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What's new in robotic efficiency and advanced gauging systems?

Renishaw will highlight its latest solutions for maximizing robot performance and manufacturing efficiency at Automate 2026, taking place June 22-25 at McCormick Place in Chicago. Highlights will be demonstrations of its Robot Calibration System for cell recovery and in-field robot calibration, the Equator-X dual-method gauging system for high-throughput production environments, and position and motion control encoders.
Read the full article.

New Titanium servo-drive line for harsh environs

The Elmo advanced Titanium line of harsh-environment servo drives offers optimal performance with advanced power density, providing exceptional intelligent and compact servo drives that are operational within minutes. These single-axis and multi-axis servo drives, featuring top-performance multi-core processors, deliver superior productivity, Functional Safety, advanced networking, and local intelligence in a compact package for operation in extreme conditions.
Learn more.

Top Tech Tip: Automating winding, unwinding applications

From paper mills and textiles to sheet metal and plastics manufacturing, winding and unwinding mechanisms play critical parts in many industries. Jonathan Bullick from KEB America examines the automation architecture behind industrial winding applications, with particular emphasis on motor selection, variable frequency drive (VFD) configuration, and control system design. Tension, winding loads, torque speed, regen energy, bus load sharing, and more are all addressed in this excellent technical overview.
Read the KEB America article.

3D printing and 5-axis milling get highly portable

Powered by Siemens' SINUMERIK ONE CNC platform and Ingersoll's MasterPrint^® industrial 3D printer, a new generation of deployable machines is bringing additive and subtractive manufacturing directly to the point of use for defense, disaster relief, and infrastructure and industry.
Read the full article.

Double the force capacity: New RSX50 linear actuators

Tolomatic's RSX50 is the newest, most powerful addition to the RSX Extreme Force electric actuator family. Delivering 50 tons of force within the compact footprint of its 25-ton predecessor, it offers industry-leading power density. Built with high-precision planetary roller screws, the RSX50 provides high-force reliability and environmental compliance, eliminating the mess and maintenance complexity of traditional hydraulic systems.
Get all the specs from Tolomatic.

Integrated drive system for next-gen robotics and human-like motions

Engineered for modern robotics, the BXI is FAULHABER's most powerful integrated drive. Delivering up to 20 Nm of torque, it ensures dynamic, precise control. This compact unit combines a motor, stepped planetary gearhead, and high-res encoder into one functional system. Its strength lies in systematic integration, offering maximum performance in minimal space -- ideal for humanoid robot joints and demanding applications.
Get all the specs from FAULHABER.

Important Qs about linear motor actuators that design engineers should ask

Many design engineers overestimate how accurate traditional motors and actuators stay over long travel runs, mistakenly believing that if the solution works well for short runs, it will work equally well on long ones. Do you know what type of actuator you should use for your application? Patrick Lehr, Product Manager, Precision Mechanics at Parker Hannifin, has some really good tips for you.
Read the full article.

Cobots get 4 m tall with the 8th-Axis Vertical Robot Transfer Unit

Designed to optimize industrial processes across various sectors, the 8th-Axis Vertical Robot Transfer Unit (RTU-V) from Bishop-Wisecarver features a vertical travel length of up to 4 m, enabling a single small robot or cobot to cover large areas traditionally requiring multiple robots. This innovation not only boosts productivity but also offers considerable cost savings, making it an ideal solution for industries such as logistics, manufacturing, agriculture, packaging, and more. Extended reach allows robots to perform tasks on oversized workpieces, such as rocket tubes, boat hulls, and aerospace structures, with ease.
View the video.

UR AI Trainer for robotics: First lab-to-factory AI model trainer

Universal Robots unveiled the UR AI Trainer last week. Developed in collaboration with Scale AI, the AI Trainer marks a tectonic shift as robots move from pre-programmed applications to fully AI-driven tasks. These systems are powered by robust data generated in AI training cells where robots imitate humans.
Read the full article.

BLDC motors with advanced safety features built in

Dunker-motoren has built advanced safety functions directly into its BG75 and BG95 BLDC motors, so you no longer need a separate safety controller or complex wiring. This means faster installation, lower costs, and simpler designs. With features such as safe stop and speed control, plus secure digital communication, dSafe motors are ready for automation, robotics, and mobile systems worldwide. It's safety that scales with your future.
Learn more.

Mobile robotic platform with contactless charging

MAXOLU-TION, an SEW-EURODRIVE company, has introduced the modular Mobile Robot Platform 1600 (MR P1600). It is designed to move heavy loads such as pallets through factories and warehouses, with less manual handling and more consistent material flow. The platform supports configurable load-handling options, including conveyor transfer, lift, drive-under, and precise docking, using standardized material transfer attachments or custom-engineered load handling. Max load is 1,600 kg.
Learn more.

Configurable modular precision linear stages

PI's Modular Precision Linear (MPL) stage family is a configurable platform that simplifies specifying and integrating high-precision linear positioning systems. Engineers can select mechanical, drive, and feedback options online, creating application-specific stages without the cost of fixed designs. The MPL series offers 50- to 300-mm travel ranges and servo or stepper motor options -- with linear motors planned for future release -- while maintaining high precision, stiffness, and reliability.
Learn more.

Key considerations for battery-powered motors

Battery-powered motor applications require careful design considerations to pair motor performance and power consumption profiles in concert with the correct battery type. This Power Electric article covers power requirements, performance considerations, and battery choices to assist you in selecting an efficient motor and a battery with the appropriate capacity. Good technical info.
Read the full article.

Motor revolutionizes industrial power tools

Portescap's 40EC-Pro PowerTool (PT) brushless slotless motor facilitates the transition from manual to powered devices and supports the shift from brushed to brushless technologies. It comes in two lengths. The 40EC-Pro PT delivers up to 30,000 rpm and 1.1-Nm peak torque in a compact 40-mm, 230-g package. The 55-mm version adds an integrated fan boosting continuous power from 150 W to 425 W. Cost-optimized and compatible with R32/R40 gearheads and M-Sense encoders, it's ideal for 18-V battery-powered industrial hand tools.
Learn more.

FlexiSan modular spray system for mobile and efficient equipment and plant sanitation

BETE's FlexiSan™ Modular Spraying System offers a portable, cost-effective spray solution that enables mobility and effective cleaning and sanitization across a wide range of industrial applications. Engineered for flexibility and performance, the FlexiSan system allows operators to quickly rinse and apply cleaning and sanitizing agents to a variety of equipment, including conveyors, hoppers, bins, and mixers, as well as other critical process areas. Handles everything from light washdowns to heavy cleanups.
Learn more.

Navy researchers look to rotating detonation engines to power the future

With its strong dependence on gas-turbine engines for propulsion, the U.S. Navy is always looking for ways to improve fuel consumption. At the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), scientists are studying the complex physics of Rotating Detonation Engines (RDEs), which offer the potential for high-dollar savings by way of reduced fuel consumption in gas-turbine engines, according to Dr. Kazhikathra Kailasanath, who heads NRL's Laboratories for Computational Physics and Fluid Dynamics.

Many Navy aircraft use gas-turbine engines for propulsion, with the Navy's gas-turbine engines being fundamentally similar to engines used in commercial airplanes. The Navy also depends on gas-turbine engines to provide propulsion and electricity for many of its ships. Even as future ships move toward the model of an "all-electric" propulsion system, they will still need gas-turbine engines to produce electricity for the propulsion system and other critical systems. So building a gas-turbine engine that can handle the Navy's requirements for its warfighting ships and provide greater fuel efficiency is a high priority for researchers.

The U.S. Navy finds gas-turbine engines attractive because they scale nicely to large powers, are relatively small and self-contained, and are relatively easy to maintain. The gas-turbine engines the Navy uses today are based on the Brayton thermodynamic cycle, where air is compressed and mixed with fuel, combusted at a constant pressure, and expanded to do work for either generating electricity or for propulsion. To significantly improve the performance of gas-turbine engines, researchers need to look beyond the Brayton cycle to explore alternative and possibly more innovative cycles.

NRL researchers believe that one attractive possibility is to use the detonation cycle instead of the Brayton cycle for powering a gas turbine. NRL has been on the forefront of this research for the last decade and has been a major player in developing Pulse Detonation Engines (PDEs), which use the detonation cycle rather than the Brayton thermodynamic cycle used in previous gas-turbine engines. Use of the detonation cycle eliminates the need for compressors to generate the high pressures required by the engines.

NRL researchers have constructed a model of a Rotating Detonation Engine.[Photo: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory]

 

 

Controlling detonations, however, is the key to maximizing efficiency. The Rotating Detonation Engine (RDE) is an even more attractive and different strategy for using the detonation cycle to obtain better fuel efficiency. It can do this by allowing the detonation to propagate azimuthally at phenomenal speed around the combustion chamber, thereby holding the inflow kinetic energy to a relatively low value and using most of the compression for better efficiency.

NRL researchers have constructed a model for simulating RDEs, using earlier work done on general detonations as a foundation.

Using models to study the detonation processes and dynamics allows the researchers to understand more fully the flow field, wave structure, the basic thermodynamic cycle, and the key role that pressure change plays in engine performance. These simulations also allow researchers to study performance under a wide array of conditions and how it is affected by engine and sizing parameters.

NRL researchers believe that RDEs have the potential to meet 10% increased power requirements as well as 25% reduction in fuel use for future Navy applications. Currently there are about 430 gas turbine engines on 129 U.S. Navy ships. These engines burn approximately $2 billion worth of fuel each year. By retrofitting these engines with the rotating detonation technology, researchers estimate that the Navy could save approximately $300 to $400 million a year.

NRL researchers estimate that retrofitting engines on existing Navy ships, like the USS Arleigh Burke pictured here, with rotating detonation technology could result in millions of dollars in savings a year. [Photo: U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tommy Lamkin]

 

 

 

 

Like PDEs, RDEs have the potential to be a disruptive technology that can significantly alter the fuel efficiency of ships and planes; however, there are several challenges that must be overcome before the benefits are realized, says Kailasanath. NRL scientists are now focusing their current research efforts on getting a better understanding of how the RDE works and the type of performance that can be actually realized in practice.

You can read more about the specifics of NRL's research on RDEs by clicking here to download the NRL Review article titled, "Rotating Detonation-Wave Engines," by D.A. Schwer and K. Kailasanath, Laboratory for Computational Physics and Fluid Dynamics.

Source: NRL

Published December 2012

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