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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.

How turbulences affect wind turbines: More realistic assessment of loads developed

Wind turbines are getting bigger and bigger. As a consequence, their components are subjected to ever greater stress or loads, such as those caused by sudden gusts of wind and other forms of turbulence. A team of researchers from the University of Oldenburg, Germany, in collaboration with partners from the Institut Chemnitzer Maschinen und Anlagenbau e.V. (ICM) and wind turbine manufacturer Nordex, also in Germany, has made an important advance in the modeling of these loads.

In three articles published in the scientific journal Wind Energy Science, the researchers, including turbulence expert Professor Dr. Joachim Peinke from the Forwind Center for Wind Energy Research, present a new concept with which the mechanical forces that act on rotors can be modeled more accurately than with previous standard models.

"With this approach, we present a potential tool for load estimations that could be used in the planning and design of wind turbines," Peinke said.

The rotor area of today's offshore wind turbines -- the circular area swept by the rotor blades as they rotate -- can be more than 200 meters in diameter. At full capacity, such wind turbines generate 20 megawatts of power -- enough to supply 200,000 people with electricity. One challenge posed by this increased size is that the turbines and their components are constantly bent as a result of fluctuating wind forces. These deformations cause material fatigue, which can lead to cracks or even fractures.

"Up to now, for the sake of simplicity, manufacturers have worked on the assumption that gusts of wind always hit the entire rotor area evenly," said co-author Jorg Schwarte from Nordex.

Sudden gusts of wind that are concentrated on small areas are the key factor in material fatigue
For smaller turbines, this assumption was adequate, but with larger wind turbines, turbulent wind conditions play a greater role in fatigue-induced wear. The key finding of this new collaborative study is that sudden gusts of wind that are concentrated on small areas are the key factor in material fatigue. To ensure that wind turbines are better adapted to these loads, manufacturers therefore need a more accurate mathematical description of the wind acting on the rotor and its fluctuations.

In three articles, the team proposes a new measure for describing the effects of local gusts. The researchers developed a method for calculating the forces that act on the rotor blades based on the current wind conditions, which experts call the "wind field." They describe this load using a simple parameter they refer to as the "center of wind pressure."

"If the wind flow is uniform, the center of wind pressure lies exactly in the middle of the rotor area," said Peinke. However, if a gust of wind affects only part of the rotor area, the center of pressure shifts away from the center, causing the rotor blades to bend more in that area and generating a torque that acts on the turbine's drivetrain.

The new concept accurately describes the actual loads on the turbine.

To develop this new load concept, the team used measurement data from modern turbines, as well as detailed wind data recorded by an array of measuring masts as part of the GROWIAN campaign, a project carried out in the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein in the late 1980s. Dr. Jan Friedrich of the University of Oldenburg used the data to reconstruct wind fields acting on the rotor area and, based on this reconstruction, the researchers performed what is known as aeroelastic simulations in which they simultaneously calculated the wind flows and bending moments acting on different parts of the wind turbines.

Through complex flow simulations, the team demonstrated that the Center of Wind Pressure concept accurately describes the actual loads on the turbine. "Although we were able to use the university's high-performance computing cluster to do this, the simulations for large turbines can only be calculated in detail for a few minutes at a time," explained Marcel Bock, a PhD student at the University of Oldenburg and lead author of one of the papers. In the third paper, a team led by Peinke and PhD student Daniela Moreno developed a stochastic model for the Center of Wind Pressure that simplifies the calculations and could make it possible for manufacturers to carry out long-term simulations over several years.

"The bending is particularly severe when the center of wind pressure shifts to the outer edge of the rotor blade," said Dr. Carsten Schubert from the ICM. The team said that such extreme events are not detected by the control systems of current turbine systems, and therefore are not mitigated. Thanks to the new studies, this may now become possible.

In addition, Oldenburg-based wind researcher Dr. Matthias Wachter explained that the findings could also contribute to improving wind turbine design.

"Manufacturers make estimates of all expected material deformations over a lifetime of around 20 years and plan the materials and robustness of the components accordingly," he said. However, they have to grapple with many uncertainties in this regard -- primarily because it is impossible to calculate wind conditions with sufficient accuracy.

"Reducing these uncertainties would be a major advantage, as premature component failures are a significant cost factor in wind energy," said co-author Gritt Pokriefke from Nordex. New, detailed wind measurements are currently being performed at the WiValdi research wind farm on the River Elbe, in which ForWind is also involved.

The three publications are largely a result of the PASTA research project (Precise design methods of complex coupled oscillation systems of modern wind turbines in turbulent excitation), which was funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in Germany over a period of three-and-a-half years and coordinated by Nordex.

Source: University of Oldenburg

Published June 2026

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