Motion Control – Tutorial

Considerations when specifying a linear slide for a new or existing application.

By Mike Quinn • LM76

When a design engineer has fully defined a linear-motion application’s requirements regarding travel length, speed, force, and accuracy as well as repeatability, the next question to answer is this:

Does an off-the-shelf linear slide (or a stock linear slide from a catalog) fully satisfy the application?

Off-the-shelf linear slides are advantageous for their quick delivery and lower cost than that of custom components. No wonder most linear-motion designs do in fact employ off-the-shelf linear slides from various component and system suppliers.

Motion Control Integrated Step Motors

Vaughan, Ontario, Canada — Motion Control Components — JVL Industri Elektronik A/S, one of the world leaders in the field of integrated servo – and stepper motors introduces a new compact and slim stepper motor. The new ServoStep integrated stepper motor series MIS171 to MIS176 have a NEMA 17 42×42 mm flange and include controller with 6 different industrial Ethernet protocols, absolute multiturn encoder, closed loop and M12 connectors. This new motor family is based on the latest microprocessor and cooling technology and an advancement compared to previous designs.

All the necessary electronics in a stepper system are integrated in the motor itself and are similar to the concept used by other JVL motors, making it very easy to use in all kind of motion control stepper or servomotor applications. The motor contains everything needed to solve a modern control task, either as a stand-alone with own easy programmable motion controller or controlled from an external PLC or PC. 8 I/O points can be individually configured as digital input, digital output or analogue input. Modbus RTU or CANopen provide easy connections to a PLC or HMI.

Motion Control – Miniature Multi-axis Controller

Maxon is launching the next generation of Motion Controllers with its MiniMACS6-AMP-4/50/10. The controller is ideal for use in applications where PLC solutions may be too expensive or cannot meet customer-specific requirements.

Taunton, MA — Motion Control Products – Maxon’s new multi-axis controller, the MiniMACS6-AMP-4/50/10, offers precise and highly dynamic control of up to six brushed DC motors or four brushless DC motors (up to 540 W continuous output power and 1.6 kW peak output power).

The controller is an economical and compact solution for system designers who develop autonomous robots or shuttle systems

A significant advantage of the new multi-axis solution is that it is programmable with the comprehensive ApossIDE automation software and the license-free Motion Control Library (written in C). Integrated bus interfaces enable efficient data exchange with higher-level controllers; however, it is also possible to run complete process sequences autonomously, without a PLC or PC. The MiniMACS6-AMP-4/50/10 will be available in early 2021.

Motion Control – Profile Rail Stages

Van Nuys, CA – — Motion Control – Optimal Engineering Systems, Inc. (OES) has added five new profile single axis positioning stages to their AQ150 Series of linear stages. Available off-the-shelf in travel lengths of: 600 mm (23.622 in.), 700 mm (27.559 in.), 800 mm (31.496 in.), 900 mm (35.433 in.), and 1000 mm ( 39.370 in.), these stages are available with either a Two-Phase Stepper Motor or with a Three-Phase Brushless Motor with a Quadrature Incremental Optical Encoder.

TORONTO, Canada — Motion Control – TORONTO, May 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Electromate Inc. is pleased to announce that, at the upcoming fifth annual Canadian Business Excellence Awards for Private Businesses being held on Wednesday June 9th, Excellence Canada will be awarding Electromate with their Canadian Business Excellence Award.

“Recipients of this distinguished award have clearly demonstrated a strategic approach to successfully improving business performance and achieving goals, with a focus on the following three key performance areas: Delighted Customers; Engaged Employees; and Innovation,” says Allan Ebedes, President and CEO, Excellence Canada.

Excellence Canada’s mission is to help improve organizational performance and recognize excellence, with a vision to promote and enable excellence in every organization in Canada.

Motion Control – Servo Motor Drivers

Van Nuys, CA – Motion Control – This series of drivers is a high performance, cost effective servo motor driver to implement intelligent motion control. The driver incorporates an advanced architecture and surface mount technology to achieve an exceptional power density. This series is designed to drive voice coil, brush-type and brushless DC motors at a high switching frequency. They receive step and direction signals or analog signal from motion controller.

Motion Control – maxon celebrates International Women in Engineering Day!

The women in engineering (WIE) at maxon work eagerly to contribute to the success of advanced technology in the motion control industry. This week in honor of International Women in Engineering Day, June 23, 2021 – maxon wishes to thank these engineering women for their contributions as they continue to help shape the world we live in.

Taunton, MA — Around the globe, the maxon women in engineering are working on motion control applications with their customers, they focus on new product designs to implement the latest technologies and continue to research new concepts and ideas for drive systems to be used in motion control applications found in Medical, Industrial Automation, Aerospace and Defense, and Mobility industries.

Motion Control – Miniature Hollow Core Rotary Stage

Van Nuys, CA – Motion Control – Optimal Engineering Systems, Inc. (OES) has introduced a high precision, low profile, miniature size rotary table, the AR39-AH. This high precision miniature size rotary stage is just 35 mm (1.378 in.) high and the footprint including the standard 2-phase 1.8 degree stepper motor is only 58 mm (2.283 in) by 100.5 mm (3.957 in ). The table has a precision pattern of 6 8-M2x4L threaded mounting holes in the rotary table for fixtures or tooling, and an 8 mm (0.315 in) diameter through hole. Countersunk holes in the base allow for easy unobstructed integration into new and existing applications. The diameter of the AR39-AH Miniature Rotary Table is 39 mm (1.535 in.) and range of travel is a full 360 degrees of continuous rotation.

Motion Control – Electromate 2021 AHTD Foundation Award!

Toronto, Ontario – June 18, 2021 – Electromate received a Foundation Award from the Association for High Technology Distribution (AHTD), recognizing the company’s 25 years of membership and support. This is the first year the Award has been given, honoring a small group of members out of approximately 300 automation solution providers and manufacturers.

The AHTD is dedicated to maximizing the productivity, growth, and enterprise opportunities of its high-tech automation solution provider and manufacturer members. These goals align with Electromate’s commitment to driving innovation, identifying emerging technologies and products, promoting the education of automation and motion control, and fostering its relationships with industry peers.

Motion Control – Electric Cylinder has Increased Throughput!

Van Nuys, CA — The Compact SDLM-051-070-01-01 Direct Drive Linear Actuator with integrated position and temperature sensors is the latest addition to the patented series of zero backlash, zero cogging, high acceleration, high speed, high resolution, long life actuators from Moticont. This direct drive linear Actuator, also referred to as an Electric Cylinder is 2.000 in. (50.9 mm) in diameter and the compact housing length is just 2.750 in (69.9 mm).

Motion Control – Miniature Encoders

Miniaturized device features accuracy, robustness and a zero-maintenance rotation counter – all in a 22 mm diameter package

Vaughan, Ontario, Canada — Motion Control Components — Size matters, and in the world of industrial automation, providing exceptional performance in a highly compact package can be an enormous advantage. With this in mind, encoder manufacturer POSITAL has unveiled a fully functional prototype of their new miniature multi-turn kit encoder for integrated motor feedback. With a diameter of only 22 mm and a height of 23 mm (0.87”/0.9”), the new device is the world’s smallest multi-turn kit.

Motion Control – USDA/FDA/3A-Dairy Compliant Linear Motion Components

LM76 offers Metric FDA/USDA/3A-Dairy compliant self-lubricating linear bearings for: Food Processing, Packaging, Bio/Pharmaceutical, and Medical Systems!

Motion Control – Miniature Motor Application

Implantable medication delivery systems can have a decisive influence on the quality of life of the patients. In many cases, such delivery systems are vital for the survival of the patients – the systems have to be absolutely reliable. maxon motor manufactures high-precision micro drives for medication delivery systems.

Fall River, MA — Motion Control Components Application – Patients that suffer from chronic pain, metabolic disorders, diseases of the central nervous system and tumor diseases require accurately dosed medication. Here implantable medication delivery systems are used. Through the localized medication delivery, the dosage can be reduced to the required minimum. These infusion systems thus improve the quality of life of the patients. For many patients, it is only the medication delivery system that allows them to have a life outside of the clinic.

Motion Control – 3/4 Inch Diameter Voice Coil Motor!

Van Nuys, CA – Moticont has introduced the GVCM-019-016-02 Linear Voice Coil Actuator (Linear DC Motor). This small 0.75 in. (19.1 mm) diameter actuator, also called an Electric Cylinder, has a high force to size ratio of 7.4 oz (2.1 N) continuous force and 23.7 oz (4.4 N) of peak force and a stroke length of 0.250 in. (6.4 mm). The housing measures just 0.625 in. long and in the fully extended position the shaft extends 0.436 in. (13.5 mm) beyond the face of the housing.

Motion Control – Digital Servo Amplifiers

Motion Control Components – Servo2Go.com announces the release of the DZRALTE Series of High Performance Digital Servo Drives from Advanced Motion Controls of Camarillo, CA, which are engineered to conquer the most demanding industrial applications!

The DZRALTE Series are motion control digital servo drives that control brushed & brushless servomotors in a compact form factor which make them ideal for embedded applications. These fully digital drives operate in torque, velocity, or position mode and employ Space Vector Modulation (SVM) which results in higher bus voltage utilization and reduced heat dissipation compared to traditional PWM drives.

Motion Control – Micro-sized high-power Servo Drive!

Vaughan, Ontario, Canada – Motion Control – The FM060-25-CM is part of a new breed of micro-sized, high-power servo drives, immediately available from ADVANCED Motion Controls. Rated to output 25A continuous and 50A peak, this fully featured digital servo drive is small enough to fit in the tightest locations. It is ideally suited for mobile and portable applications such as mobile robotics, automated mobile robots (AMRs), AGVs, material handling, warehouse automation, lab automation and more.

The mounting footprint of the FM060-25-CM is 50.8mm x 25.4mm with a height of 22.1mm making it possible for up to 3 units to fit within the footprint of a standard business card. The FM060-25-CM uses CANopen for network communication. Along with this model are two lower current options, the FM060-10-CM rated to 10A continuous and FM060-5-EM rated to 5A continuous, designed to the same dimensions.

Motion Control – Elevator Stages

Van Nuys, CA – — Motion Control- Optimal Engineering Systems, Inc. (OES) has released two new high precision Z-Axis Elevator Stages. The AZV9010 and the AZV9020 Motorized Z-Axis Linear Positioning Stages have vertical travels of 10 mm and 20 mm respectively.

The vertical motion of each Z-Axis Stage is driven by an 8 mm diameter ball screw with a 1 mm lead, and guided by cross roller bearings. Very high resolutions of 0.1 micron or 0.05 microns with 10/20 micro-steps per step motor drive, and repeatability of +/- 0.5 microns makes these two Z-Axis Stages ideal for: Microscopy, inspection, metrology, positioning, photonics, sampling, and laser drilling and machining.

Motion Control – Transforming Rehabilitation Technology!

maxon Group and Fourier Intelligence announce that they are entering into a global strategic partnership. maxon’s precision drive systems and the start-up Fourier’s Intelligence’s rehabilitation robotics are a perfect match and are expected to drive the development of new technologies for patients.

Taunton, MA — Motion Control Products – Technology plays an increasingly important role in rehabilitation services and healthcare. Therefore, clinicians, engineers and companies recognize that they need to accelerate the development of technological solutions to best meet the needs of patients. This is the main goal of the partnership between drive specialist maxon and start-up Fourier Intelligence, which specializes in exoskeletons and robotic rehabilitation.

Motion Control – Elevator Stages!

Van Nuys, CA – — Motion Control – The AT10-60-01, AT10-60-02 and the AT10-60-03 Motorized Elevator Stages have been released by Optimal Engineering Systems, Inc. (OES). The AT10-60-01 (shown) is driven by a Two-Phase Stepper Motor with micro-stepping capabilities. The repeatability is typically +/- 5 micron and typical positional accuracy is 15 micron. The knob for manual adjustment can be replaced with a Quadrature Incremental Optical Encoder for position verification.

Motion Control – Harmonic Drive Ultra-Light Weight Gearhead!

Vaughan, Ontario, Canada — Motion Control Products – Introducing the new CSF-ULW ultra-light weight gearhead series from Harmonic Drive LLC. This series features a newly engineered lightweight structure with an ultra-compact shape.

The CSF-ULW is a housed zero backlash Harmonic Drive® component gearset combined with a precision cross roller output bearing & flange. The CSF-ULW is available in two sizes, with three reduction ratio’s per size. The ULW series maintains the same performance standards as the popular CSF-2UH series.