Motion Control/​Automation

Explore the latest developments in motion control and automation. Discover innovative advances from NASA and major research labs in robotics, autonomous vehicles, industrial automation, PID controller applications, motor drives and power transmissions.

Stories

40,51
0
3150
30
Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
In order to extend the usefulness of small, unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) to a wider range of missions, techniques are being developed to enable high-speed teleoperated control....
Feature Image
Application Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
The Piston Group (Redford, MI and Liberty, MO) builds cooling modules for seven different vehicles. These cooling modules are built on five different...
Feature Image
Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
The increasing cost of fuel and U.S. dependency on foreign fuel supplies has renewed interest in conserving energy and in generating electric power using...
Feature Image
Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
The Centennial Challenges are NASA’s prizes for the citizen inventor. Through open competitions, we seek novel solutions from diverse sources in technology...
Feature Image
Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) comes in different forms, frequencies, and levels. Electronic equipment has different categories for both emissions and susceptibility. Under normal...
Feature Image
Application Briefs: Medical
The benefits of aquatic physical therapy and rehabilitation for those who have difficulty with weightbearing activities due to arthritis or injury, or those who are overweight, have...
Feature Image
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Low-Friction, Low-Profile, High-Moment Two-Axis Joint
The two-axis joint is a mechanical device that provides two-degrees-of-freedom motion between connected components. A compact, moment-resistant, twoaxis joint is used to connect an electromechanical actuator to its driven structural members. Due to the requirements of the overall mechanism, the...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Miniature Multi-Axis Mechanism for Hand Controllers
A hand controller provides up to three axes of motion, and all required feel characteristics (stiffness and breakout torques) located inside a hollow handle within the grip of the hand. This is achieved using a miniature gimbal mechanism that allows for independent motion about one, two, or three...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
A magnetostrictive brake has been designed as a more energy-efficient alternative to a magnetic fail-safe brake in a robot. (In the specific application, “fail-safe” signifies that the brake is normally engaged; that...
Feature Image
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
AMETEK Technical & Industrial Products (Harleysville, PA) offers the Pittman® Series 8540 30-mm brush-commutated DC motors that integrate bonded neodymium magnets and 7-slot straight armature to minimize cogging. The motors feature a...
Feature Image
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Heidenhain Corp. (Schaumburg, IL) offers the 1000 Series rotary encoders with IP 64 protection and absolute position-value formation in a 35-mm-diameter housing size. The encoders are designed as single-encoder measurement...
Feature Image
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
ASM Sensors (Elmhurst, IL) has introduced the PTAM20 Series POSITILT® MEMS inclinometer available in single- and dual-axis versions. It is available in a compact, flat housing and features a measurement range for the...
Feature Image
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Midwest Motion Products (Watertown, MN) has released the Model MMP-D22-376H-24V GP52-195 BR-005 DC gearmotor with integral brake. Accepting any 24V DC source, including battery power, the encoder-compatible gearmotor/brake measures...
Feature Image
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Nexen (Vadnais Heights, MN) has introduced the Eclipse line of servomotor brakes designed to mount to servomotors up to 20 horsepower. The spring-engaged brakes are equipped with a split-hub, zero-backlash clamp collar for...
Feature Image
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Aerotech (Pittsburgh, PA) has introduced the PRO Series of side-sealed, hard-cover, ball-screw-driven linear stages available in 68 standard models with travels from 50 to 1500 mm. A variety of travels, widths, speeds, and load...
Feature Image
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Maxon Motor (Fall River, MA) offers the RE 50 mechanically commutated drive that features an ironless rotor for detent-free running, and a combination of a two-pole neodymium permanent magnet with winding...
Feature Image
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Sanyo Denki America (Torrance, CA) offers the SANMOTION R high-speed EtherCAT interface AC servo amplifier that provides 100 Mbps communication. Multi-function software includes a motion simulation function that runs the same...
Feature Image
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Avago Technologies (San Jose, CA) has introduced the AEAT-601B compact, integrated, incremental magnetic encoder for speed detection, knob control, and rotary encoder applications. Housed in a protective plastic housing, it...
Feature Image
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
The M660 high-speed, direct-driven piezomotor rotary stage from PI (Physik Instrumente) L.P. (Auburn, MA) is designed using PILine® piezomotor drive technology. The stage reaches top speeds of 720 degrees/sec and resolution to 40...
Feature Image
Application Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
High-Flex Cables Cicoil Corp. Valencia, CA 661-295-1295 www.cicoil.com Cicoil has provided a custom-formed high-flex cable to the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), scheduled to...
Feature Image
Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
From industrial panel PCs, to open-platform graphic operator interface terminals (OITs), to microOITs, to human-machine interfaces (HMIs), there are many...
Feature Image
Articles: Motion Control
Modern industrial machines rely on fast, accurate motion control in order to achieve high product quality and productivity, as measurement errors can lead to increased scrap and...
Feature Image
Articles: Motion Control
Increasingly competitive markets make efficient and accurate processes more critical than ever before. To meet the demands of manufacturers, machine builders...
Feature Image
Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
In 1938, General Electric began producing a two-phase synchronous induction motor which, at 60 Hz, ran at 75 RPM. The low speed resulted from using a different number of rotors to stator poles or teeth, which made...
Feature Image
Articles: Motion Control
The economic realities of the industrial marketplace are driving machine builders and integrators to get creative and build more intelligence into their machines in order to increase productivity...
Feature Image
Application Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
HARTING North America was recently asked to solve some of the problems associated with power distribution and motion control on a vehicle manufacturer’s long conveyor and...
Feature Image
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
The IDEA(TM) Drive stepper motor linear actuator from Haydon Kerk Motion Solutions (Waterbury, CT) integrates a linear actuator, electronic drive, and control unit with a patented GUI (Graphical Unit Interface). The GUI...
Feature Image
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
The IMA integrated-motor actuator from Tolomatic Inc. (Hamel, MN) combines a servo motor with a rod-style actuator. Compared to rod-style actuators, the integrated design improves dynamic performance by eliminating the need...
Feature Image
Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
The Hoopster(R) retaining rings from Smalley Steel Ring Company (Lake Zurich, IL) fit into shallower groves than regular snap rings or retaining rings. The rings’ low-profile, precision circularity, and small radial size allow...
Feature Image

Videos