Cam followers: Metal versus composite
Engineering design is an art of compromise. To achieve a design goal for example, a certain machine function engineers select components based on several...
This Used There: Chains in entertainment
Doing more with less is imperative in every industry today, and entertainment is no exception. Many theatre buildings are either being constructed or...
Getting more life from roller chain
Roller chains are called upon to carry heavy loads, withstand shock, and survive even the harshest environments. However, chains achieve their best longevity...
Caliper brakes: Hydraulics versus pneumatics
Caliper disc brakes are among the most tried and true braking technologies in industrial use. Designed to clamp onto both sides of discs or flat rails,...
Controlling overload in high-torque drives
High-torque drive applications typically involve larger load inertias and slower ramp times for acceleration and deceleration than those of standard applications....
Gear up on gear noise tactics
The Gear Dynamics and Gear Noise Short Course will be offered by The Ohio State University from March 15 to 18 in Columbus. The course has been offered...
PTDA offers leadership conference
The Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) will hold its Leadership Development Conference during March 21 to 22, 2011, at the New York-New...
Roller bearings enable better tube transport
Pines Technology, Westlake, Ohio, makes computer numerical control (CNC) tube benders for power generation, ship building, and heavy truck industries...
Chains for lifting
A major challenge in lifting applications is moving loads at a linear rate while maintaining steady and level positioning on vertical and horizontal planes....
The rigid link
They don’t handle misalignment, but rigid couplings are great at joining shafts tightly and solidly with absolutely no backlash...
Shims for preloading
Preload is the minimum amount of force that ensures smooth and tight movement between parts in a power-transmission assembly by eliminating gaps and slop....
Don't let shafts be an afterthought
Did you know that shaft misalignment accounts for nearly half of all expenses related to rotating machinery breakdowns? By accurately aligning the shafts...
Better by Design:Ultra-light torque limiter
Mechanical torque limiters are often considered heavy, bulky, and outdated. For this reason, electronic current limitation is commonly used in their place...
Motion Scenarios: Spindle Control
Modern machine tools continue to make technical advances, thanks in large part to ongoing improvements and fine-tuning in computer numerical control (CNC)...
How to diagnose a noisy gearbox
Sometimes a gearbox problem can be easily identified by the sound it makes during operation. Conversely, other situations exist for which normal sounding...
Braking with bladders
Conveyors move discrete products down a line, but eventually those parts have to come to a stop. Here, traditional pneumatic and electromagnetic braking...
Stamping and pressing
The process of stamping is traditionally associated with the auto industry, and all of its requirements for specially shaped panels and parts. However,...
Tip-top tap-ready conveyor
Conveyors are no strangers to dust: It's generated by rubbing corrugated boxes during packaging, the conveying of pet food or bakery confectionary, and...
Motion Scenarios: Indexing
In modern machine design, indexing refers to movement of a mechanical member from an initial position to a new position, starting and ending in rest....
Line shafting mechanical and electronic
In applications such as printing and paper converting, where separated sides or ends of a moving machine must be synchronized, the most obvious solution...
Adjustable line shafts
By using a high-strength intermediate collar between two telescoping sections of precision tubing, EZV line shafts locate phase adjustment apparatus in an accessible space...
Steel bellows coupling
The backlash-free primeflex coupling can be plugged in for easy installation and disassembly...
Floating shaft couplings
Floating Shaft CD couplings provide a torsionally stiff, zero-backlash option for connecting long distances between shaft ends...
Tidy rollers
Bearings face two challenges in dirty or washdown environments: keeping out contamination, and keeping lubricant safe inside. Single and multi-lip designs...
U.S. gear demand gets growing
The domestic market for gears and gear assemblies is forecast to increase 3.9% per year to $30.1 billion in 2013 according to a new study from The Freedonia...
Slit type plastic couplings
S50TLC Inch and Metric Series couplings offer low cost, UV resistance, and voltage and RF isolation...
Why so many bearing greases?
The right grease can prolong the life of rolling-element bearings in expensive equipment, cut downtime, and improve performance. Guess what the wrong grease can do...
Lifting limitations with air bearings
Conventional stages with rolling steel bearings exhibit friction and other mechanical nonlinearities; they are also dependent on servo-loop filters (including...
Conveyors deliver products, people across many settings
From grocery store checkout lanes and ski lifts to moving sidewalks and airport baggage systems, conveyors are part and parcel of modern life. Within...
Abart Gear and Machine
A few months ago, we presented the mystery of Abart Machine and Gear Co., featured (left) in a 1959 issue of this magazine. The operation was acquired...
Handy shaft collars hold their own
Simple and ubiquitous, the trusty shaft collar is one of the most useful components in the power transmission industry. Used alone, collars act as mechanical...
Top 10 tips Coupling competence 101
Don't choose your coupling based on habit or price alone. Because engineers are creatures of habit, choosing a coupling type is often a matter of having...
Modeling bearing life
Bearings are important in all rotating applications. First priority is to select a bearing type and size that will withstand the magnitude and direction...
Indexer overload protection
In engineering, indexing is the movement from an initial position to a new position, starting and ending in rest. Mechanical cam-driven indexers are motion-control...
Mercury clutch mystery: Partially solved
In the August issue of Motion System Design, we presented the mystery of the centrifugal mercury clutch. The design was patented in 1950 by Automatic...
Peaceful planetaries
Planetary gearing offers distinct advantages over parallel gear arrangements, including lower backlash, higher strength and torque, and greater torsional...
Top 10 tips; Working with brakes and clutches
Consider total system inertia. One of the most important and most overlooked steps in selecting the appropriate brake for a drive system is considering...
Mercury clutch mystery
Here we present you with a bit of a mystery: That of the centrifugal mercury clutch. The design was patented in 1950 by Automatic Steel Products Inc....
Snakes slither using friction, weight redistribution
Researchers at New York University and the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered that snakes use both friction generated by their scales in addition to weight redistribution to slither along flat surfaces....
Polymers hold promise for self-reporting mechanical stress
Force-sensitive polymers being developed by researchers at the University of Illinois (U. of I.) could one day lead to materials that speak for themselves...
Primer: Considering gear housings and carriers
Drive designers must make accurate life predictions to ensure reliability. Part of the equation is gear and bearing support flexibility — in the gearbox housing, planet carrier, and ring gear....
Save time with gearing components
Locking device quickly fastens rotating components The M-Type Shaftloc rotating-component fastening device is a locking mechanism for rigidly mounting...
Top 10 tips: Working with rack & pinion drives
Choosing the right rack and pinion drive depends on three main considerations — application parameters, required accuracy, and budget. Following are some expert tips and tactics to help you get it right the first time....
Mechanical cam operation and high accuracy
For many applications, mechanical cams are unrivaled by any competitors, electronic or otherwise....
Mechanical vibration damping
Laser and optical systems, whether used in academic labs or industry, are very susceptible to vibrations from the environment, and so these instruments frequently need vibration isolation. They measure a very few angstroms or nanometers of displacement and need an absolutely stable surface upon which to rest. Any vibration, coupled into the mechanical structure of the instrument, causes vertical noise and a fundamental inability to measure these kinds of high-resolution features....
Shaft locker
Now there is a way to lock components onto shafts and spindles where installation perpendicular to the shaft is not possible: Similar to threaded versions,...
Rolling right along
As technology changes and advances, some components and equipment inevitably fall by the wayside, often replaced by shiny new designs that are better,...
A controlled STOP
Fast, powerful and controllable, servomotors are an essential part of many designs. But what happens when power to them shuts down? Without energy to...
Servo couplings
Stainless steel bellows couplings Precision couplings Flex B and Flex K provide excellent kinematic properties with three types that offer different combinations...
Mechanical speed adjustment
In 1959, when Motion System Design made its debut, mechanical systems were the only way to control system speed. Now we ask of one inaugural-issue headline:...
Slip clutch keeps camera on track
To provide a better view of the action on high school and college football fields, Endzone Video Systems (EVS), Sealy, Tex., developed a portable tower system that lifts a video camera 25 to 35 ft. above the action. ...
ASME president emphasizes continuing education
Mechanical engineers take note: To future-proof your career, lifelong learning will be of the utmost importance....
Stretching wire generates current
Researchers have developed a new type of electric power generator able to produce ac current through cyclical stretching and releasing of zinc oxide wires. ...
Friction springs minimize impact, vibration
Friction springs consist of radial rings that deform briefly and convert impact energy into frictional heat...
Using slip clutches in industrial design
Slip clutches are commonly used to protect against overloads, but they serve other functions as well — increasing machine speeds, applying...
Gear microgeometry and performance 2 of 2
No two gears are manufactured the same, but addressing manufacturing variability with optimized gear microgeometry boosts durability and lowers noise...
Copasetic couplings: Flexible couplings
Flexible shaft couplings transmit torque from one shaft to another, and redress misalignment between them. The trick is that flexible couplings must act...
Belts and planetary gearboxes add up to reliable parts-handling
Conventional wisdom says that heavy-duty parts handlers need ball screw or rack-and-pinion actuators....
Choosing electic clutches & brakes to meet thermal cpacity needs
Heat is the enemy of friction clutches, brakes, and clutch-brakes. Most often, the enemy is within. You must keep it neutralized....
Sound check: Low-noise gear module
A new low-noise gear module replaces standard stages to turn loud gear whines into low, quiet hums. Increasingly required in medical devices, commercial...
Pulling their weight: Timing pulley
A modular gearbox design integrates gearing into a timing pulley for dynamic linear motion systems, including gantry robots, high-speed packaging machinery,...
Limiters without limits: Torque limiters
Q: Torque limiters and proximity sensors: What's the connection? ...
Filling up fast
A multi-tasking motion control system speeds changeovers on an in-line fluid filler...
Bearing isolators
There is a mechanical alternative to regular rubber bearing seals...
Bearings roll with two-story truck
At 24 ft high, 29 ft wide, and 47 ft long, Liebherr’s T282 B is the world’s largest mining truck...
Easy come, easy go
A pneumatic brake gently starts and stops a conveyor belt on glass-cutting machines...
Smooth operators
Couplings provide highspeed tab inserters with smooth servo drive operation and zero backlash...
Staying power
Whether it’s keeping oil overspray or harmful ingredients to a minimum, tackifiers and dispensing systems make the messy proposition of machinery lubrication better contained — and more effective...
A clutch combination
A clutch-slip device powers and protects a line of professional hedge trimmers...
Permanent magnet, permanent power transmission
When frequent disengagement wears too heavily on mechanical couplings, magnetic designs transmit power without the physical contact that leads to deterioration...
A smooth pace
Couplings eliminate backlash in rotary fabricating and die-cutting systems...
Splitting hairs
Miniature ballscrews help optical microsystems achieve nanometer precision...
Encoders for feedaxes with direct drives
Direct-drive systems are firmly entrenched in the semiconductor and electronics-manufacturing industries, and are becoming increasingly common in the machine tool industry...
Springing into action
Why are spring-set brakes the most common emergency brakes around...
Aircraft has right stuff
Flexible shafts assist aircraft’s flap actuator system...
A crowning achievement for cam followers
The effects of load deflection on specific areas of a cam follower bearing can spell doom and gloom if you don’t account for them...
It’s a balancing act
A new bearing eliminates fan vibration and noise problems...
Taking back stage
Rollers rely on lubricants and supporting bearing hardware for smooth operation...
Precision gearhead torque rating for automation and robots
The basic limiting factor for electrical devices is prolonged exposure to high temperatures which deteriorate insulation layers, boundary layers in transistors, and other parts...
Communication Breakdown
Mismatched or inferior copper cabling slows down industrial networks...
Couplings, shafts, and locking devices
What use are good components if their performance gets garbled in transmission...
Noise and vibration
An inherent behavior of matter, engineers are working with vibration — and around it...
Brush-commutated dc motors
Things you need to know about sizing and applying...
Brakes and clutches
Brakes and clutches have the potential of saving time, energy, and wear on a system...
Surfing the real web
Synchronization, cam profiling, registration, and accuracy are key issues in today’s web processing applications...
Electromagnetic brakes and clutches
A myriad of configurations offer distinct benefits...
Throw away the key
New keyless locking devices offer an alternative for challenging motion applications...
Flexible couplings
Things you should know about sizing and selecting...
Three-phase induction motors put on the brakes
Electronic braking can extend machine life and improve safety. Here’s what you need to know about it...
Good-bye grease
Self-lubricating materials open up journal bearing application options...
Quick stop
Back-phasing damping reduces settling time in stepper motors by over 60%...
Basics of sliding metallic-bearing materials: Part 4
This is the fourth of a series on principles and characteristics of metallic plain bearing materials and how to optimize them in given uses. See August 1994 PTD for Part 3...
Worm gearhead handles servo demands
Servo applications often impose severe demands on drive components, thereby ruling out the use of many geared speed reducers. However, advanced worm gearhead designs are changing this picture...
Plastic bearings excel in contaminated environments
Unlike traditionally used metal bearings, plastic bearings are able to withstand a variety of tough working conditions, including dirty, dusty, and otherwise contaminated environments...
Closed-loop gear manufacturing system speeds design to manufacturing
Precision motion systems in gear manufacturing machines, combined with advanced software, reduce the time it takes to transform a gear design to a working part from days to hours. Over the years, advances in computers and software have eliminated much of the tedium involved. But still, this trial-and-error process takes several days. Now, an integrated, closed-loop gear development and manufacturing system brings the three key elements of this process together so gear manufacturers can perform the trial-and-error steps more efficiently...
Getting the most from food grade lubricants
Safe lubricants may limit the performance of components in food processing and packaging machines. So machine builders have come up with ways to minimize these limitations...
Beating BOTTLENECKS
Chronic trouble spots in a packaging line used to be a real drag on efficiency and speed, but not anymore. Electronic gearing makes it easier to unplug these clogs and get the line moving at a faster pace....
Tension retention
Chain and belt drives are prone to gradual permanent elongation. But the whole concept of flexible drives requires that they remain taut...
MSD 101 Shafts and axles
Shafts and axles carry heavy loads, sometimes rotating at incredible speed...
From thick to thin
Grease is essentially an oil-delivery system, a means of keeping lubricant in contact with mating elements...
