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DURApulse GS30 AC Drives from AutomationDirect

Automation-Direct has added new high-performance DURApulse GS30 drives that support several control modes including sensorless vector control, closed-loop flux vector control, and torque control in a compact package. The GS30 series expands the DURApulse family by adding internal tension control loop expanded parameter sets for greater versatility, as well as optional EtherCAT and single- or dual-port EtherNet/IP communication cards. GS30 drives support up to four independent induction motor parameter sets or control of a single AC permanent magnet motor. Sizes up to 3 hp for a 230-VAC single-phase input, 50 hp for a 230-VAC three-phase input, and 100 hp for a 460-VAC three-phase input. This series offers PID control, built-in PLC functionality, and STO capability typically found with more expensive high-performance AC drives.
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Power steering systems for warehouse and autonomous vehicles

Allied Motion has introduced the electric power steering (EPS) series for steer-by-wire warehouse vehicles, autonomous AGVs, and similar material transport vehicles. This compact system includes a fully integrated motor, gearbox, controller, and optional output pinion. It is available in three frame sizes and 16 models to cover virtually any electric steering requirement in applications from small pallet lifters to AGVs/AGCs to multi-ton reach trucks. An optional, patent-pending feature, Turning Wheel Absolute Position Control, allows the controller to know the turning wheel position without external sensors.
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New brushless motors maximize power density

Allied Motion Technologies has introduced the KinetiMax 95 High Power Drive (HPD), an outer-rotor brushless motor. This frameless motor is designed to maximize power density for its volume with a nominal output torque of 2 Nm at 2,300 RPM, resulting in 480 W of continuous output power. At only 37 mm axial length, this compact stator-rotor set is an ideal solution for applications such as material handling systems, AGVs, mobile robots, handheld power tools, and more.
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Compact rod motors: Effective linear thrust generation

RDM-A Series rod motors from Akribis Systems are great for space-constrained applications requiring high motor forces and smooth linear motion. These compact motors feature a tubular design to distribute magnetic flux evenly along the circumference of the stator. They achieve continuous forces from 2.1 to 137.8 N and peak forces from 6.2 to 413.4 N. An air gap between the coil and magnet track enables non-contact axial linear movement and steady force production over the length of the stroke, and ironless construction ensures cog-free motion.
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NORD's heavy-duty drive systems tackle tough industrial applications

Industrial gear units from NORD DRIVE-SYSTEMS are used for a variety of heavy-duty applications, providing high output torques and long service life with minimal maintenance. Combining high-efficiency motors and dynamic VFDs, users get high performance and smooth operation. Learn which drive systems are used for which real-world applications in industries including grain, cranes and hoists, wastewater, food and beverage, and bulk material handling. Good info here.
Read the full article.

XYZ nanopositioning stage for scanning and positioning in photonics and microscopy

PI's P-616 XYZ Piezo Nanoposition-ing Stage, based on a parallel-kinematic design, features a single, lightweight moving platform for all three axes. It offers high precision (sub-nanometer resolution) and dynamics in a compact package. Known as the NanoCube^®, it is the smallest and lightest system with capacitive feedback, providing a 100-µm linear travel range in three degrees of freedom.
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Robot with longer reach handles heavier payloads

The new RV-35/50/80FR robot series from Mitsubishi Electric Automation is ideal for handling large workpieces and heavy objects. This series has a max reach of almost 83 in. (2,100 mm) and a max payload over 175 lb (80 kg), so it's a great solution for palletizing and machine tending. These robots have a wide range of safety functions, including position and speed monitoring, and simplified installation and programming when paired with Mitsubishi Electric's MELFA Smart Plus card.
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Linear servo press solutions from Tolomatic

Improve your pressing systems with electric linear actuators from Tolomatic. While hydraulic presses are a traditional choice in many manufacturing applications, a new generation of high-force Linear Servo Press technologies is now replacing high-maintenance hydraulics. They offer significant advantages in precision, programmability, energy efficiency, reliability, and flexibility.
Learn more.

Tech Tip: What is a stepper motor linear actuator?

What is a stepper motor linear actuator (SMLA), what types are available, and what can they do for your linear motion designs? Find out in this informative Thomson video. Learn how precision lead screws can be combined with a stepper motor in a number of ways, and discover which type can benefit your linear motion applications.
View the video.

Brakes for high-speed SCARA robots and more

Precise positioning of semi-conductor wafers during SCARA assembly operations requires instantaneous braking and holding power while minimizing heat in the system. The latest compact and slender Miki Pulley BXR-LE brake models provide the needed, perfectly controlled braking in a confined area of the system using minimal power. The braking response and holding power of this power-off engaged brake makes it ideal for this and other high-speed applications. The BXR-LE brake uses 24 VDC for a split second to overcome compression spring inertia to open the brake, then consumes only 7 VDC by utilizing the BEM power control module.
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Automated piece-picking solution

The MI.RA/ OnePicker is a new and fully automated intelligent piece-picking solution from Comau. The easy-to-use, AI-backed, and collaborative solution reduces upstream process times, saving time, energy, and resources for warehouse, e-commerce, and other applications while increasing overall productivity and cost efficiency. Designed to autonomously pick miscellaneous objects from the same bin, it's a smart way to eliminate unsustainable sorting activities. Comes with Comau's Racer5 six-axis cobot.
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Unlock cost savings: Revolutionary GAM GPL Gearbox

The GPL planetary gearbox, when paired with your preferred servo motor, delivers a solution that can match the fit and performance of direct drive motors while offering significant cost savings. With <6 arcsec backlash, GAM says this gearbox outperforms all other zero-backlash gearboxes on the market, making it the ideal choice for your applications. Discover how one company realized significant savings by replacing multiple direct drive motors with the GPL gearbox in a modular housing.
Read the GAM application story.

Bosch Rexroth new linear motor modules

Fast, compact, and precise. These properties characterize the new linear motor modules (LMM) with integrated screw-free direct drive from Bosch Rexroth. The axes are available in sizes 140, 180, and 220 mm and feature a zero-backlash direct drive. They complement the existing linear motion technology portfolio as a ready-to-install solution offering excellent value for money. The linear motor modules are available in all sizes with iron-core linear motors. Standard strokes are up to 1,540 mm and forces up to 2,400 N.
Learn all the specs and options.

OnRobot doubles payload capacity of its grippers

OnRobot's new 2FG14 and 3FG25 electrical grippers for heavy-duty, collaborative applications are now launching along with the new machine tending solution AutoPilot powered by D:PLOY, developed in collaboration with Ellison Technologies. The new three-fingered 3FG25 gripper provides users with 25 kg (55.1 lb) of payload power in a compact, all-electric, lightweight form, unlocking the potential of the latest cobots. Ideal for CNC machine tending, the 2FG14 is a lightweight parallel-finger gripper with a payload of 14 kg (30.8 lb). It doubles the payload and gripping force of OnRobot's popular 2FG7 gripper while also providing 30% more total stroke.
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Linear guide system corrects misalignments

Bishop-Wisecarver's UtiliTrak^® linear guide system includes vee rails for precision and open rails for misalignment float to provide smooth and accurate motion on inaccurate structures. Because precise parallelism is difficult to achieve, it is not uncommon for mounting surfaces to be slightly out of parallel. UtiliTrak's design compensates for mounting errors and does not require absolute parallelism for accurate operation. Genius.
Learn more.

Smarter ground robots partnering with Soldiers

By David Vergun

"In the Army, we always say, 'Never send our Soldier into a fair fight,'" said Heidi Shyu, assistant secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics & Technology.

"Each of you here," from the robotics community, are "helping to make that happen."

Shyu, who provided the keynote address at National Defense Industrial Association's Ground Robotics Capabilities Conference & Exhibition in Hyattsville, MD, Aug. 13, emphasized common architecture, open-source software, and open standards for robotics development to further competition that will benefit the Army, taxpayers, and industry.

The Army is working with industry partners to develop a standard architecture that will enable it to incorporate future (robotics) capabilities rapidly, keeping pace with dramatic commercial improvements, Shyu said.

Getting the development of ground robotics right is important because the systems have become such an essential partner to warfighters, Shyu explained.

Shane Ward, of Roboteam North America, operates his robot at the National Defense Industrial Association's Ground Robotics Capabilities Conference & Exhibition in Hyattsville, MD, Aug. 13, 2014. [Photo Credit: David Vergun]

 

 

 

 

In 2004, 162 robotic systems were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, with a primary focus on explosive ordnance disposal, known as EOD, removal.

The use of ground robotics in combat since then has grown exponentially, with more than 7,000 systems currently deployed overseas, Shyu pointed out. Besides helping EOD, ground robots now carry weapons, cameras, and sensors for such things as detecting chemical, nuclear, and biological material.

"Proprietary" a dirty word
"Propriety is the worst word out there today," said Rich Ernst, interoperability lead, Office of the Secretary of Defense, referring to the opposite of open architecture, bolstering what Shyu had said earlier.

Ernst was part of an Open Architecture panel that followed Shyu's remarks.

While everyone knows the wisdom of having an open system, habits are hard to break, especially in the Defense Department, he said.

"Primes love open systems," Ernst said, "but then they'll tell you: 'Just don't mess with my existing system.'"

That existing system, he said, is "a legacy environment. They want to go back to that for the next 30 years."

"However, primes know they have to change because there are less programs going forward due to fiscal constraints," he added.

Besides an open architecture, Ernst said each system needs to be broken apart, made transparent, and competed to the most innovative vendor, which in many cases might likely be small businesses or start-ups.

A typical system might be broken apart into 50 sub-components, he continued. The only problem is the government now has trouble managing "just one chunk." It will take a while for government to embrace this concept.

Once open standards are implemented and components are competed in the marketplace, the ground robotics systems that emerge will provide the warfighters and the taxpayers their biggest return on investments, he predicted.

Ernst also had a few choice words about "lawyers in the Pentagon who lock things down in contracts" so changes to the platforms that make sense become hard to initiate.

"I found out quickly that no matter how well we come up with the standard or specification, the lawyers undo whatever the engineers do," he said.

Ernst said he now works with the lawyers and the primes as hard as he works with the software folks to ensure things get done.

Brian Gerkey, CEO of Open Source Robotics Foundation and another panel member, agreed with Ernst's assessment. He said Robot Operating System, or ROS, builds on open architecture.

ROS is an open-source set of powerful software libraries and tools that helps anyone -- from businesses to school kids -- build robot applications and share solutions and algorithms "so you're not constantly reinventing the wheel."

ROS has about a million users worldwide, he added, including NASA, which is about to install a ROS-developed robotics application on the International Space Station.

IOP vs. ROS
Mark Mazzara, Robotics Interoperability lead for Department of the Army Systems Coordinator for Robotics, was the third panel member. He said the Army's Unmanned Ground Vehicle Interoperability Profile, or IOP, is setting the architecture standard, and he hopes to see it accepted DOD-wide because "it's shown to reduce lifecycle costs."

Addressing Gerkey's earlier remarks, Mazzara said, "ROS is a great thing. The difference between ROS and IOP is IOP is more focused on interoperability between subsystems -- which messages flow between them -- not the components in the black box," which can be created using ROS tools and libraries.

Studies have been conducted showing that both ROS and IOP can coexist, and both can be used to ensure the architecture stays open, he added.

A caveat to that, he said, is that IOP is being developed within the U.S. government and is being shared with allies, including NATO. Industries that want to build components for Army robots need them to be IOP-certified.

Mazzara said he can't predict the future of IOP, and whether or not the government will turn it over to industry or to a non-profit robotics association that implements standards down the road.

"We'll just have to wait and see how it plays out," he said.

Smarter robots?
Mazzara added more to his thoughts on what the future holds for ground robots.

He thinks that an industry like agriculture could benefit from using some of the same or similar platforms the Army uses. Although the payloads would obviously be very different, a common mobility platform would make a better business case for internal investments, meaning quantity would drive down the cost of production.

The Army is now focused on modularity, ensuring components can be installed and removed in the "plug-and-play" mode that Shyu mentioned earlier, he said. The next phase, which will happen very soon, will focus on interoperability protocols between robots and manned ground vehicles, ground robots to ground robots, and ground robots to unmanned aerial systems.

Besides those interoperability requirements, the Army will soon turn its attention to interfacing geospatial data, databases, and even cloud computing with the ground robots so they can become smarter and more autonomous.

A key to all this, he said, is to surf the wave, keeping abreast of developments or emerging technologies in the automotive, mobile phone, software, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, and robotics industries. These are overlapping technologies that have applicability.

Combat patches earned
While the panel sees a bright future ahead once a few clouds move away, Shyu pointed to two examples where robots are being used successfully today on the battlefield in Afghanistan.

The Mini-EOD, referred to as "Devil Pup," can locate, identify, and disarm explosives, she said. It's so small and light that a Soldier can carry it in his or her rucksack on a long foot patrol.

Some 300 of them have been in theater over the last few years, at a cost of $35 million.

"It's truly saving Soldiers' lives," she said. "That's the power of robotics."

The other is the six-ton, M160 Anti-personnel Mine Clearance system, which can clear minefields in urban areas and practically any field condition. The M160 has "rendered previously unusable roads functional again," she said.

Near-term Army plans for robots include replacing the Talon Family of Robots with the Man Transportable Robotics System, or MTRS, a process that will take at least seven years, she said, noting that more than 2, 200 Talons have seen combat service over the past decade, and they're now past their service life.

Both the Talon and MTRS are tracked vehicles, with the Talon weighing 115 to 140 pounds and the MTRS 164. They can carry a number of payloads used for missions ranging from EOD to surveillance, with MTRS having planned chemical detection capability as well.

Between now and 2021, the existing Talons will get upgraded sensors and payload capacity, as a "bridging strategy" until MTRS can come online, Shyu explained.

Returning to her theme of common architecture, Shyu said MTRS will definitely have a capability so that if a camera, sensor, arm, or other component becomes obsolete, a new device can be fitted to its common chassis in a "plug-and-play" fashion.

As it stands now, the MTRS Increment II program will soon conduct an analysis of alternatives, "which will determine the best acquisition strategy to gain cost and performance efficiencies across multiple Army formations," according to the Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Systems.

Robots on the prowl
"The future of ground robots depends on their ability to operate in a very diverse and constrained environment," Shyu said. "Commercial autonomous vehicles today maneuver very well on well-defined roadways, where GPS maps are available."

However, formations have to navigate through challenging terrain like deserts, unpaved roads, rocky hillsides, jungles, and urban areas, often in adverse weather like snow, ice, and sandy deserts with temperatures in the triple digits.

Add to that contested environments where jamming and possible capture are possible.

"Efforts to overcoming these challenges are essential," Shyu said.

Despite tough fiscal environments, "our robotics industry continues to innovate," she concluded. "The future for ground robots has absolutely unlimited potential. Opportunities for invention and innovation are limited only by our own creativity and our willingness to take risks and take on new challenges."

The Army recognizes the value of science and technology efforts going into robotics, she added.

Despite fiscal challenges, the service is "working very hard to protect its S&T portfolio," she explained. "It used to be the Army's fourth biggest portfolio behind aviation, mission command, and ground combat systems. It's now the Army's third biggest portfolio.

"I'm excited to see what academia and industry can bring in terms of innovative solutions to solve some of our most difficult challenges," Shyu said.

Published August 2014

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