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Products: Motion Control
Position Sensors
Kaman Precision Products/Measuring (Colorado Springs, CO) offers digiVIT, an eddy current sensor for position/displacement/proximity sensing with a self-tuning bridge. At the beginning of any of the linearity...
Briefs: Motion Control
Among the challenges to advanced robotics and other mechatronic applications is the ability to get a range of precision motion with few components in a compact...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
By suppressing or controlling harmonic currents and voltages of the motor to overcome torque ripple, this system improves the efficiency and torque performance of an AC...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
The LVDT linear position sensor can operate successfully over a wide range of temperatures, depending upon its design and the application in which it is operating. While...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Electric Machine With Boosted Inductance to Stabilize Current Control
High-powered motors typically have very low resistance and inductance (R and L) in their windings. This makes the pulse-width modulated (PWM) control of the current very difficult, especially when the bus voltage (V) is high. These R and L values are dictated by the motor size,...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A buoyant rover has been developed to traverse the underside of ice-covered lakes and seas. The rover operates at the ice/water interface and permits direct observation and measurement of processes...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
International Space Station- Based Electromagnetic Launcher for Space Science Payloads
A method was developed of lowering the cost of planetary exploration missions by using an electromagnetic propulsion/launcher, rather than a chemical-fueled rocket for propulsion. An electromagnetic launcher (EML) based at the International Space Station (ISS)...
Products: Electronics & Computers
It’s that time of year when we ask NASA Tech Briefs readers to vote for the annual Readers’ Choice Product of the Year Awards.
Each month, our editors choose a Product of the...
Articles: Motion Control
Performing closed-loop control of hydraulic servo systems is often more challenging than controlling servomotor systems. The main reason is that hydraulic systems use compressible oil to move...
Application Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
At the GF6 six-speed, front-wheel transmission line at General Motors Powertrain in Toledo, OH, a new front-wheel-drive transmission line for smaller, more fuel-efficient...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
A Kinematic Calibration Process for Flight Robotic Arms
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) robotic arm is ten times more massive than any Mars robotic arm before it, yet with similar accuracy and repeatability positioning requirements. In order to assess and validate these requirements, a higher-fidelity model and calibration processes were needed.
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Magnetostrictive Alternator
This innovation replaces the linear alternator presently used in Stirling engines with a continuous-gradient, impedance-matched, oscillating magnetostrictive transducer that eliminates all moving parts via compression, maintains high efficiency, costs less to manufacture, reduces mass, and eliminates the need for a...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
High-precision encoders are used by earth observation instruments and in mechanisms for laser communication terminals (LCTs). A micro-radian resolution encoder for the LCT was designed for...
Application Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
As part of a NASA test course challenge, Teledyne DALSA engineered a winning Miniature Autonomous Roving Vehicle (MARV), earning the company a $350M contract with NASA’s Marshall Space...
Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
Fuel Flexible, Ultra-Portable Microturbine Generator
Erik Herold, Jason Ethier, and Ivan Wang Dynamo Micropower, Boston, MA
A large unmet need in the oil and gas industry is...
Articles: Green Design & Manufacturing
2013 Create the Future Design Contest
The 2013 Create the Future Design Contest — sponsored by COMSOL, SAE International, and Tech Briefs Media Group (publishers of NASA Tech Briefs) — recognized innovation in product design in eight categories: Aerospace & Defense (new this year), Consumer Products, Electronics, Machinery & Equipment,...
Articles: Motion Control
Worldwide an estimated 185 million people use a wheelchair daily. A company based in Auckland, New Zealand, has developed an innovative robotic technology that helps people with mobility...
Articles: Motion Control
Fundamentally, a servo system can perform no more accurately than the accuracy of the feedback device controlling it. In addition, errors in speed or position can be introduced into the system by the...
Application Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Special care needs to be taken when handling delicate materials used in medical applications. Small diameters provide increased flexibility needed for long-flex-life applications such as cardiac catheter wires. Many...
Products: Motion Control
The i-series planetary gearboxes from Groschopp (Sioux Center, IA) are available with AC, PMDC, and brushless motors, and are made of cast aluminum. They are offered with up to three stages of steel cut or optional plastic gears,...
Products: Motion Control
CD-adapco (Melville, NY) offers two connected simulation programs, SPEED and STAR-CCM+, for machine design. The SPEED tool is used to design motors, generators, and alternators; STAR-CCM+ is a heat transfer and thermal...
Products: Motion Control
Warner Linear (Belvidere, IL) has announced the ITrack linear actuators for light- and medium-duty applications where parallel motor type actuators won’t fit in limited space requirements. The actuators feature a release...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Reell Precision Manufacturing (St. Paul, MN) offers the TI-100 and TI-200 Series torque control hinges that provide pivoting capabilities without the standard appearance of conventional hinges. Depending on model, the...
Products: Motion Control
Applimotion (Loomis, CA) has introduced custom gearmotors for high-torque, low-speed, and low-profile applications. The assemblies combine gearing and direct drive frameless motor kits. The ULT, UTH, and UTS low-profile frameless...
Products: Motion Control
Lin Engineering (Morgan Hill, CA) offers the R1025 stepper motor driver that can be used with stepper motors ranging from NEMA 8 to NEMA 42. The driver is capable of output currents ranging from 0.8 to 10 amps peak while...
Products: Motion Control
Designed for air seats, light-duty air suspension, and other mobile applications, the Thomas 135 Series DC WOB-L® compressor from Thomas Division, a Gardner Denver Company (Sheboygan, WI), is a compact, lightweight...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Measurement Specialties (Hampton, VA) has introduced a rugged, triaxial DC accelerometer for steady-state, low-g vibration measurements and high-g transient shock measurements. The piezoresistive, MEMSbased Model 3803A provides...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Heidenhain Corp. (Schaumburg, IL) offers the Leine & Linde DRIVE-CLiQ encoder platform for operation in harsh drive environments where they are exposed to vibration, shock, and mechanical loads. The encoder can be installed to the...
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
HBM (Marlborough, MA) offers the T40B and T40FM torque transducers that include an integrated speed measurement system. They are designed to work in harsh environments such as those that contain humidity, condensation, dust,...
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Webcasts
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