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.

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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Avago Technologies (San Jose, CA) introduced the AEDS-964x optical encoder modules, with resolutions of up to 360 lines per inch, for printing applications. The modules are used with a transmissive code strip to detect...
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Products: Motion Control
S. Himmelstein and Co. (Hoffman Estates, IL) released the MCRT® 48200V Series Compact Digital Torquemeters, having no pots, switches, and requires no manual adjustment. The non-contact devices have full-scale ranges from 25...
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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Festo Corp. (Hauppauge, NY) released the SEC-ACSMLC Multi-Axis Controller and SEC-SDD drive. Featuring the CoDeSys programming platform, the SEC-AC-SMLC is based on the IEC61131-3 standard, offering the...
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Products: Motion Control
Danaher Motion (Wood Dale, IL) released the Thomson-Deltran Power-Off Magnetic Brake (PMB) series of power-off DC, spring-set, multifunctional brakes. Nine standard frame sizes from 30 to 120 are available. Torque range is 45...
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Products: Motion Control
Haydon Switch & Instrument (Waterbury, CT) released size 8 hybrid linear actuators with encoder feedback. Encoder resolutions range from 120 to 330 cycles per revolution, or 480 to 1,200 pulses per revolution; encoder...
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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
From SICK STEGMANN, INC. (Dayton, OH), the DRS61 CoreTech® Incremental Encoders can be programmed the number of lines from 1 to 8,192, as well as the width of the zero pulse. The units are available in face mount flange,...
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Products: Motion Control
Animatics Corp. (Santa Clara, CA) released the SM2315DT as part of the OEM Series of SmartMotors. The unit features an 8-pole rotor design with a high copper filling factor, and delivers 112 oz-in of peak torque while maintaining...
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Products: Motion Control
The Model 01424 rotating torque sensor from Sensor Developments (Lake Orion, MI) uses a shaft-to-shaft configuration for in-line placement, and incorporates a digital non-contact wireless system that provides power to the...
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Blog: Electronics & Computers
Current Attractions
Developed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (Huntsville, AL), a micro-commanding rotational-position-control system offers the advantage of less mechanical complexity, susceptibility to mechanical resonances, power demand, bulk, weight, and lower cost, relative to prior rotational-position-control systems based on...
Blog: Medical
Pneumatic Step Motor
Medical scientists at Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD) have constructed the "PneuStep," a prototype pneumatic step motor that is the first of its kind. The motor was developed as part of a project for a robot that could operate precisely within the closed bore of high-intensity MRI equipment. The pneumatic nature of the...
Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
Robot Chair
Engineers at the Humanoid Robot Research Center (Taejon, S. Korea) have constructed the prototype HUBO-FX1, a human-riding "robotic chair" capable of carrying a person or a load of 100 kg. The user sits in a chair structure mounted on two robot legs, and controls ambulatory motion by way of a joystick. The HUBO-FX1 can walk forward,...
Articles: Energy
Electric motors consume approximately one quarter of the electricity in the U.S. and are the main motive force in our commercial buildings, industrial...
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Application Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
In the USA and other developed countries, cancer is responsible for 25% of all deaths. In spite of the most recent advances in cancer research, by far the best curative treatment for the disease is...
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Application Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
As the race to fulfill the ever-increasing demand for fiber optic assemblies began, the need for a fully automatic assembly line has come into focus. Individual filaments must be connected in such a...
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Application Briefs: Motion Control
Hard disks were originally intended for computers in ultra-clean, ultra-safe data offices; by the 21st century, hard disks had moved beyond the office, finding their way into digital cameras,...
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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Eaton Corp. (Cleveland, OH) released the HP30 high-pressure disc valve motor for mobile off-highway applications requiring up to 30,000 in-lbs of intermittent torque. Options include a hydraulic parking brake offering up to 3,570 Nm...
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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Engineering Synthesis Design, Inc. (Tucson, AZ) released the IntelliWave ™ interferometric measurement software package to monitor fringe change in fluid flow and thermodynamic analysis applications. The software...
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Products: Motion Control
Aerotech (Pittsburgh, PA) released the ALAR series of direct-drive, large-aperture rotary stages. Coming in five aperture sizes (100, 150, 200, 250, and 325 mm), the units are designed for angular positioning and velocity control,...
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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Asymmetric Fasteners, Inc. (Hackettstown, NJ) released the Torksleeve B mounting for ball bearings, compatible with roller, needle, linear, or plain bearing types. The unit provides quick assembly time, is compact, and...
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Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
3D navigation devices
Two new 3D navigation devices, SpaceNavigator and SpaceExplorer, from 3Dconnexion(R), a Logitech company, San Jose, CA, have been named NASA Tech Briefs' Product of the Month for January. SpaceNavigator is an entry-level device that lets users move naturally and fluidly in 3D environments without making repetitive mouse...
Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
The task of choosing the correct mix of motion control components for a successful servo positioning system involves a combination of art, science, and experience. It also includes a little luck, but luck is...
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Application Briefs: Motion Control
The woodworking industry is as advanced and under pressure to deliver high-quality goods quickly as any. One of the most versatile tools devised to quicken production with flat panels of wood is...
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Application Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Optical fiber, now the mainstay of telecommunications as well as sensor, illumination, and imaging systems, is made by first pulling a large-diameter preform into a long, filimentous fiber. Then divided into...
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Application Briefs: Test & Measurement
Container leaks can range from mildly annoying to potentially dangerous. To avoid faulty containers from ever leaving the production line, producers have installed testing devices as part of...
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Products: Motion Control
Intelligent Motion Systems (IMS, Marlborough, CT) released the MDrivePlus motion control system for brushless motor applications. The unit features 20 microstep resolutions to 51,200 (full step, degrees, metric, and arc...
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Products: Motion Control
International Rectifier (El Segundo, CA) released the IRMCT3UF1 fully integrated high-reliability hybrid motor control modules enabling digital, sensor-free vector control of permanent magnet motors. The module combines...
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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Sterling Instrument (New Hyde Park, NY) released the “S1268Z-...M” series of 84 combination aluminum-acetal gears. Coming in metric and imperial sizes, the gears are 20° pressure angled, AGMA Q10 and ISO Class 7. Sizes...
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Products: Robotics, Automation & Control
Physik Instrumente (PI) LP (Auburn, MA) introduced the P-652 piezoelectric linear-motor driven translation stage, measuring 9.0 × 6.5 × 2.4 mm. Consisting of four parts (ultrasonic piezoelectric resonator, two lateral...
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Products: Motion Control
Oilgear Co. (Milwaukee, WI) introduced the MFW and MVW fixed and variable displacement bi-directional high-speed motors, offered in two frame sizes and four displacements. Features are: cylinder mounted in polymerous...
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