Motion

Six-Axis Articulated Robots for Light Duty

Dave Greenfield — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 14:04:25 +0000

When you think of industrial robots, chances are you thinking of big, expensive robots used in industrial applications such as automotive manufacturing or warehousing.

Weighing 55 pounds or less and designed to handle payloads of up to 22 pounds, these new lightweight robots from Universal Robots expand the possibility of robot application in industry.

Case Application

Mitsubishi: Motion controller

Lauren Sanz — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 06:07:06 +0000

Mitsubishi created an AOI library with a set of motion instructions that improve the functionality of third-party design and configuration software.

Offering easy upgrade to its MR-J3 and MR-J4 servo platforms, Mitsubishi Electric Automation’s Q170MCPU-EIP motion controller allows end users to operate their existint third-party control systems that incorporate Add-On-Instructions (AOI).

Product

Wago: IP67 Incremental Encoder Input Module

Lara Krieger — Tue, 23 Jul 2013 05:01:00 +0000

Part of the company's SPEEDWAY IP67 I/O-SYSTEM, the unit works with incremental encoders and SSI absolute encoders at 24 V signal levels in harsh environments.

The machine-mountable SPEEDWAY 767-5202 provides two eight-pole M12 encoder ports.

Product

A New Approach to Mechatronics Training?

Pat Reynolds — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 19:44:59 +0000

And so it was that mechatronics—the synergistic combination of precision mechanical engineering, electronic control, and system thinking in the design of packaging machinery and other systems—was b

Change intro to: A few years back, a now widely held observation emerged about the future: In 1980, 80 percent of the complexity of equipment was mechanical, but by 2020, only 20 percent of it would be mechanical, and electronics will replace the mechanics.

Perspective

Direct Drive Motors for Precision Motion

Dave Greenfield — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 15:20:21 +0000

As manufacturers increasingly focus on generating less waste, higher quality and faster throughput, precision in the production process becomes the name of the game.

Extended line of slotless, frameless direct drive motors are designed for smooth motion at sub-micron levels.

Product

Beckhoff Automation: EtherCAT Box for Incremental Encoder Connection

Lara Krieger — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 16:32:25 +0000

In order to support I/O connectivity to a wider range of devices outside electrical cabinets, the company has released the new EP5101 EtherCAT Box.

I/O module synchronously reads encoder values via high-precision EtherCAT Distributed Clocks

Product

Geographic Shift for Motor Controls Production

Renee Robbins Bassett — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 12:23:59 +0000

Now that the global economy is coming out of recession, manufacturers around the world are buying more motor controls.

Demand for motor controls is up around the world, but some countries are seeing more new production facilities than others.

News

SEW-Eurodrive: Right-Angle Gear Motors

epakowski — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:42:09 +0000

Units include a robust aluminum housing in a compact and light-weight design.

High speed, high efficiency, and low noise makes the W37/W47 Spiroplan right-angle gear units a good choice for conveyors in the food, beverage, material handling and industries.

Product

Festo: Automation Innovation for the Future

Gary Mintchell — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:00:41 +0000

Automation in water management

“Greentelligence” is the motto of the Hanover Fair 2012. At an online press conference on 27 March 2012, Festo responded to this in advance with a preview of the highlights awaiting visitors to the Festo stand, dealing with topics from resource conservation in urban infrastructures to the production worlds of the future and the latest developments from Festo Bionic Learning Network.

News

Motion Control Vendor Lenze Expands in U.S.

Renee Robbins Bassett — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:35:41 +0000

Lenze Americas (www.lenze

A 100,000 sq. ft. Mechanical Product Assembly & Logistics Center will bring up to 40 skilled jobs to the area.

News

ABB Opens New Solar Inverter Production Center

admin8675309 — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:54:31 +0000

Center will feature a 400 megawatt per year capacity as well as an engineering center to support inverter production and nearby motors and drives factories.

News

Hurricane Season and Manufacturing Best Practices

admin8675309 — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 13:05:12 +0000

Below are some best practices on how to approach equipment that has met with some or considerabler water damage.

With certain areas of the United States still devastated by flooding and more tropical storms coming, Schneider Electric, (www.schneider-electric.com/us), is urging businesses to take every precaution with electrical equipment in preparation for the hurricane season.

News

Integrated Motion Over Ethernet Guide

admin8675309 — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:36:16 +0000

Rockwell Automation and Cisco release a guidebook for OEMs and manufacturers detailing the deployment of integrated motion within a plant-wide Ethernet architecture.

News

RobotStudio Palletizing PowerPac

admin8675309 — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 05:00:00 +0000

The company integrated its PickMaster 5 palletizer programming technology into its RobotStudio simulation environment.

New programming software merges the features and benefits of a graphic system simulation tool with application programming software.

Product

Profinet, Profibus Rotary Encoders

admin8675309 — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 05:00:00 +0000

The company’s standard rotary encoders, ROC / ROQ 400 series with 58 mm housing diameter, are now also available with the Profinet interface.

Rotary encoders with the Profibus interface now support the DP-V2 encoder profile, which makes them ready for robot control and production technology.

Product

EtherCAT Control Solution for Motion Apps

admin8675309 — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 05:00:00 +0000

SPiiPlusSC enables a standard PC to run the machine host application, the graphical user interface (GUI) and the SPiiPlusSC real-time motion controller and PLC without adding any hardware.

SPiiPlusSC (Soft Controller) features sophisticated motion control software that leverages the processing power of modern PC and the connectivity of a real-time open industrial Ethernet network.

Product

Re-engineered Arc-Resistant Motor Control Centers

admin8675309 — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:11:45 +0000

A re-engineered family of motor control centers (MCCs) are arc-resistance, compliant with ANSI/IEEE C37.20.7 standards and filled with features designed to serve water and wastewater, oil and gas,

A re-engineered family of motor control centers (MCCs) are arc-resistance, compliant with ANSI/IEEE C37.20.7 standards and filled with features designed to serve water and wastewater, oil and gas, and general process industries.

Product

6th Annual ISA Marketing & Sales Summit Announces Keynote Speakers

admin8675309 — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:00:28 +0000

The International Society of Automation (ISA) announces the keynote speakers for the 6th Annual ISA Marketing & Sales Summit to be held in St. Louis, Missouri September 7-9, 2011. The four keynote addresses will focus on various aspects of the summit's theme, "Customer 2.0."

News

Succeeding Through Indirect Procurement Outsourcing

admin8675309 — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 14:45:18 +0000

Outsourcing of indirect procurement may also help them in their pursuit of optimal results.

In tough economic times, industrial manufacturers often reduce costs in areas such as indirect procurement to quickly gain major, sustainable savings.

Column

IT View

National Instruments Touts Innovation at NI Week

admin8675309 — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:12:06 +0000

The annual National Instruments Corp.

Among the latest examples are the most recent version of the company’s flagship LabView product line, as well as a foray into wireless sensor networking

News

ABB Opens New Automation Products Plant In India

admin8675309 — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:08:13 +0000

ABB (www.abb.com), the Zurich-based power and automation technologies provider, has inaugurated its greenfield automation p

With a new manufacturing facility for automation products near Bangalore, ABB aims to serve markets in India, Africa and Southeast Asia.

News

Regulatory Tug-of-War Rages in Calibration

admin8675309 — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 05:00:00 +0000

But counteracting that ambition for more efficient operations, “at the other end of the spectrum, regulatory issues, in general, are driving more calibration,” states the Fort Collins, Colo.-based

The calibration trend Ed Shuler sees now is the push for reduced manpower in instrumentation and electrical (I&E) shops on unnecessary calibration.

Primer

The "Genome" of Your Automation System

admin8675309 — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Beyond the use of commercially available automation systems, the unique mix of products, equipment, software and the way they are adapted to the specific requirements becomes proprietary “embedded

For automation end-users, competitive advantage comes from knowledge that stays ahead of the game.

Column

Pinto's Prose

Factory Applications: Turn Up the Wi-Fi

admin8675309 — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 05:00:00 +0000

How about wireless Ethernet? The second question is easy to answer: there is no wireless Ethernet. Ethernet, IEEE 802.3, runs on wires.

Wireless Fidelity, or Wi-Fi, technology is proliferating in the factory, but it’s not the best answer for everything. Will Wi-Fi take over the industrial world?

Feature Article

Thin Industrial Computers Add Features

admin8675309 — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 05:00:00 +0000

This is accomplished in a 1-inch deeper unit than the earlier
ePC-Series. The ePC-Plus is designed to offer value and quality at a

The ePC-Plus Series of industrial computers enhance the vendor’s ultra-thin, yet powerful ePC-Series by providing PCI expansion (two ¾-length cards), two easily removable hard drives and a hot swappable, easily removable DVD-R/W drive.

Product