Manufacturers often need to test their products to verify that they meet customer specifications, and provide the data that verifies specification compliance. This is particularly true when government contracts are involved, public money is being spent, and public safety is an issue....

Actuators are critical to all the robotic and manipulation mechanisms that are used in current and future NASA missions, and are also needed for many other industrial, aeronautical, and space activities. There are many types of actuators that were designed to operate as linear or rotary motors, but...

This invention is an electronically commutated brushless motor controller that incorporates Hall-array sensing in a small, 42-gram package that provides 4096 absolute counts per motor revolution position sensing. The unit is the size of a miniature hockey puck, and is a 44-pin male connector that provides many I/O...

The MESA 7I77 card set from Mesa Electronics (Richmond, CA) is a FPGA-based, 6-axis analog control system for CNC, industrial automation retrofits, and OEM systems. Six axes of analog outputs and encoder inputs are sufficient for up to 5-axis machines plus spindle control. Encoder inputs are individually programmable for TTL...

The 118Z Series pressure/vacuum oil-less diaphragm pump from Thomas Division (Sheboygan, WI) provides a low-vibration design that utilizes a lightweight nylon housing and end cap that limit the pump’s weight to 4.4 pounds. It features a 24V brushless DC motor.

Applimotion (Loomis, CA) has introduced new models of the UTS slotless frameless direct drive motors in sizes from 12 mm to 300 mm diameter. The motors feature zero cogging and sinusoidal torque curves. With large through holes and thin radial cross-section, the frameless kits integrate into gimbal, rotary stage, or...

SPEED 2012 software from CDadapco (Melville, NY) consists of five machine programs: PC-BDC (Brushless PM Motors), PC-IMD (Induction Motors), PCDCM (DC Brush Motors), PC-WFC (DC and AC Wound Field Motors), and PC-SRD (Switched Reluctance Motors). Each program is intended for designing and calculating a range of...

The Drives & Motion Division of Yaskawa America (Waukegan, IL) has released the P1000 variable speed drive that provides control for variable-torque loads through 500. Configuration tools include a multi-language LCD display with a real-time clock, parameter storage, fan and pump application presets, and a portable USB copy...

Bauer Gear Motor, an Altra Industrial Motion Company (South Beloit, IL), offers a range of permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM). The motors employ a rotor design that integrates embedded permanent magnets made from the rareearth material, instead of the squirrel-cage rotor found in induction motors. The motors offer high...

Aerotech (Pittsburgh, PA) offers the MPS-GR series rotary stages available in two sizes: the MPS50GR and MPS75GR. They incorporate wormgear drive and bearing components for repeatable positioning, and are available with DC servo or stepper motors and either a 20-mm (MPS50GR) or 30-mm (MPS75GR) clear aperture. The clear aperture...

Baumer (Southington, CT) offers the MA20 measuring wheel encoder for flexible position and speed feedback for conveyor systems. The two-in-one device combines a high-resolution optical incremental encoder and a precise measuring wheel. Capable of resolutions as high as 25,000 ppr, the encoder provides precise measuring...

PI (Physik Instrumente) LP (Auburn, MA) offers PI miCos precision linear stages. More than 20 product families are available, including miniature translation stages and positioning ranges of 40-mm to high load, and linear translation stages for travel ranges to 1 meter. The motorized precision positioners come in a variety of...

MICO (North Mankato, MN) offers hydraulic-over-air relay valves designed to convert hydraulic modulated input pressure to a proportional output air pressure. The relay valves are suited for various on- and off-highway applications, such as controlling an air-braked trailer with a hydraulically braked towing vehicle that...

Silicon Designs (Kirkland, WA) has introduced the model 2276 accelerometer with four-wire threaded removable connector. It offers continuous operation to +125°C (+250°F) when used with an 8-32V power supply. It is designed for zero- to medium-frequency applications, offering integral amplification and high-drive,...

Koford Engineering (Winchester, OH) offers the S24V30A sensorless motor driver with 37 kHz pwm frequency for use with standalone, digital, or analog operation. The drive has no minimum inductance and will operate slotless or ironless brushless motors without the need for inductors. The drives can be operated in standalone...

Amacoil (Aston, PA) has introduced a linear bearing slide load carrier to enhance the load carrying efficiency of Uhing traverse drives and to prevent them from slipping. The load carrier protects the rolling ring bearings from undue wear by assuring that weight and radial forces are not transmitted to the shaft-bearing interface....

Myostat Motion Control (Newmarket, ON, Canada) offers the HY series Hyphoid right angle gearboxes. Suitable for input torques between 76 N-CM and 357 N-CM, the gearboxes offer a high gear ratio in a small footprint. They are available in 5:1 and 10:1 ratios, with optional motor combinations and with sealed shafts.

Metallized Carbon Corp. (Ossining NY) offers custom vanes, rotors, and end plates for use in rotary vane pumps pumping both liquids and gases. The carbongraphite components provide lubrication in most environments, and are suited for pumping liquids with poor lubricating qualities, strong chemicals that attack...

The Micropulse® Generation 7 linear position transducer line from Balluff (Florence, KY) includes models with SSI Synchronous Serial Interface. Micropulse SSI-output transducers interface with control systems from manufacturers such as Allen-Bradley, Delta Computer, Siemens, Bosch Rexroth, and others. With position...

Accuride (Santa Fe Springs, CA) has released the Model 3357, a slide that offers 1" over-travel and a latch disconnect. It carries medium-duty loads up to 150 pounds, and provides full access to storage drawers and trays in industrial workstations and machinery, medical equipment, and electronic enclosures. The slide is available in even...

Machine design and deployment requires integration of various technologies such as controls, mechanics, vision, lasers, data acquisition, and software, to mention only a few. These mechatronic solutions usually target a specific purpose such as part manufacturing, marking, packaging, etc. Often...

To get the longest working life out of a linear bearing, keep it clean and well lubricated. This common-sense advice may sound easy enough to follow. Yet in the real world of round-the-clock, high-cycle manufacturing operations, bearings do get dirty and dry. And when either of these conditions happens, linear...

Toxic paint is used on the bottoms of large ships to prevent fouling, which is when a biofilm layer develops, decreasing the ship’s efficiency moving through the water. To further complicate the matter, the paint must be blasted off and replaced every 5 to 10 years, at which time literally tons of toxic...

Microstar Laboratories (Bellevue, WA) has announced the release of the Rotating Machinery Analysis module with software tools to facilitate mixed time measurements and rotation measurements of rotating machinery. The software enables time-based sampling or encoder-based sampling, or both at the same time. The module...

Hayward Flow Control (Clemmons, NC) has released the T-Series Webster thermoplastic pumps. The vertical, seal-less, immersible pumps feature a single, non-coupled motor/impeller shaft with a proprietary shaft seal. The pumps are available from 1/3 HP to 1-1/2 HP, with standard and washdown motors, and in voltages of 115/230...

PI, L.P. (Auburn, MA) has introduced the M-687 motorized microscope XY stage for inverted microscopes that features fully integrated, miniaturized ceramic linear drives. The stage is delivered as a complete system including a controller, joystick, and software. The self-clamping ceramic/ceramic linear motors in the XY...

Dytran Instruments (Chatsworth, CA) has introduced the Model 3225M39 ultraminiature teardrop IEPE accelerometer with a sensitivity of 10 mV/g, designed to adhesively mount in spaces typically inaccessible to other types of accelerometers. The sensor has an overall height of 0.23" (5.8 mm), and weighs 0.95 grams. Featuring a quartz...

Aerotech (Pittsburgh, PA) offers the CCS series rotary stages with integrated captured collet chucks that provide automated material handling for a wide range of materials and applications. Collet chucks used with the stages accept C-, D-, or Levin-style collets from machine-tool component suppliers in sizes supporting tube...

The GP16 precision spindle drive from maxon motor (Fall River, MA) incorporates a spindle combined with a DC motor to transform rotary motion into axial motion. Gearheads, motors, encoders, and controllers are used to drive the spindles. It is available in a metric M6 spindle with a self-locking function, or a 5-mm ball screw for...

Bosch Sensortec (Reutlingen, Germany) has integrated two triaxial MEMS sensors in a single package. The BMI055, a combination of an acceleration sensor and a gyroscope, is an inertial measurement unit for applications with six degrees of freedom (6DoF). The elements — acceleration sensor, gyroscope, and...