The OptiScanTMIII system from Prior Scientific (Rockland, MA) is a stage and focus system for routine microscopy procedures requiring high precision. It offers full control in the X, Y, and Z axes via compatibility with OptiScan motorized stages for both inverted and upright microscopes, and Prior’s non-encoded focus motors and FB...

Nanotec (Feldkirchen, Germany) introduced the DB80 BLDC motor that features a rated speed of 3000 rpm and a rated voltage of 48 V. The 8-pin motor is suited for applications that require a high degree of efficiency, such as service robotics or automated guided vehicle systems. The motor has a flange size of 80 × 80 mm and is...

Lin Engineering (Morgan Hill, CA) releases the Xtreme Torque E5718 stepper motor with enhanced technology to reduce stalling, skipped steps, and provide efficient torque. The enhanced design allows users to stay within the same frame size and take advantage of increased torque normally available in larger frame sizes. The motor has...

PITTMAN® Motors, a business unit of AMETEK Precision Motion Control (Harleysville, PA), has introduced the DC032A Series of brush DC motors. The high-torque-density motors are designed in a rectangular package suitable for portable equipment and power tools. The motor body cross-section measures 25 × 32 mm. They are available...

Aerotech’s PlanarDLA integrated, open-frame stages from Aerotech (Pittsburgh, PA) are suited for applications ranging from two-sided LED wafer processing where high dynamics and micrometer-level straightness are required, to quasi-static optical metrology where high accuracy and precise geometric performance are necessary. The XY design...

SMW Autoblok (Wheeling, IL) introduced the BIG BORE® BB-EXL-SC2G front-end spring clamp power chuck featuring a jaw stroke of 1.5 inches, as well as increased safety monitoring. It utilizes spring clamping and pneumatic unclamping with lower air consumption. It has a step mode for partial opening and clamping when shimming. As a...

ADVANCED Motion Controls (Camarillo, CA) offers DriveWare® 7.3 (DW7.3) that streamlines and simplifies setup and configuration of DigiFlex Performance digital servo drives. The color-coded organization of the Drive Status screen helps quickly identify events and faults, while the integrated help browser automatically highlights...

BEI Kimco Magnetics (Vista, CA) introduced the DII15-60-200A High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) brushless DC (BLDC) motor developed specifically to withstand harsh conditions found in the oil exploration Industry. The robust design also makes it suitable for other applications found in severe environments. The 1.5" diameter...

Nexen Group (Vadnais Heights, MN) offers Eclipse Servo Motor Brakes that consume no energy when the brake is disengaged. It is spring-engaged/air-released (no electric coil) to keep the brake cool until it is needed. The brakes mount to the shaft end of servomotors up to 20 horsepower, including NEMA 23, 34, and 42 frame...

Vacon (Milwaukee, WI) introduced the NXC drive, an enclosed, variable-speed AC drive for high-power applications. It is available in NEMA 1 and NEMA 12 variations for applications in pumps and fans, extruders, main propulsion and bow thrusters, conveyers and crushers, feeders and mixes, winches, compressors, test benches, static power...

The SCHUNK SRU-mini- Speed rotary unit from SCHUNK (Morrisville, NC) is available in two model sizes and provides swivel times from 0.27s. If lightweight parts are handled with the unit, more than 4,000 cycles per hour can be achieved. Model size 10 achieves swivel times of 0.27s, and up to 3,600 cycles per hour is possible....

Imaging technology is playing an increasingly important role, for traditional industry sectors like manufacturing as well as emerging segments outside of the factory. Companies are looking to automate their operations. Lower costs have enabled customers to use camera-based...

Thanks to a camera affectionately known as “Ralph,” NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has delivered stunning natural-color images of Pluto and its moons.

The Basler beat area-scan camera from Basler (Ahrensburg, Germany/ Exton, PA) features 12 MP of resolution, progressive scan, and global shutter technology. Using the Camera Link interface, the cameras process 62 frames per second. Possible applications include measurement and identification; semiconductor and electronics...

The SAPPHIRE S-25A70/CXP area-scan camera from Adimec (Eindhoven, the Netherlands/Stoneham, MA) is equipped with the CoaXPress V1.1 Quad interface (4 x CXP-6). CoaXPress CXP-6 Quad offers a peak transfer rate of 2 Gigapixels/s. Data transmission between the camera and frame grabber occurs at up to 25 Gbits/s (4 x 6.25 Gbits/s)....

The Imaging Source (Bremen, Germany/Charlotte, NC) has announced industrial cameras with the Sony Full HD WDR Sensor IMX236. The cameras are available as GigE (PoE) and USB 3 versions in monochrome and color. Other features include integrated WDR (Wide Dynamic Range) and a resolution from VGA to Full HD. The maximum frames-per-second...

Photron (San Diego, CA) has released the FASTCAM Mini WX 50 camera. The device provides up to 750 frames per second at full four-megapixel resolution; 1080 HD performance is achieved at 1,500 frames per second. The 120 x 120 x 99-mm Mini WX 50 weighs 3.5 lbs and features 12-bit ADC. Memory options range from 4 GB to 8 GB, and...

The Goldeye G-008 SWIR camera from Allied Vision Technologies (Stadtroda, Germany/Exton, PA) is fitted with a QVGA InGaAs sensor (320 x 256 pixels, 30 μm pixel size), making the camera sensitive in the short wave infrared spectrum ranging from 900 to 1,700 nm. The imager delivers 346 frames per second at full resolution. The...

FLIR Systems (Wilsonville, OR) has added the K2 and K65 to its K-Series of thermal imaging cameras. The new additions provide firefighters with the capability to see through smoke, locate and rescue victims, identify hot spots, navigate, and stay better oriented during response missions. Powered by FLIR’s Lepton®...

With an exposure time of 200 ps, the OptoPIC camera from Optronis (Kehl, Germany) captures images of objects with rapidly changing light emission. The exposure has a repetition rate of 70 to 110 MHz. The programmable delay allows for shots to be taken automatically at various intervals in order to record a sequence of images...

Point Grey (Richmond, BC, Canada) has announced the addition of a new 1.3 MP global shutter CMOS to its Chameleon3® set of USB3 Vision™ cameras. The Chameleon3 CM3-U3-13Y3 models are based on color and monochrome versions of the ON Semiconductor PYTHON1300, a ½" global shutter CMOS sensor featuring 1280 x 1024 image...

PixeLINK® (Ottawa, ON, Canada) has added two 2.3 megapixel global shutter CMOS models to its USB3 Vision camera set. The PL-D752 and the PL-D792 cameras feature the IMX174 and IMX249 CMOS sensors. The PL-D752, built using the IMX174 sensor, will be offered in both 10-bit and 12-bit versions and provide speed of 164 frames per...

JAI (Shanghai, China/San Jose, CA) has introduced the GO-2400-PGE, an industrial camera featuring Sony’s IMX174, a 2.35-megapixel global shutter CMOS imager. The camera offers a maximum resolution of 1936 x 1216 pixels, while running at 48.8 frames per second over a GigE Vision interface. Power can be provided via the GigE Vision...

This week's Question: Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, is teaming up with the Florida Institute of Technology to develop a "master plan" to colonize Mars within 25 years. Aldrin envisions using Mars’ moons, Phobos and Deimos, as preliminary stepping stones for astronauts. The program would...

Although shields and sophisticated maneuvers could help protect space structures, scientists have to prepare for the possibility that debris could pierce a vessel. NASA and a team from the University of Michigan developed a new material that heals itself within seconds and could prevent...

A team led by physicist Christian Santangelo at the University of Massachusetts Amherst uses curved creases to give thin shells a fast, programmable snapping motion. The technique – inspired by the natural "snapping systems" like Venus flytrap leaves and hummingbird beaks – avoids the need for complicated...

This week's Question: Last month, the Canada-based company Thoth Technology received a US patent for its 12-mile space elevator design. The elevator, enclosed in a tunnel, includes a landing pad on its roof. Spacecraft would refuel and take on passengers and cargo from the pad. Some of the elements of...

After a 2013 wildfire led to the loss of 19 elite Arizona firefighters, Langley Research Center engineers, including Walt Bruce and Anthony Calomino, worked with the U.S. Department of...

A new imaging technology from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Toronto operates in both bright sunlight and darkness. A mathematical model programs the device so that the camera and its light source work together efficiently, eliminating extraneous light, or “noise,”...

NASA’s Langley Research Center hoisted a Cessna 172 aircraft 100 feet into the air by cables and released it. The plane plummeted onto a slab of dirt in a violent but controlled experiment that will help NASA improve aviation emergency response times. The test is part of a push to bolster the...