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Simplify pick and place with the THK PPR

THK's Pick-and-Place Robot PPR is a robot that can pick up delicate or minute workpieces such as electronic components and quickly and accurately transfer and assemble them to the base. In addition to the basic movements of raising, lowering, and rotating, various sensors (such as a force sensor), solenoid valves, and controller are all in one unit. The PPR is a process-optimized robot that can improve the production speed of the parts assembly processes and reduce work damage.
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New ROBOMACHINE products and more from FANUC

FANUC America demonstrated the future of manufacturing at IMTS 2026 last week, showcasing how Physical AI-powered automation integrates advanced CNC, machining, and robotics to boost productivity and speed deployment. One highlight was the debut of the ROBODRILL DC Series machining centers -- including the high-speed D54CS and D74CS models -- alongside interactive demonstrations featuring collaborative robots, robotic welding, material joining, painting, and assembly technology.
See all the FANUC new tech featured at IMTS.

What is a stick-slip bi-phase positioning stage?

PI (Physik Instrumente) is expanding its Bi-Phase Inertia Drive (BIX) technology with new motor architectures for compact, high-precision nanopositioning applications. Based on the piezo stick-slip principle, BIX stages replace conventional single actuators with two synchronized multilayer piezo actuators. This compact design delivers precise, repeatable motion while maintaining piezo inertia self-locking.
Learn more about this technology.

Universal Robots unveils Gen 7 robot platform!

Redesigned from controller to tool flange, the new Gen 7 robot platform is out-of-the-box AI-ready, giving companies the modern software tools and next-level connectivity they need to confidently take AI from the lab into industrial operations. Gen 7 represents a unified system upgrade designed to make even the most demanding tasks and setups easier. See all the new features -- they are significant.
Read the full article.

Adaptor mount and hub options provide flexibility

Zero-Max's new CD Power-Series Flexible Shaft Couplings feature ISO Flange Adaptors matching ISO 9409-1 patterns on gear reducers and robotics. Eliminating custom transitions, this direct connection enhances torsional stiffness and positioning accuracy while saving space, weight, and inertia. Offering continuous torque up to 65,000 in.-lb and versatile hub options, these compact couplings deliver high power density.
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Top-shelf motors: Completely revised maxon catalog

maxon has completely overhauled its 2026/2027 catalog, streamlining its portfolio to reduce complexity and improve navigation. The new structure features dedicated sections for business units -- Medical, Aerospace, Industrial Automation, Mobility -- and specialized fields like Robotics and Space. Key product highlights include new ECX PRIME and ECX FLAT motors, GSW planetary gearheads, and ESCON2/EPOS4 controllers.
Learn more and check it out.

Custom stators, rotors, and motor assemblies for low- to mid-volume applications

Arnold's Ramco Electric Motors is your single partner for custom motor components and complete assemblies. Ramco builds solutions for AC induction, switched reluctance, and brushless DC designs up to 200+ HP. Capabilities include custom stators, rotor-shaft assemblies, aluminum and copper casting, induction brazing, permanent magnet assembly, and precision rotor balancing.
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Rotate robot arms more than 600 degrees

The unsupported twisterchain^® from igus eliminates the need for additional trough systems or guide plates in robotic applications, especially in palletizing. This results in a clean, efficient, and space-saving system architecture that delivers both technical and economic advantages. Thanks to its specialized design, it supports rotations of over 600 degrees.
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Match the torque of rotary solenoids to your application

Magnetic Sensor Systems has launched the Made in USA R-10-200-CWM Series of clockwise rotary solenoids. Measuring 2.00 in. in diameter and 1.04 in. long with 18 different AWG options and a serrated front shaft end, these compact units optimize torque, current, and duty cycle. When power is removed, an integral return spring automatically returns the shaft to its home position. The shaft is supported by two high-precision radial ball bearings, providing smooth operation with no axial play. Applications include medical, security, and office equipment.
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Planetary servo gear unit: New economy series

SEW-EURODRIVE has expanded its PxG planetary servo gear unit portfolio with the new PxG economy series, introducing the P1.G, P2.G, and P3.G performance classes. Designed for standard industrial automation applications like packaging and material handling, these cost-effective units feature peak torque ratings from 11 to 500 Nm and over 20,000 hours of service life, helping machine builders eliminate unnecessary over-specification.
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Compact hexapod 6-DOF alignment system has overload protection

PI's compact H-811.I2HS hexapod delivers precise 6-DOF motion with patented overload protection, simplifying setup and operation in OEM applications. This built-in protection safeguards precision mechanics during installation and integration against accidental forces or improper handling. Furthermore, the hexapod mounts in any orientation, granting system designers exceptional flexibility for optical, photonics, microscopy, metrology, and automation systems.
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What is STUDROLLER technology? Cross Roller Guides

NB SLIDE WAY cross roller guides use precision rollers to provide stable, non-recirculating linear motions in precision stages, inspection equipment, semiconductor manufacturing, and more. At the heart of all NB cross roller bearings is the STUDROLLER mechanism, which eliminates the cage-creep phenomenon that, over time, can create deviances in cross roller retainer performance. NB cross roller guides equipped with this system are more accurate and better performing than any other comparable products on the market today. High acceleration and faster cycle times are possible in any orientation.
View the video.

Ruggedized Nano servo drives for harsh environs

Copley Controls has released its R47 and R48 NanoPlus Micro Module servo drives. Designed for extreme environments and space-constrained applications, these rugged platforms operate from 9 to 180 VDC, delivering peak power up to 6.3 kW. Offering CANopen (R47) or EtherCAT (R48) communications, both feature STO SIL 3 safety and broad encoder support. Well suited for COTS military, nautical, aviation, oil refining, and vehicle-based systems.
Learn more.

Simplify AC motor control with the new OMRON M1 Inverter

The OMRON M1 Inverter simplifies machine design by unifying motion, safety, networking, and motor control into a single platform. Available in M1-STD, M1-ECT, and M1-EMP models, it controls IM and PM motors with high precision. Featuring SIL3 PLe STO safety and native EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP, or RS-485 communications, the M1 accelerates development within the Sysmac environment.
Learn more.

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.
Learn more.

Plasma research aims to make airplane flight safer

By Jill Goetz, College of Engineering, University of Arizona

Plasma has generated excitement among aerodynamics researchers for its effects on air flow and its potential for building more agile and fuel-efficient flying machines, ranging from planes, helicopters, and drones to rockets and satellites.

Now a rising star in aerodynamics at the University of Arizona College of Engineering is putting plasma's promise to the test.

Assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering Jesse Little received a $245,000 grant in June from the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program, or DURIP, for a project titled "Interaction of Three-Dimensional Unsteady Flows With Aerodynamic Surfaces." DURIP is a collaboration of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force research divisions.

The grant augments Little's ongoing plasma aerodynamics work funded with a 2014 Army Research Office Young Investigator Program Award. Little received an earlier YIP Award in 2012 from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

"These awards are evidence of Jesse's significant contributions to this important research focus," said Jeff Jacobs, head of UA aerospace and mechanical engineering.

Aerospace engineering student researcher Ken Decker adjusts a flow-control manifold in the UA College of Engineering's wind-tunnel facility.

 

 

Controlling chaos
Little directs the UA Turbulence and Flow Control Laboratory, where he studies what causes turbulence, how it behaves, and how it can be controlled. Turbulent flow is inherently chaotic -- think of water crashing at the bottom of a waterfall -- and filled with vortices and eddies that scientists are only just beginning to understand.

"As more airplanes, helicopters, and drones fly at lower altitude and in urban areas -- where air tends to be more unsteady than, say, at 40,000 feet -- it becomes even more important to understand turbulent air flows and how they interact with solid surfaces," Little said.

Little is one of many researchers around the globe using active flow control, a technology pioneered by UA aerospace and mechanical engineering professor Israel Wygnanski, who, with engineers from Caltech, Boeing, and NASA, designed a smaller, lighter airplane tail using sweeping-jet actuators that emit tiny bursts of air to disrupt and control air flow. [Read more about this project in Designfax here.

Little's actuators use high voltage to ionize air, producing plasma. Plasma, or ionized gas, is believed to be the most abundant state of matter in the universe. It produces thermal energy for some of nature's most spectacular displays: lightning and stars, for example, which can exceed 50,000 deg F.

The thermal energy from a plasma discharge can interrupt and control air flows to an extraordinary degree -- and even dissipate shock waves, which has prompted aerodynamics researchers to write of "plasma magic" in their papers.

In one example of turbulence, air flows can separate from a surface. This puts considerable drag on an airborne object and reduces its lift. Plasma's thermal bursts can reattach these separated flows at the precise spot they originated. This means plasma can reduce drag on an aircraft and prevent it from stalling.

Little and students working in his lab use power generators to ionize air particles that are exposed to strips of copper tape. The copper strips act as electrodes, conducting high-voltage electricity to actuate the plasma floating above them.

Actuators in hand, the researchers climb into the aerospace and mechanical engineering department's subsonic wind tunnel to attach them along with strips of dielectric, or insulating, tape at precise locations on the airfoil, a cross-section of a wing.

Back outside, with the press of a button, they turn on the actuators, which emit nanosecond pulses of plasma over the airfoil's surface. The team takes precise measurements and conducts computer analyses of how these plasma "hot spots" affect air flow at specific locations on the airfoil, particularly the leading edge.

Cleaner technologies
Little's findings will help engineers design plasma actuators that can be attached, perhaps in sheets, to an airplane wing or helicopter rotor blade. These lightweight electronic flow-control devices could shrink or even replace much heavier airplane control surfaces, such as wing flaps and tails, reducing the plane's weight and enabling it to fly farther on less fuel. The plasma actuators also have potential to revolutionize aspects of wind-tunnel testing, allowing researchers to perform experiments currently limited to expensive flight tests.

Plasma actuators could improve efficiency inside planes too.

"Industry faces ever greater pressure to improve combustion efficiency, reduce pollutant emissions, and make ignition and combustion processes more reliable," Little said. "We know that plasma discharges can enhance fuel-air reactivity and reduce exhaust. Plasma actuators could lead to much cleaner engines, not just in aviation, but in many industries."

A high school intern and undergraduate student -- funded by 2015 Army Research Office apprenticeship grants -- and an Army captain pursuing his master's degree are among the students working on the project with Little.

"I have wanted to be an aerospace engineer since I was in the fourth grade," said Zachary Wellington, who graduated from Sonoran Science Academy in May and is starting his first year as a UA engineering student.

For Timothy Ashcraft, a helicopter pilot whose military honors include the Bronze Star, the project hits close to home.

In August 2010, Ashcraft was co-piloting an Apache helicopter in Afghanistan when it was shot down. Both pilots survived.

Ashcraft is pursuing his UA master's degree in aerospace and mechanical engineering with funding from the Army. After he graduates, he will teach engineering at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he received his bachelor's degree in 2007.

"I survived for two reasons," he said. "The exceptional skill of the pilot in command, and the engineers who built and designed the aircraft to withstand severe battle damage.

"I hope I can give back to the field of aerospace engineering, because it literally saved my life."

Published September 2015

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