Category Archives: Innovative Motion Control – Mechanical

Motion Control Application – Polishing Machine’s Linear Ball Bearing Failures Solved by LM76!

Motion Control Application – Truck Wheel Buffing Machines

motion control - lm76 application

motion control - linear motion products

 

The Application –

Motion Control – Polishing Aluminum Truck Wheels is done with a polishing machine that has a 36″ vertical stroke indexer, having a 2500 pound load moving @ 4″ per second. The polishing media is like toothpaste with glass in it. It is extremely abrasive, and sticky/tacky.
motion control - wheel buffing

The Problem –

The industrial buffing system is chewing-up motion control linear ball bearings and spitting them out every 2 weeks! This is the situation one of customers found themselves in while for years accepting lost production and costly maintenance shutdowns. When LM76 got a call from a proactive new maintenance manager, we were eager to try a scraper seal design we had recently had success with on another application.

Originally, these systems came with protective bellows which helped keep polishing media from contaminating the 2″ linear ball bearing pillow blocks. According to our maintenance manager, once a bellow was damaged, it was removed and thrown away. Maintenance personnel so disliked having to take off and reinstall bellows that they mysteriously disappeared. Even with protective bellows, aluminum dust mixed with polishing media formed what one mechanic termed, “toothpaste with glass in it.”This abrasive “lapping compound”would stick to shafting, dry and semi-harden. As a bearing rolled along, polishing media would penetrate it’s seals “sliming” balls and clogging ball tracks. This would quickly lead to bearing failure and shaft brinneling (grooving). Needless to mention, routinely replacing linear ball bearings and more costly shafting was too much for the new maintenance manager who called LM76 for help.

The Solution –

motion control - black racer bearing

For this application, we chose our motion control Black Racer Ceramic Coated Linear Bearing. This bearing is extremely tough, is of one piece construction (no mechanical components, no catastrophic failure mode or shaft grooving) and has the longest life test we know of on record. Like linear ball bearings, Black Racer requires lubrication.

John Tarbell (President of LM76), specified a zero clearance beryllium copper scraper seal. Beryllium copper is exceptionally ridgid, extremely hard and wear resistant. The Beryllium copper would trap lubricant and distribute it as a fine, uniform film on the shaft. This film reduces friction, disperses heat and wets shafting. The wetted shaft surface forms a barrier between media and steel – keeping polishing media from cleating into disparities on the shaft (remaining peaks and valleys). Tarbel, said, “A Zamboni doesn’t lay down an inch of ice, it fills in the skate marks.” When the scraper travels on the shaft, it easily lifts the media and moves it along to the end of the stroke. Unlike linear ball bearings, Black Racer has no balls so some residual “slime” is easily accommodated. (Seen below, the beryllium scraper seal is captured between the bearing counter-bored face and the machined steel end cap.) Admittedly, a heavy interference fit dramatically raised system friction but was mitigated because the system is hydraulically driven – driving force is not an issue.

Staying within the form factor of the original OEM design–standard roundway pillow block and shafting–we chose our direct drop-in 2″ closed pillow block and Black Racer Ceramic Coated bearing coupled with our 2″, Class L Rc60 Case Hardened Shafting. Tarbell then designed a steel end cap retainer ring that pinned the beryllium scraper seal against the bearing face.

Note: The bearing leading and trailing faces have machined counter-bores to locate and capture the back of the scraper seal. To keep the retainer ring secured to the pillow block, set screws were positioned on both sides and driven into a slot machined into the OD surface.

motion control - blackracer pillow block

motion control - pillow block bearing assembly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To follow the NEW Series from LM76, THE ENGINEERING EDGE! and learn about interesting Outside-of-the-Box solutions developed by LM76 to solve some interesting linear motion problems! CLICK HERE

motion control - engineering edge

About LM76

Founded in 1976, LM76 has been a leading designer/manufacturer of linear bearings, slides and linear motion systems. LM76 is renowned for its industry leading Minuteman PTFE Composite linear bearings. LM76 is a leading supplier of precision linear shafting: RC60, 300 Series Stainless Steel, and ceramic-coated aluminum shafting. LM76 also offers several FDA/USDA compliant linear bearings and slides for the food processing, pharmaceutical, medical, and packaging industries.

For additional information contact Mike Quinn at: LM76, 140 Industrial Dr., E. Longmeadow, MA 01028; Telephone: 413-525-4166, Fax: 413-525-3735 or E-Mail: mquinn@lm76.com or visit the website at http://www.lm76.com

And say, “I saw it on MotionShop.com, “The Motion Control Home Page.”


See this and other Motion Control Components from LM76 featured on:

The LM76 Blog

LM76 Catalogs

http://MotionShop.com

http://MotionControl-XYZ-Theta.com

http://LinearMotionBlogger.com

http://AllMotionBlogger.com

http://Automation-Blogger.com

http://MotionControlBlogger.com

http://motioncontrolBuyersGuide.com

http://MotionControlWeb.com

http://MotionShop.net

http://Catalogs-MotionControl.com

motion control - linear bearings

 

Motion Control – New! Large Three-axis Gimbal Mounts Feature High Resolution, and Four Motor Options

Motion Control – Solenoid Drivers

motion control - gimbal mount
motion control - stage

 

 

 

Van Nuys, CA – Motion Control – Designed for larger cameras, tracking devices, telescopes, optics, and other devices, four new, high resolution, three axis gimbal mounts have been released by OES (Optimal Engineering Systems, Inc.). This new series of Three Axis Gimbal Mounts are 588 mm wide by 463 mm high, and handle loads up to 10 kg. The AU400-AER (Azimuth, Elevation, and Roll) Series of Three Axis Gimbal Mounts feature high precision 180:1 worm gear driven “V” groove rotary stages.

Motion Control – Electromate Recognized as: “A Great Place to Work!”

Motion Control – A Great Place to Work!

electromate - great place to work
Motion Control – Vaughan, Ontario, Canada – Company News – Electromate Inc. is proud to be Recertified™ by Great Place To Work® for the 8th year in a row. The prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at Electromate. This year, 86% of employees said Electromate is a great place To Work – 26 points higher than the typical Canadian company.

 

 

 

Great Place To Work® is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention, and increased innovation.

Motion Control – Application – Minuteman Flange Blocks; 20 Million Cycles and Counting!

Motion Control – Flange Blocks Application
motion control - flange blocks

Motion Control Products Featured on Facebook

Motion Control – Facebook Pages

motion control- facebook

MotionShop.com invites you to check out these Facebook pages …

Motion Control – High Precision, High Load Goniometer Stages with +/- 30 Degrees of Travel Are Available from OES!

XYZ-G Positioning Stage – XYZ-Goniometer Positioning Stages

Motion Control goniometer stage
motion control - stage

 

Van Nuys, CA – – Motion Control – Optimal Engineering Systems, Inc. (OES) has added four goniometers to their expanding catalog of high precision positioning stages. The new, AK160-30 Goniometer Series feature precision ground worm gears with a 400:1 ratio and pre-loaded cross roller guides offer +/- 30 degrees of travel with 30 kg of load.

Motion Control – Electromate Announces Pre-Order Availability of Universal Robots’ New UR30 Cobot

Motion Control – Universal Robots’ Cobot
motion control - electromate tobot

motion control - electromate robotics

 

 

 

Vaughan, Ontario, Canada — Motion Control – Electromate Inc., a leading Distributor of Precision Robotic & Mechatronic Solutions, is excited to announce the pre-order availability of Universal Robots’ latest innovation – the UR30 collaborative robot (cobot). The UR30, boasting a 30 kg payload capacity, is the newest addition to Universal Robots’ cutting-edge cobot lineup.

Innovative Motion Control – Select XTREME 6000, Full Ceramic Radial Bearings from CERAMICSPEED for Extreme Environment Applications!

Innovative Motion Control – Full Ceramic Ball Radial Bearings

motion control technology -ceramic bearings


motion control - linear motion products

 

 

E. Longmeadow, MA — Innovative Motion Control – The XTREME 6000 ZrO2 Series of Full Ceramic Radial Bearings from CeramicSpeed are designed to provide levels of performance in extreme environments beyond the capabilities of steel and even hybrid bearings. The complementing components of these bearings were carefully selected to provide the highest levels of performance in high temperatures, and adverse environments such as: Submerged in water, high pressure steam, chemicals, and caustic fluids.

Motion Control – Eight New High Resolution, High Repeatability Yaw-and-Pitch Stages for the Measurement of Angles and Curvatures!

Motion Control – Yaw and Pitch Stages

motion control - yaw/pitch stages
motion control - stage

 

Van Nuys, CA – Motion Control – Eight new Yaw-and-Pitch Stages have been introduced by OES (Optimal Engineering Systems, Inc.). These new series of high precision Yaw-and-Pitch Stages integrate Goniometers as the lower stage (yaw axis) and a rotary stage as the upper stage (pitch axis). The yaw range of travel is +/-10 or +/- 15 degrees. The pitch range of travel is 360 degrees of continuous motion. The diameter of the pitch axis is 60 mm.

Motion Control – LFA-3404 Linear Focus Actuator from Equipment Solutions

Motion Control –  Open Aperture Linear Focus Actuator

motion control - linear focus actuator

Motion Control – LFA-3404 Linear Focus Actuator: 34 millimeter clear aperture, 4 millimeter range of motion, <50 nanometer positioning resolution, 90 grams moving mass, 89 x 57mm, 1kg


motion control - Miniature actuatorsForestville, CA, – Motion Control –
LFA-3404 Linear Focus Actuator: is a high performance compact positioning actuator. It was specifically developed for applications requiring both high precision and high-speed positioning over a short to medium stroke. This product mates the voice coil motor to a perfectly smooth flexure guidance system and a very high resolution position feedback encoder.

Motion Control – Electromate Unveils Quantum Devices’ Cutting-Edge QM22 Series Miniature Encoder

Motion Control – Miniature Encoder!

motion control - miniature encoder
motion control electromate robotics

 

 

 

Vaughan, Ontario, Canada — Motion Control – Electromate, a leading Canadian distributor of state-of-the-art industrial automation products, is proud to announce the addition of Quantum Devices’ latest innovation, the QM22 series of optical incremental encoders, to its comprehensive portfolio.

Linear Motion Actuator – High Force and High Precision with Moticont’s GVCM Series Linear Servo Motor!

Linear Motion Actuator –  Voice Coil Motors!

Van Nuys, CA – Linear Motion Actuator – The GVCM-095-064-01 Linear Servo Actuator from Moticont combines high precision and high force in an easily integrated package. This linear voice coil servo actuator, also called a moving coil motor, features: Zero cogging, high speed, high acceleration/deceleration, and high precision accuracy and repeatability when operated in a closed servo loop.

motion control - moticont

The precision ground 0.1572 +/- 0.0003 in. (3.993 +/- 0.008 mm) diameter shaft guided by a linear bearing in the extended position is 2.500 in. (63.5 mm) long. It can tolerate a side load to 2 lbs. (9.0 N), and has 1.500 inches (38.1 mm) of travel with a high-force-to-size ratio of 24.4 lbs. (108.6 N) of continuous force and 77.1 lbs. (343 N) of peak force at a 10% duty cycle. The shaft has a 4-40 UNC 2B x 0.38 deep thread for backlash free connection to a load.

Motion Control – CERAMICSPEED Radial Bearings Are FDA and EC1935 Approved for Medicine and Food Production and Preparation!

Motion Control – Hybrid Ceramic Ball Radial Bearings

motion control - hybrid radial bearings


motion control - linear motion products

 

 

E. Longmeadow, MA –Motion Control – CERAMICSPEED Hybrid Radial Corrotec/CorroCoat Bearings are designed for environments of high humidity, have been approved in accordance with FDA 21 CFR (Code of Federal Regulation covering medicine and food), and have an EC No. 1935/2004 authorization. Superior life and performance when compared to bearings made from just stainless steel, Corrotec/CorroCoat Bearings feature Stainless Steel races with CorroCoat, a coating with extremely high corrosion resistance and friction suppressant properties, hard, very smooth ceramic balls that will not deform or spall under high loads, and synthetic material ball cages.

Motion Control Innovations – NEW! YouTube Channel features High Precision Stages from Optimal Engineering Systems!

Motion Control Innovations – Visit the OES YouTube Channel!
motion control videos - oes youtube channel

motion control - OES Components

 

 

 

Van Nuys, CA —– Motion Control Innovations -Videos  Optimal Engineering Systems, Inc. (OES) has unveiled their new YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@oesmotioncontrolvideos.  Checkout their new video featuring the AK110-10-15 Alpha-Beta Dual axis Goniometer Stage.

Goniometer stages can measure angles of objects such as crystals or move an object to a precise angular position along an arc, in relation to a fixed point in space.  Two goniometer stages mounted in an alpha-beta configuration (stacked) can rotate an object around a fixed point in space on a spherical surface.

Motion Control – Linear Focus Actuator from Equipment Solutions features 200 Nanometer position Repeatability!

Motion Control – Linear Focus Actuator features 200 Nanometer repeatability!

motion control - linear focus actuator


motion control - miniature components

 

 

Forestville, CA, – — Motion Control – This Custom LFA-2003 Linear Focus Actuator Features: 20 millimeter clear aperture, 3 millimeters linear motion, 200 nanometer position repeatability, Flexture guidance system, ‘C’ mount lens adapter, integrated coil temperature sensor, direct SCA814 Servo Controlled Amplifier compatibility, 74mm x 61mm, 690 grams.

Motion Control – Low Inertia, High Precision, Hollow Core Voice Coil Motors!

Motion Control – Open Aperture Voice Coil Motor
motion control - voice coil motor

Van Nuys, CA – Motion Control – Low inertia hollow core voice coil or moving coil linear motors from Moticont feature high acceleration, precise positioning to less than one micron (0.00004 in.), high reliability, and low cost. The cleanroom friendly, non-commutated motors are available in 23 off-the-shelf standard sizes, Moticont hollow core voice coil linear motors have open apertures of 0.125 in. (3.2 mm) to 2.000 in. (50.8 mm).
motion control - moticint

 

Motion Control – Recognizing That Sometimes the Best Bearing for the Job is a Plain Bearing!

Motion Control – Linear Plain Bearings
motion control - plain bearings

Motion Control – Miniature Voice Coil Stage has 35 mm Travel and Features 200 Nanometer Position Repeatability!

Motion Control – Miniature Linear Voice Coil Stage

VCS-35 Voice Coil Stage: 35mm of linear motion; Optional clear aperture; Recirculating ball bearing guidance system; 200 nanometer position repeatability; 37 G’s acceleration; Direct SCA814 Servo Controlled Amplifier compatibility; 38 x 41 x 102mm, 320 grams
motion control - miniature stage

Forestville, CA – Motion Control – Products – Equipment Solutions, Inc. (ESI) is a provider of engineering and manufacturing services. ESI specializes in the design and production of automation and instrumentation products including motion control components and sub systems.

motion control - equipment solutions

Motion Control – Miniature Voice Coil Motor Only 19.1 mm in Diameter Has 22.2 mm Stroke and High Force-to-Size Ratio!

Motion Control – Miniature Voice Coil Motor!

motion control - miniature hollow core voice coil motormotion control - moticont

 

Van Nuys, CA – Motion Control – The miniature hollow core HVCM-019-032-003-02 Voice Coil Motor, featuring a 3.2 mm open aperture and high force-to-size ratio has been introduced by Moticont. A true DC Servo Motor, it has a continuous force rating of 2.1 N (7.4 oz.) and a peak force of 6.5 N (23.3 oz) at a 10% duty cycle. This quiet, clean, non-commutated, miniature brushless servo motor features: Zero cogging and zero backlash when connected directly to a load, high acceleration, deceleration and high speed.

Motion Control – Application – CERAMICSPEED Hybrid Bearings Provide 8 Times Longer Life for Canner!

Motion Control – Hybrid Ceramic Bearings Application

motion control - hybrid ceramic bearing application


motion control - linear motion products

 

 

E. Longmeadow, MA –Motion Control – CERAMICSPEED Hybrid Radial Bearings are designed for environments of high humidity, have been approved in accordance with FDA 21 CFR (Code of Federal Regulation covering medicine and food), and have an EC No. 1935/2004 authorization. Superior life and performance when compared to bearings made from just stainless steel, these Bearings feature very smooth ceramic balls that will not deform or spall under high loads, and synthetic material ball cages.