Motion Control/​Automation

Motion Control

Browse innovative developments in motion control technologies. Find essential news, technical briefs and applications used in PID controllers, servo motors, direct drive solutions, autonomous positioning, and motion-related components.

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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Helical Products Co. (Santa Maria, CA) introduced single-piece, flexible couplings to compensate for mechanical movement irregularities. The units require neither maintenance nor lubrication; they offer constant rotational velocity,...
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Products: Motion Control
Madison Electric Products (Mentor, OH) has released the Model HPRT C-Face Magnetic Ring Encoder, compatible with AC vector drive applications. Standard features include digital square wave quadrature-signal (064, 128, 256,...
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Products: Motion Control
H2W Technologies, Inc. (Valencia, CA) released limited angle torque motors (“torquers”) that are single phase, brushless, low profile motors, vacuum compatible to 10^5 torr. Options include kit motors and housed motors....
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Products: Motion Control
Linear-Arc Motor
Applimotion (Loomis, CA) offers the LARC Series of linear-arc motors, a combination of a disk drive voice coil motor and brushless linear motor. The units can be driven by three-phase brushless motor controllers from 24 to 300 volts with speeds ranging from 0.1 to 1000 rpm. Features include axial low profile, with options as low as...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Heidenhain (Schaumburg, IL) expanded its ERA 4000 series of angle encoders with the ERA 4×80, 4×81, and 4×82 versions. The ERA 4x80 is mounted using a centering collar method, with a low profile encoder system. With seven...
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Products: Motion Control
YET US (Manchester, NH) introduced the XtraDrive® servo system, configured for compatibility with all brushless servo motor technologies. The unit features patented non-linear control technology (NCT) for performance and...
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Application Briefs: Motion Control
Robotics are now and have been an inextricable aspect of American industry, performing tasks as varied as the robots themselves. Robots can, in most cases, accommodate greater production speeds,...
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Application Briefs: Motion Control
In situations where human travel is necessary but where the geography is too steep or treacherous, aerial tramways often are used as a convenient alternative. Ski resorts, mountaineering...
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Application Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
In the 1980s and 1990s, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena, CA) began developing advanced microsystems and microelectronics technologies and components for future space...
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Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
The age-old tradition of using shaft keys in mechanical drives has served the power transmission industry well for many years. When appropriately sized, it guarantees that virtually no relative motion...
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Articles: Test & Measurement
The measurement of gases associated with industrial processing/emissions monitoring has become increasingly important as the need to improve efficiencies in process control has increased, and...
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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Prior Scientific (Rockland, MA) has added patent-pending Intelligent Scanning Technology (IST) to its Prior ProScan™ II H101A, H107, and H117, 4 × 3" scanning stages. IST allows each stage to be pre-programmed with a unique...
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Products: Motion Control
MRC Bearings Services (Kulpsville, PA) offers the R Series inch-sized stainless ball bearings for small shaft diameters. The single-row, deep-groove radial conrad-type bearings carry radial and thrust loads in either direction at...
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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
PI L.P. (Auburn, MA) has released the M-110 series translation stages that provide linear motion of 5, 15, and 25 mm. Available are X, XY, and XYZ systems, which can be combined with the M-116 miniature rotary stage....
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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
The CRK series from Oriental Motor USA Corp (Torrance, CA) combines a five-phase stepping motor with a compact, low-vibration microstepping driver. In microstep operating mode, the driver provides 25 preset angle...
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Products: Motion Control
The WCS2A/WCS3A PosiTrak™ Position Tracking System from Pepperl+Fuchs (Twinsburg, OH) consists of a U-shaped read head, a code rail and support hardware, and network and control interfaces. The read head optically scans a...
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Products: Motion Control
PHD (Fort Wayne, IN) has introduced the Series PLM pin locating clamp, a pneumatically powered actuator to locate, clamp, and support parts in welding applications. To protect against slag and other contaminants, the clamp is...
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Products: Motion Control
Nippon Pulse America (Radford, VA) has released the RoHS-compliant Motion Checker MCH-5, a palm-sized, standalone stepper motor controller with a built-in constant voltage driver. Front panel controls enable setting of...
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Products: Motion Control
Elmo Motion Control (Westford, MA) has unveiled its Maestro Multi-Axis Supervisor with firmware for support of the DS305 configuration protocol, DS401 CAN network IO integration protocol, and the DS402 motion control...
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Products: Motion Control
The Acam-Messelectronic TDC-GPX chip from Transducers Direct (Miamiville, OH), allows distance measuring of ±1 mm rms to a range of 1,500 meters. The chip has four selectable operating modes: I-mode provides eight LVTTL...
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Products: Motion Control
Haydon Switch & Instrument (Waterbury, CT) has released the “W” series of anti-backlash nuts, designed to minimize backlash between the leadscrew and nut interface. A blend of self-lubricating polyacetal and stainless...
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Products: Motion Control
New Scale Technologies (Victor, NY) offers the SQ-2300 series benchtop motor controller for computer control of the company's SQUIGGLE motors and closed-loop linear nanopositioning stages. Using the controller, SQUIGGLE motor...
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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
National Instruments (Austin, TX) has announced the NI 9505, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based, H-bridge servo drive module for the NI CompactRIO embedded platform. The module offers direct connectivity to...
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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Allegro MicroSystems (Worcester, MA) has introduced the A3901 dual H-bridge low-voltage motor driver. Capable of operating one stepper motor or two DC motors, the unit is designed for portable applications with a power-off current...
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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Thomas Products Div. (Sheboygan, WI) offers the Series 5002 miniature diaphragm liquid pumps, designed for all-liquid or mixed wet/dry pumping applications. Model 5002F pumps are single-head and measure 1.99 × 1.18 × 3.19"....
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Application Briefs: Motion Control
To cut through metal and other materials, a plasma cutter sends an arc of electricity through a high-speed jet of an inert gas. When electricity and gas meet, plasma is formed, hot enough to melt...
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Application Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
It is a staple of the summer box office blockbuster: the car chase. Car chases have not only become a vital component of an action movie, they have also had to evolve, with audiences...
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Application Briefs: Motion Control
Haptics, also known as “force feedback teleoperation,” attempts to provide environmental interactions through a robotic system. Users mimic these interactions with robotic arms. By...
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Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
Direct Torque Control (DTC) is widely used as a method for controlling AC motors in many demanding applications. It is a unique method for controlling AC motors. In...
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