Motors Corp. has been named a 2001 Bronze Alliance Supplier Award winner by Vulcan Materials Co.

Baldor Electric Co. (On the move).(new catalog)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Baldor Electric Co., Ft. Smith, Ark., has a new stock product catalog, containing information on more than 6,500 different ratings. It is offered free of charge.

Garlock Bearings, Thorofare, N.J., and Glacier Industrial Bearings, Heilbronn, Germany, have been consolidated to form Glacier Garlock Bearings (GGB). (On the move).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Garlock Bearings, Thorofare, N.J., and Glacier Industrial Bearings, Heilbronn, Germany, have been consolidated to form Glacier Garlock Bearings (GGB). The merger of the two businesses occurred when Goodrich Corp., the parent of Garlock...

Yaskawa Electric America. (On the move).(expands training)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Yaskawa Electric America, Waukegan, III., has expanded its full range of professional training programs with a new Web-based training class for the Sigma II products, This class will explain in detail the selection process of Sigma II...

Daman Products Co. Inc. (On the move).(Joy Wilkins appointment)
May 1, 2003... Daman Products Co. Inc., Ind., has named Joy Wilkins manager of human resources.

Bonfiglioli Canada Inc., Concord, Ont., announces the restructuring of its North American organization into two separate companies. (On the move).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Bonfiglioli Canada Inc., Concord, Ont., announces the restructuring of its North American organization into two separate companies. Bonfiglioli will service the Canadian market while Bonfiglioli USA will service the American market out of a...

SKF. (On the move).(Donald A. Poland Jr. appointment)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... SKF has named Donald A. Poland Jr. president of the SKF Service Division, North America. He succeeds Denny Clark who is retining. Poland will be based at the SKF Service Division headquarters in Kulpsville, Pa,, and will oversee the industrial...

GE Fanuc Automation North America Inc., an affiliate of GE Industrial Systems, has aquired RAMiX Inc. (On the move).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... GE Fanuc Automation North America Inc., an affiliate of GE Industrial Systems, has aquired RAMiX Inc., a supplier of embedded computing connectivity, storage and memory solutions for the defense, aerospace, telecommunications, and medical...

What's next in chip technology: new microcontrollers with on-chip networking utilities, motion-specific peripherals, and extended flash memory are set to deliver on the promise of fully distributed intelligent motion control. .(Cover Story)
May 1, 2003... Over the years, the direction of semiconductor technology has proven to be a fairly good compass for mapping the direction of motion control. In the early days, the development of the transistor led to simple on-off controllers. Then came op...

Belt and chain drives: chain and belt drive design is a cinch, right? With their unique advantages come special requirements that must also be considered. To find out what these provisions are, the editors of Motion System Design conducted a survey among industry experts, asking for their analysis. Here's what they said. (Productivity Forum).
May 1, 2003... What applications present the biggest challenge in terms of machine productivity? Pete/Jason Industrial: The toughest challenges are posed by OEMs with space and cost constraints, wanting the most performance from a belt while keeping unit...

Motion control system design. (Course audit: advanced learning at your desk, at your pace/multi-part series).
May 1, 2003... Lesson 2-- Velocity control Topics of discussion: * Velocity control mode * Programmable velocity control * Joystick velocity control * Velocity control as inner loop * Stability analysis Motion controllers...

Vibration pacification: vibration and noise are complex issues that, unchecked, can make a designer's world miserable. Thankfully, there are straightforward and effective methods of controlling them.
May 1, 2003... When you bring various complex mechanical and structural components together to form a functional motion system, modeling and predicting the resultant dynamics is usually difficult. Sometimes, the combination of drive components--gearbox,...

Brushing up // matter matters.(Glossary)
May 1, 2003... Specific gravity Specific gravity (also expressed as specific weight and specific density) is the ratio of a solid's weight to the weight of an equal volume of reference material, usually water. Because the mouse weighs less than the...

Why it's wrong to downsize in a down market. (Feed Forward).
May 1, 2003... An uncertain economy has many companies reeling in capital spending and cutting payroll. A few companies, doing just the opposite, keeping headcount and inventories at about year-2000 boom levels. From a business perspective, laying people off...

Ask the engineers who know. (Software).(Baldor Electric Co.'s ProSPEC)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Baldor Electric Co., Ft. Smith, Ark., a designer and manufacturer of electric motors, drives, and generators, unveiled a new service called ProSPEC at the 2003 Design and Manufacturing Show in Chicago. ProSPEC's premier feature is a new...

Track your encoders. (Connectivity).(US Digital Corp. PCI-4E POI interface card)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The PCI-4E POI interface card is available from US Digital Corp., Vancouver, Wash. It can track up to four incremental encoders. Multiple cards can be used concurrently on the POI bus of a PC to obtain an additional number of channels. The...

Bringing Qlarity to your controllers. (Control).(Qlarity Foundry screen-builder software)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Galil Motion Control, Rocklin, Calif., has tested and approved the QTERM-G124, an Ethernet-enabled graphics operator interface terminal designed by QSI Corp., for use with its Ethernet motion controllers. The QTERM-G124 operates off 10-26 Vdc,...

Shrink that shrink wrapper: two drives on one footprint save more than just space. (Miniaturization).
May 1, 2003... Belco Manufacturing, Monrovia, Calif. designs and builds high quality packaging machines. The company has used brushed dc drives for several years on their shrink-wrapping systems. The basic SCR technology of the drives has proved reliable and...

Controller runs on Ethernet. (Controller Warehouse).
May 1, 2003... SPECS Processor: 32 bit RISC Memory: 512 KB (program), 128 KB (data), 24 KB (retentive) FEATURES * 100 Mbits/sec Ethernet * Programs stored in flash memory * Real-time clock * Supports http, XML, SOAP, DHCP, DNS,...

Motion control meets PCI. (Controller Warehouse).
May 1, 2003... SPECS Speed: 100 mbps Axes: 32 FEATURES * 20 kHz update rate for four axes (10 kHz, eight axes) * Supports user-defined I/0 CAN-based networking under common OSs * Modular MPI software integrates into standard C/C++...

Soft start is smart. (Controller Warehouse).
May 1, 2003... SPECS Current: 108 to 480 A Voltage: 200 to 600 Vac FEATURES * Controls motor starting torque * Offers a variety of starting/stopping methods * Reduces heat losses by 80% * Built-in monitoring capabilities ...

Simplify brushless speed control. (Controller Warehouse).
May 1, 2003... SPECS Power output: 10, 25, 40, 90 W Power Input: 100 to 230 Vac Revolution ratio: 3:1 to 180:1 (geared models) FEATURES * Combines BLDC motor and speed control unit * Maintains constant torque at 100 to 2,000 rpm ...

Multiple axes work as one. (Controller Warehouse).
May 1, 2003... SPECS Processor speed: 100 MIPS and 64 MFLOPS Power required: 24 Vdc FEATURES * Coordinates multiple servo axes, I/0, and auxiliary equipment * Includes SERCOS, DeviceNet and dual PMC ports * UL/CE compliant *...

Filled bearings. (Motion Marketplace).
May 1, 2003... FEATURES * MicroPoly lubricant fills air space between rolling elements and race * Reduces downtime and maintenance * Keeps contaminants out of bearing * Formulas for USDA and FDA standards PhyMet Inc. * (800) 874-9638...

Frame clamp. (Motion Marketplace).
May 1, 2003... SPECS Clamping force: 11,250 lb FEATURES * Cam design provides consistent clamping force * Operates quietly in * Jaws have dowels and threads for NAMS mounting and shims * Optional weld cover protects internal...

Iron-core motors. (Motion Marketplace).
May 1, 2003... SPECS Diameter: 16 mm Torque: 0.14 oz-in, continuous Rated voltage: 4.5, 7, 12 Vdc FEATURES * Iron core * No-load speed to 12,900 rpm Micro-Drives * (800) 344-8203 www.micro-driver.com Circle 193 ...

Compact conveyor. (Motion Marketplace).
May 1, 2003... SPECS Height: 2-7/8 in. Width: 1-1/2 in. wider than transport tray FEATURES * Built-in sensor, logic, and motor controls * Sealed ball bearings * Self-contained plug-and-go operation MagStar Technologies * (952)...

Kit motors. (Motion Marketplace).
May 1, 2003... SPECS Output: 1 hp continuous power Operating voltage: 12V FEATURES * Designed for low-voltage, high-torque applications * 5.38-in. diameter, 2.4-in. length * Sintered rare-earth magnets * Electrical and...

Disconnect switches. (Motion Marketplace).
May 1, 2003... SPECS Voltage: 600 v Current: 16 A AC code designation: A600 FEATURES * Variety of handles and enclosures * Finger-safe design * Snap-on modular accessories * Self-centering cable guides Rockwell Automation...

Voice coil actuators. (Motion Marketplace).
May 1, 2003... SPECS Total stroke: 2.0 in. Stall force: 290 lb Peak force rating: 550 lb (for 10 sec max.) FEATURES * 2.8-in. center hole * Coil assembly at midstroke * Two-terminal, cog-free servo BEI Kimco Magnetics Div....

Problem 268//Guzzlin' grannies. (Fun With Fundamentals).
May 1, 2003... Take a minute, or you'll run in circles to solve this teaser. On his first day at his job as a waiter, Walter Whoopsie is a bit overwhelmed. He's running way behind, and the three women at one of his tables--Myrtle, Maude, and Millicent,...