June 1, 2009
Features
Straight move lowdown
Because these traversing systems are so widespread, every aspect of linear electromechanical design is continually being improved from guidance and load...
Telescopic rails for heavyweight transfer
These days, some new upscale homes and buildings are adorned with formed concrete facades to give the stylish appearance of stonemasonry, but in a more...
Guides in complete actuators
In the simplest terms, a linear actuator is a mechanical device that develops force in a linear motion, either by hand or with a motor. In industrial...
Strain gages for monitoring forces
The engineering measurement called strain is the deformation per unit of length of a material when force is applied to it. In other words, strain is a...
Top 10 tips Things to know about motion controllers
Carefully consider controller location. Just as in real estate, think location, location, location! Controller location in the overall motion system is...
Useful Websites
Web Contents
Website dedicated to safety For all the latest information on how to keep employees and environments safe, visit the new Rockwell Automation Safety Solutions...
In the Loop
Needed now: Fabulous design ideas
Post-it notes and furniture slides aside, can you remember the last time you heard about a really great idea and wondered, Why didn't I think of that?...
In Response
Motor rebates madden reader
I was very disappointed to see you touting the NEMA grab for my tax money, with the happygram about using $350 million in subsidies to promote the sale...
What's New
Universities offer mechatronics, robotics degrees
As industrial technology evolves, further blurring the lines between mechanical and electrical disciplines, industry and academia are striving to keep...
SERCOS provides open source software drivers
SERCOS International (SI) will provide an open source software driver library for the SERCOS III real-time Ethernet communication system master implementation....
Motion control market trends downward
According to April statistics from IMS Research, Austin, Tex., the worldwide market for motion control equipment showed healthy revenue growth in 2007,...
Environmental design initiative reaches Congress
On May 14, legislation specifying the commitment of NEMA members to eliminate or limit hazardous substances in certain electrical products was introduced...
Tiny encoder makes waves
Inductive encoders operate by tracking reactionary current-flow resistance (to nearby material) in one or more coils. However, there are drawbacks to...
Robotic helping hand
The Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) of the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va., has developed a robotic hand that can...
Biz bits
Schunk hires Bob Holtz SCHUNK Inc., Morrisville, N.C., a manufacturer of automation, workholding, and toolholding technology, announces the addition of...
Brushing Up
A rip in time makes nine
From the erosion of a grain of sand off a cliff to the unbounded expansion of the Universe, Nature tends towards disorder. This tendency has a name entropy....
Dealing with Distributors
The right distributor relationship
One question that motion control users have pondered for years is this: Is it better to select one strategic partner or use my business as leverage to...
Design by Objective
May the force be with you
If you're looking for some new tactics to pack more power into your next design, don't bother with Jedi mind tricks. Instead, take a look at some of the...
Gearbox tackles downtime in water treatment
In today's do-more-with-less economy, turning trash into fuel makes both environmental and economic sense. That's just what Lincoln Paper and Tissue is...
Product Spotlight
New Products
Linear-motor-driven actuator The P3 linear-motor-driven actuator is designed with the linear-motor coil integrated into the top assembly plate for optimized...
Bearings and accessories
Precision-machined bearings Precision-machined bearings and assemblies are available with to 6 in. ODs. Features & benefits Available in a variety of...
Celebration: MSD's big Five-O
Segway segue
Check it out, Dean Kamen: Forty years before the Segway, in 1959, a young student at the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology,...
