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Compact servo drives for harsh environs

Built on Copley's proven NanoPlus platform, the compact, 1.2-oz R-Series Nano servo drives withstand extreme temperatures, vibration, shock, and humidity. Available in R47 (CANopen) and R48 (EtherCAT) models, they suit space-constrained, harsh environments such as mil/aero robotics and gimbals. This commercial off-the-shelf series provides a hardened option without defense-specific development lead times.
Learn more from Copley Controls.

Hybrid actuator with force up to 14,726 lb

Kyntronics' new all-electric HyCore hybrid actuator is a compact, low-cost alternative to traditional hydraulic, pneumatic, and electro-mechanical systems. Engineered for OEMs, it delivers up to 14,726 lb of force. The self-contained design eliminates leaks and wear, providing precise control, shock-load tolerance, and high efficiency. It simplifies integration and lowers operating costs for mobile equipment, packaging, assembly automation, and more.
Learn more.

SDP/SI motion products: Best sellers

SDP/SI's best sellers aren't just popular -- they're proven. These are the motion components their customers return to time and again for precision, reliability, and unbeatable value. From belts and pulleys to gears, bearings, and couplings, each product has earned its place through consistent performance in real-world applications.
Learn more and see the full products list.

Automated part grinding and finishing in one unit!

Grinding large fabrications is a classic dull, dirty, and dangerous task perfectly suited for automation, yet traditional setups require multiple costly robots. At Automate 2026, Güdel debuted a single-robot solution that utilizes two extra degrees of freedom to finish massive surfaces without complex part repositioning.
Read the full article.

Rockford RBS ball screws and nuts now available

Automation-Direct now offers US-manufactured RBS ball screws and nuts for precise linear motion in OEM and maintenance applications. Achieving over 90% efficiency, they feature low friction, high accuracy, and minimal wear. Available in various diameters, lengths, and leads, these precision-matched components handle axial loads with minimal backlash, providing a dependable solution that reduces maintenance and extends operational life. Great prices too.
Learn more.

Next-gen conveyor transports 3,000-kg payloads

Building on its established portfolio of twin-strand conveyors that are currently used in a variety of industry verticals, Bosch Rexroth is introducing the TS 7plus transfer system, which is the world's first freely configurable, fully electric conveyance solution to workpieces weighing up to 3,000 kg. TS 7plus transports material via conveyor rollers on freely configurable modular sections with lift/transverse, rotary, and positioning units, as well as stop gates. Great for automotive, battery, aerospace/defense, and more.
Learn more.

Next-generation air bearing linear slide

The A-123 noncontact nanoposi-tioning stage integrates a brushless motor, air bearings, and a 1-nm encoder, supporting 40-kg payloads over 750-mm travel. Its pressurized air film eliminates the friction, wear, and vibration of mechanical stages, ensuring zero particle generation. Customizable with options such as granite bases and isolation systems, it is ideal for semiconductor metrology, inspection, photonics, and more.
Learn more.

How to implement redundancy in stepper motors

Some of the recent research activities in the area of electric motor drives for safety-critical applications (such as aerospace and nuclear power plants) are focused on looking at various fault-tolerant motor and drive topologies. After discussing different solutions, this article focuses on a miniature permanent magnet (PM) stepper motor design that provides increased redundancy.
Read this informative FAULHABER article.

Teradyne Robotics unveils a multitude of deployable AI applications at Automate 2026

Teradyne Robotics, the company behind Universal Robots (UR) and Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR), will demonstrate how physical AI is transforming industrial automation at Automate 2026 in Chicago, June 22-25 at booth #1250. The demos presented are real, deployable, and ready for purchase. They include assembly, pick-and-place, palletizing, mobile robots, and more. A lot of good new offerings here. Check it out.
Read the full article.

Affordable nanometer-level precision focus stage

Zaber Technologies has launched the DMA Objective Focus Stage, a compact, linear motor solution for microscope OEMs. Starting at $4,500 with an integrated controller, it offers 50-nm repeatability and sub-15-ms settling times -- matching piezo precision at one-third the cost. Featuring plug-and-play architecture, a developer-friendly API, and a tiny footprint, it accelerates high-throughput workflows like spatial biology and digital pathology.
Learn more.

How Ford automated a moving EV assembly line with vision-guided robots: Inbolt case study

Automating moving assembly lines is highly challenging. At Ford's Cologne Electric Vehicle Center in Germany, applying pressure to water shields on vehicle bodies required following a precise path on unsynchronized, continuously moving vehicle carriers. To automate this, Ford deployed two Universal Robots cobots equipped with Inbolt 3D cameras. Using real-time vision guidance, the robots track vehicle positions and adapt on the fly. The result? Near-zero repairs, reliable moving-line automation, and new possibilities for tasks like tightening operations.
View the video.

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.
Read the full article.

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.
Read the full article.

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.

New method calculates more efficient route between Earth and Moon

Researchers have developed a mathematical method that enables more precise calculations of the most economical travel routes between the orbits of celestial bodies. To demonstrate this method, they calculated a more efficient path between the Earth's and the Moon's orbits than any previously described in scientific literature. The study was published in the journal Astrodynamics.

The new route requires 58.80 meters per second (m/s) less fuel than the most fuel-efficient routes previously described. This difference may seem small compared to the estimated total fuel cost of the journey (3,342.96 m/s), but it significantly impacts the cost of the mission. "When it comes to space travel, every meter per second equates to a massive amount of fuel consumption," says Allan Kardec de Almeida Junior, a researcher at the University of Coimbra and lead author of the study, which also involved the universities of Porto and Evora (Portugal), the Paris Observatory (France), and the universities of Pernambuco (UPE) and Sao Paulo (USP).

The method is based on the theory of functional connections, which reduces the computational cost of space travel simulations. This allowed the scientists to simulate a much larger number of different trajectories and arrive at a "more affordable" solution.

The study referenced 280,000 simulations to reach a result, while Almeida's research group simulated 30 million different routes.

From Earth to the Moon, in economy class
Almeida and his collaborators mapped out a trajectory to take a spacecraft from Earth's orbit to the Moon's, dividing it into two segments. In the first segment, the spacecraft would leave Earth's orbit and enter an orbit around the L1 Lagrange point, a region between Earth and the Moon where the gravitational pull of the two bodies cancels out. For most of this journey, the spacecraft would be guided by a "variate," or a natural trajectory leading to that orbit.

However, the actual path turned out to be different from what was expected.

While most existing models assume it is more efficient to enter the variate at the branch closest to Earth, simulations conducted by the team showed the most economical route actually came closer to the Moon and entered the variate from the opposite side.

Vitor Martins de Oliveira, a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science (IME) at USP and co-author of the study, explains that searching for solutions like this is one advantage of using functional connection theory.

"Instead of assuming it's easier to choose the part of the variate closest to Earth, we can use systematic analysis with faster methods to try to find nontrivial solutions," he says.

Using a control system, the spacecraft can remain in this intermediate orbit indefinitely until the mission is ready for the second part of the journey, when it proceeds to lunar orbit. This "space transfer" is advantageous because there is no interruption in communication with Earth or the Moon while waiting.

"The Artemis 2 mission, for example, lost communication with Earth for a while because it was directly behind the moon. The orbit we propose is a solution that maintains uninterrupted communication," Oliveira says.

Leonardo Barbosa Torres dos Santos, who gained a Ph.D. from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) with a scholarship from the Foundation, is also a co-author of the article.

Even greater savings, but only on specific dates
Although it is more economical than the previously described routes, the path mapped out by Almeida and his collaborators is not the most economical possible. Their simulations only took the gravity of the Moon and Earth into account, disregarding other celestial bodies, such as the Sun. Including them could lead to an even greater discount, but it would restrict the launch window.

"It'd be necessary to run the simulation for a specific position of the Sun. For example, if we simulate the mission's launch date as December 23, we'll obtain results valid only for a mission launched on that date," Almeida says.

In these cases, however, the method the team developed to perform a large number of simulations can be used to find the best trajectory. "The systematic analysis we applied in our work is something that could be adopted more widely going forward," Almeida says.

Source: Sao Paulo Research Foundation

Published May 2026

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