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Flexible planetary gearheads: Quiet, extremely robust

FAULHABER GPT gearheads for miniature and micro motors deliver high power density, exceptional flexibility, and excellent cost efficiency. Designed for seamless integration with diverse motors and encoders, these compact planetary drives feature hardened stainless steel components that reliably withstand extreme torques and abrupt load changes. Offered in standard, low-noise, and high-torque variants, they ensure precise, durable performance across wide operating temperature ranges.
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What is a low-waving linear motion guide?

If you are having a problem with your linear guides not always staying perfectly straight during use, it may be due to a phenomenon called waving -- a problem that is particularly critical in high-precision markets such as semiconductor and LCD equipment-related applications or machine tools. Thankfully, THK has an answer.
Read the full article.

NORD serves up sweet energy and cost savings for industrial bakeries

NORD DRIVE-SYSTEMS offers robust, highly configurable drive solutions designed to optimize efficiency, ensure hygiene, and reduce the TCO for automated bakery systems. From industrial-scale mixing and portioning to baking, cooling, and packaging, NORD's modular product portfolio delivers precise, reliable performance across every stage of production.
Read the full article. You may learn something even if you are not in the baking industry.

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 Power Electric technical article.

Driving next-gen pump and fan applications: Sinamics G210X

The Sinamics G210X is a new frequency converter for advanced pump, fan, and compressor applications, combining easy engineering with robust design. Integrated functions, seamless TIA Portal integration, and a web server reduce PLC effort to speed up commissioning, operation, and diagnostics. IP55 protection, 3C3 coating, and S2 system redundancy ensure reliable operation in demanding environments.
Learn more.

New Exlar food-grade actuator

Curtiss-Wright's Actuation Division has expanded its Exlar line with hygienic electric actuators using FDA-approved materials and finishes. Designed for food, beverage, packaging, and pharmaceutical automation, the new GTF unit enables economical USDA, 3-A, BISSC, and EHEDG certification. Its IP69K washdown option, inverted roller screw, and compact servo-driven design deliver reliable, high-performance motion for hygienic machinery.
Learn more.

New Texas conveyor system is 42 miles long!

SEW-EURODRIVE is helping power one of the most ambitious bulk material handling projects in North America through its contribution to the Dune Express conveyor system, a record-setting 42-mile single-flight conveyor across the Permian Basin.
Read the full article.

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.

Gold and titanium come together to form unique magnet type

Rice University scientists make itinerant antiferromagnet.

Titanium and gold are usually not magnetic and cannot be magnets -- unless you combine them just so.

Scientists at Rice University did so and discovered what is a first of its kind: an itinerant antiferromagnetic metal -- TiAu -- made from nonmagnetic constituent elements.

The research by the lab of Rice physicist Emilia Morosan has already been cited as a textbook example of how magnetism arises in metals. While the uses for this particular magnet have yet to be determined, the Rice discovery could enhance the scientific understanding of magnetism.

An open-access paper about the research appeared July 13 in Nature Communications.

This is not the kind of magnet one would stick to a refrigerator. Magnetic order only appears in TiAu when the metal is cooled to 36 kelvins, about -395 deg F.

Measurements at Rice University show that a crystalline form of titanium and gold (TiAu) becomes magnetic (red peak) at a cold 36 kelvins. [Credit: Eteri Svanidze/Rice University]

 

 

 

 

"Magnetization is a function of temperature," said lead author Eteri Svanidze. "The magnet's ordering temperature appears as an anomaly in the smooth curve we see in such magnetization measurements." For common magnets, that temperature is generally hundreds of degrees Fahrenheit, way hotter than any kitchen. But the energy and temperature scale in unconventional magnets, like the few that have no magnetic elements, are drastically reduced.

Svanidze said the magnets will enhance studies of other important physics, like phase transitions (as in solid-to-liquid or liquid-to-gas) that take place at absolute zero, called quantum phase transitions.

TiAu is only the third known itinerant magnetic metal made with no magnetic elements. The other two, both ferromagnets that activate their magnetic order at temperatures even colder than TiAu, were discovered half a century ago. Part of the reason for the long gap is that TiAu is challenging to make.

"When we started looking, we found out why 50 years had passed without any additional discoveries," Morosan said. "Most other possible candidates were problematic in one way or another. They were hard to make, chemically unstable, toxic, or required a high temperature that was not accessible in the lab."

"We had to discard many candidate compounds," said Svanidze, who worked on the project for six years as a Rice graduate student.

But electronic structure calculations showed a 1-to-1 mix of titanium and gold might have the properties they were looking for. "This is not a new material," Svanidze said. "What we found are its magnetic properties, and that's where the interesting physics comes in."

Materials usually become magnetic when exposed to a field that brings the magnetic moments of its atoms into alignment. Think of each atom or ion as a tiny self-contained magnet that can align itself with the neighboring magnetic ions, like the needle of a compass.

The magnetic moment of a material can be local (tied to a specific atom) or itinerant (not bonded to a single atom). Itinerant wanderers can extend their influence over more than one atom, facilitating communications between their "up" or "down" spin states. They also allow for handy things like electrical conductivity in metals.

Atomic moments in local-moment ferromagnets -- that is, common magnetic materials -- align all of their spins in the same direction. In an antiferromagnet, the atomic moments align in opposite directions.

Morosan said it's important to know these extremes in magnetic behavior. "Theoretically we understand local-moment magnetism quite well, and we have some understanding of the itinerant moment, but most true systems really live in between," she said. "We have to understand the extremes in order to figure out the physics of what's going on in between."

"I think the most significant part is that such a phenomenon is very rare," said Jiakui Wang, another Morosan lab graduate student and co-author of the paper. "This is the first time such an antiferromagnetic material has been discovered, so it is fundamentally significant. It makes our understanding of magnetism deeper."

Morosan said basic scientific discoveries often need time to spawn applications. "My hope is that we can eventually find enough of these systems to understand them better. Then we'll know what we're dealing with so we can make compounds with the exact properties we want."

The research was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative, the Welch Foundation, the Department of Energy, Florida State University, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, and the Friends of Todai Inc. Foundation.

Source: Rice University

Published August 2015

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