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Inbolt launches vision-enabled Robot Programming, closing the loop from CAD to factory floor

Inbolt is launching two new capabilities that complete the company's AI Vision Model for robot guidance at Automate 2026 in Chicago, June 22-25. With Robot Programming and Robot Control, Inbolt covers the full path from virtual commissioning to adaptive robot motion control, for stationary and moving-line applications. It's one platform from perception to motion -- on the robots manufacturers already own.
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Top Tech Tip: How to specify electric rod-style actuators for optimal performance, reliability, and efficiency

The engineers at Tolomatic provide their Top 10 Tips for specifying electric rod-style actuators, which have a higher initial cost, more advanced design, and more predictable performance compared to fluid power cylinders. This is a really thorough presentation filled with useful information.
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High-precision multi-axis motion platforms

Motion Solutions delivers high-speed, high-accuracy XY scanning solutions optimized for OEM integration. These rigid, modular platforms provide stable, repeatable multi-axis motion control, ensuring faster throughput and precise positioning for advanced workflows. Ideal for automated microscopy, digital pathology, and spatial biology, the scalable design supports flexible travel lengths and custom configurations to seamlessly optimize your system.
Learn more.

What is the best palletizing option for your operation?

Is your business looking to install or upgrade a palletizing system, but you don't know where to start? Marc Giguère from Robotiq does a comprehensive run-through of options including a fully engineered system, a cobot, or a plug-and-play setup. A lot depends on your production volume, budget, available space, and need for flexibility. Systems are compared and contrasted. Fastest ROI? The best lean system? What works for high throughput? Find out these answers and more, complete with an available buyer's guide chart.
Read the Robotiq article.

Robotic machine tending for CNC mills and lathes

At IMTS 2026, Mitsubishi Electric Automation will feature live demonstrations of LoadMate Plus and ARIA, two pre-engineered robotic machine tending solutions designed to help manufacturers automate CNC mills and lathes with confidence, flexibility, and scalability. LoadMate Plus is designed for quick setup and long-term deployment at a single machine. ARIA is a compact, configurable, and mobile solution for mill and lathe tending in space-constrained environments.
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What's a ceramic motor-driven linear actuator?

PI, a global leader in precision motion control and nanoposi-tioning solutions, provides a large selection of piezo ceramic linear actuators for different size, speed, and force applications. At the top end of the force spectrum is the N-216 PiezoWalk Linear Actuator, a high-load, high-precision linear actuator designed for applications that require many millimeters of travel, high force, and extremely stable nanometer-class positioning. PiezoWalk technology offers significant advantages over traditional motorized actuators in precision, stability, and energy efficiency. Its non-magnetic drive principle and strong radiation-environment performance provide additional benefits.
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KUKA robots accelerate solar panel installation

It can be tough to find manpower to help build large solar farms. Watch how KUKA robots help workers for Sunstall, a construction company based in Novato, CA, that specializes in ground-mount systems for large solar utility sites. With each module weighing 70 to 80 lb, moving solar units can get tiring fast. Safety is an issue too. Cosmic Robotics (San Francisco) helped design and build the mobile system, which uses a KUKA KR 70 to do the heavy lifting of the panels and places them onto the racking with millimeter precision. [Credit: Video screenshot courtesy of KUKA Robotics]
View the video.

Economical gearbox series for delta robot drives

Neugart's new NDFC gearbox series expands its delta robot portfolio, balancing cost efficiency with reliability. Positioned below the NDF series, it features a proven output stage, robust sealing, and a dynamic clamping system. Available in three sizes (064, 090, 110) with ratios from 16 to 100, it offers adjustable backlash to optimize savings. Ideal for food, beverage, and packaging applications.
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Conveying: Drive system enables two synchronous movements with max performance

The new FAULHABER DualGear drive system optimizes automated warehouse logistics, enabling two synchronous, powerful movements in one compact unit. Combining a BX4 motor with two GPT planetary gearheads, it is ideal for storage/retrieval machines and autonomous logistics. Hall sensors ensure exact positioning for compact, efficient, and reliable performance in demanding, small-space environments.
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Decentralized drives offer seamless integration

NORD DRIVE-SYSTEMS' NORDAC LINK motor starters, plus NORDAC LINK and NORDAC FLEX variable frequency drives, feature a plug-and-play design for rapid commissioning and high system availability. With onboard AS-Interface (ASi) functionality, these modular products integrate seamlessly into existing or new systems, supporting ASi standards V2.0 and V3.0 with integrated follower profiles for connectivity.
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Non-Magnetic ball slides made in the USA

Del-Tron's USA-made, non-magnetic ball slides prevent magnetic interference in medical, semiconductor, military, and laser applications. Featuring silicon nitride ceramic bearings, titanium shafts, aluminum components, and brass fasteners, these lightweight slides come in seven sizes with travels from .5 to 12 in., providing an ideal solution for sensitive environments.
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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.

Car and truck shock absorbers aim to harvest energy from bumps in the road

By Eleanor Nelson, Virginia Tech

The 255 million cars on the road in the United States account for 40% of the country's fuel consumption. Most of that fuel is wasted.

Lei Zuo, an associate professor of mechanical engineering in Virginia Tech's College of Engineering, may have a partial solution: harvesting energy from the car's suspension.

Zuo explained that only 10% to 16% of the fuel a car consumes is actually used to drive -- that is, to overcome road resistance and air drag. Most of the rest is lost to heat and other inefficiencies.

With clever engineering, however, that deficit can be reduced.

Three major opportunities exist for recovering or generating energy while driving: the waste heat given off by the engine, the kinetic energy absorbed during braking, and the vibrational energy dampened by the shock absorbers, he said.

Zuo estimates that a car's shock absorbers should be able to provide between 100 and 400 watts of energy on normal roads and even more on rougher roads. By comparison, the average cell phone call uses about 1 watt. That corresponds to an increase in fuel efficiency between 1% and 5%, which would add up to an annual fuel savings of $13 billion to $19 billion.

His energy-harvesting shock absorber works by translating the vertical vibrations of the suspension into rotational motion that turns a generator. The generator delivers electricity directly to the car's battery or electrical devices, reducing the demand on the alternator.

This system has solved a major challenge in harvesting vibrational energy: converting bidirectional, up-and-down motion into the unidirectional motion needed to drive a generator. A unique combination of gears allows motion in both directions to be converted into electricity, essentially doubling the amount of energy that can be recovered.

Zuo, who is affiliated with the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science, explains that this innovation allows the generator to work at a steady speed and reduces the load on the gear teeth, making the system more efficient and reliable. Moreover, the generator keeps rotating even after the vibration has stopped, maximizing the amount of energy recovered.

He and his students have tested the shock absorber on campus roads. Their current model, which the students have built using off-the-shelf components, can harvest about 60% of the available energy -- a substantial improvement over other designs.

Zuo said he is confident that with precision components and manufacturing the system could reach 85% efficiency.

Moreover, he said, the device is entirely retrofittable in terms of space and function, and "can be integrated in the car directly without changing anything in the car." Zuo and his team have created other types of energy-harvesting shock absorbers, including linear electromagnetic and hydroelectric absorbers.

Zuo, who recently received an award for this work from the Governor's Commonwealth of Virginia Research Commercialization Fund, said he plans to focus next on the commercial viability of the energy-harvesting system.

He said he hopes to address the concerns of both drivers and automakers -- who have different priorities.

"When we present this to drivers, they ask, how much can you improve the fuel efficiency? How soon can I get my money back?" Zuo said.

"From the car manufacturer's side, they ask another question: Can you replace my commercial shock absorbers? Can you give me better suspension performance?"

Zuo said he plans to tackle both cost and performance in the next round of development. Currently, the system wouldn't be cost effective for car owners who drive less than an hour or so a day, so Zuo will focus on applications for large commercial vehicles while working to reduce the cost.

To improve performance, Zuo said he wants to adapt his design using a strategy called self-powered semi-active control: A microprocessor senses vehicle conditions and adjusts the suspension settings accordingly, delivering the smoothest ride while harvesting the greatest amount of energy.

Zuo also is working on two other areas for energy recovery in cars: waste heat and regenerative braking. Regenerative braking is already in use for hybrid vehicles, but those make up only about 3% of the cars on the road; Zuo wants to develop a system that will work for conventional vehicles.

Energy-harvesting research often focuses on milliwatts and microwatts; Zuo focuses on systems that can yield hundreds or even thousands of watts. "I'm particularly excited about the opportunities in large-scale energy harvesting, which may help solve the global energy crisis," he said.

Zuo is the associate director of the Virginia Tech Center for Energy-Harvesting Materials and Systems.

Published August 2015

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