Researchers Take Stock of the Most Promising Control Scheme for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors

Electrical machines consume nearly half of all the electrical power generated worldwide, making them one of the top contributors to carbon...

Sustaining Shock Loads: Low-Speed, High-Torque Hydraulic Direct Drives

The most common use of HDD systems is for industrial applications moving heavy masses on a continuous basis with low speed and high torque, and especially high starting torque for operations with frequent stops and starts.

New Products

Read about the new products for October 2022, including rotary encoders, precision gearboxes, a brushless servo motor, and more.

Inflatable Actuators Use Origami Principles to Deform

Researchers have taken inspiration from origami to create inflatable structures that can bend, twist, and move in complex, distinct ways from a single source of pressure.

NIST is Calibrating Gear Artifacts

Gears are sophisticated parts that play a vital role in cars, airplanes, construction and mining equipment, food processing, clock making, and more. And, companies are still trying to make them better —...

Making Low-Cost Automation Accessible

Roose’s Chocolate World, based in Belgium, is using an automated solution, “ChocoMatic,” that doesn’t break the bank.

Integral Tuned Mass Absorber for Turbine Blades

A novel turbine blade design and manufacturing approach developed by NASA provides a significant reduction in turbine blade resonant vibration.

Encoder Selection: Finding the Right Fit

Key considerations to keep in mind while selecting the best encoder for your application.

New Products

New Products from the August 2022 issue of Motion Design.

Ginning Up a Modern Automation Platform

Although the basic function of cotton gins is quite old, today’s versions can benefit further from modernized control systems.

Making Automotive Assembly Lines Safer

The moving assembly line remains an integral piece of most automobile manufacturing.

Products of Tomorrow

This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that innovation.

Assessing Five Key Areas of Modern Hydraulic Power Units

Any manufacturing facility that uses hydraulics powered by conventional fixed-speed hydraulic power units (HPUs) has engineers and personnel who know all too well how large, noisy,...

Engineers Bring a Soft Touch to Commercial Robotics

Inspired by the natural dexterity of the human hand, a team of engineers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has created a reconfigurable hybrid robotics system that is able to...

New on the Market: April 2022

High-performance laser trackers, gimbal motors, air-quality sensors, and more.

The Many Benefits of Smart IIoT Connected Factories

Automation can crumble, even when only one cog is loose, says Brad Walters from Monnit.

An Alternative Approach to 3D Reconstruction

The method combines concepts of global and local stereo methods for accurate, pixel- wise matching at low runtime.

Handheld 3D Skin Printer Accelerates Healing of Burns

The handheld printer deposits sheets of skin to cover large burn wounds and its bio-ink accelerates healing.

Readers Select 2021 Products of the Year

A Smart Gadget, a simulator module, and a holographic display.

Machinery Health Monitoring: Which Equipment is Critical?

Which machinery requires constant monitoring? According to one industry expert, the answer boils down to “Criticality.”

How to Build an 'Ocean Battery'

Dr. Frits Bliek and his team at Ocean Grazer are building an "Ocean Battery" that brings hydrodam technology to the sea.

New Products

Fiber laser machinery, polishing pitch, beam collimators, and more.

New on the Market: January 2022

Microwave measurement receivers, oscilloscopes, longwave infrared cameras, and more.

Process Enables Machines to Thermally “Breathe”

Large machines can breathe in and out cooling blasts of water to keep their systems from overheating.

Engine Made as a Single Calcium Ion

The engine is approximately 10 billion times smaller than a car engine.

Calibration System for Automated Fiber Placement

The system creates accurate defect standards for in-situ inspection systems.

Cheetah-Inspired Soft Robots

The robots move more quickly on solid surfaces or in the water than previous generations of soft robots.

Soft Components for Soft Robotics

An electrically driven soft valve paves the way for fully soft robots.