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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.
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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.

Incredible wraparound conveyor runs for 5 miles, belt turns into its own tube and handles tight bends

Continental's closed-trough conveyor system had to overcome complex infrastructural and geographic hurdles across its 8.1-km route through the coal mine in Yangquan, with many tight bends and extreme angles of inclination.

 

 

 

 

For those readers who like big-equipment applications, here's a neat one. Continental is using a closed-trough conveyor belt system to ensure the smooth and environmentally friendly extraction of pit coal in Yangquan, northern China's Shanxi province. The incredible setup, where the conveyor actually folds over to enclose the material, covers a distance of 5 miles (8.1 km) -- replacing trucking the coal and all the time, fuel, and emissions that goes with it. The closed system minimizes dust emissions, is fireproof, and has low rolling resistance, which makes it particularly energy efficient.

There are many types of pipe conveyor belts, but the standard design has a flat or slightly rounded conveyor moving inside a closed pipe. The Continental solution goes one further by making the conveyor belt turn into the pipe. The outside edges of the belt overlap throughout the entire duration of transportation like a protective casing for the transported material. Only when taking up and delivering material do the closed-trough belts open up and assume the shape of a conventional conveyor belt.

In Yangquan, the Continental tube conveyor, with a width of 1,600 mm (63 in.) and an outer pipe diameter of 458 mm (18 in.), transports 1,000 metric tons of coal per hour and 2.4 million metric tons of coal per year. "This results in an enormous saving of 2,880 metric tons of coal dust emissions per year -- and thus significantly improves air quality," says Stephan Weisgerber, General Management, Continental in China. "Our system also protects the health of mine workers and improves the quality of life of the people living in the area."

The closed-trough conveyor belts in Yangquan are also flame retardant, adding another layer of safety.

See an animation of how the conveyor works here.

 

 

The Continental closed-trough conveyor belt system is troughed at the loading point and can be filled like a conventional conveyor belt. Once the material has been loaded, specially arranged finger rollers ensure that the conveyor belt forms a closed circular belt. Further hexagonal idler stations along the conveyor route ensure closed guidance of the belt. As a result, the conveyed material is continuously protected by the closed belt system. At the end of the belting, the closed belt is opened by the arrangement of the idlers and takes on a flat shape on the pulley in order to unload the conveyed material, just like on conventional belt conveyor systems.

The system was devised with the help of conveyor manufacturer Sichuan Zigong Conveying Machine Group. One particular challenge in an application like this is the precise transverse rigidity, which ensures a good tube shape so that the belt does not collapse. If the rigidity is too high, the belt moving resistance will be too high -- and energy consumption will rise.

The Continental closed-trough conveyor belt system is troughed at the loading point and can be filled like a conventional conveyor belt. Specially arranged finger rollers ensure that the conveyor belt forms a closed circular belt when needed.

 

 

 

 

Shanxi's coalfields account for 37 percent of the province's total area. There are approximately 200 billion metric tons in the area, which roughly equates to one-third of China's coal deposits (source: China Tourism). Much of the province is more than 1,000 m above sea level. Consequently, the 13.37-km² mining area of YanKan Coal Ltd. in Yangquan, which is equivalent to approximately 1,870 football fields in size, is also hilly and almost impassable.

In mining, whether above or below ground as well as in industrial applications, large inclines and tight bends with low space requirements and high mass flows must often be overcome. While the angle of incline of traditional troughed belt conveyors is usually 20 degrees or less and curve radii remain very large, a pipe conveyor of Continental's design allows curve radii and tilt angles up to 30 percent.

The Yangquan closed-trough conveyor belt overcomes elevation differences up to 172 m over its 8.1-km stretch from the coal deposit to the transfer station, going through a complex route with over 39 convex, concave, and 20 horizontal bends.

"Our closed-trough conveyor belt easily masters tight bends and steep conveyor angles and thus adapts perfectly to the landscape to save space," says Ming-Ya Tang from Continental. "Our system is characterized by the fact that it manages without transfer points."

This also has a positive effect on the installation costs of the assembly, which are generally cheaper than for assemblies with transfer points.

In Yangquan, the closed-trough conveyor belt system transports pit coal at a high speed of 4 m/s or 14.4 km per hour -- about three times the speed of a pedestrian walking briskly or a cyclist riding at a moderate pace. But miles of conveyor belts can consume as much electricity yearly as a whole town. To address the energy usage, Continental uses a special rubber compound to minimize the rolling resistance of conveyor belts, which significantly reduces the system's energy consumption. Energy demands increase when the belt runs over the idlers, which account for two-thirds (and therefore the largest share) of the total resistive forces of the conveyor system.

Hexagonal idler stations along the conveyor route ensure closed guidance of the belt, protecting the conveyed material.

 

 

"With the right compound, we reduced the energy consumption involved in transporting raw materials by 25 percent," says Weisgerber. "This special compound is also used in the facility in Yangquan. This will improve the facility's carbon footprint and save on energy costs for the operator."

In an eye-popping comparison, the energy saved in just 1.5 hours of use for such a conveyor is about as large as the average annual consumption of a household in Germany (3,171 kWh) or that of five households in China (confirmed by the Institute for Transport and Automation Technology of the University of Hanover in Germany).

Continental closed-trough belt conveyors have already proven themselves in many places in China -- in coal mines as well as in power plants and steel mills. Yangquan's Shangshe coal mine has a 4.9-km closed-trough conveyor belt system in operation. At the Anyang coal mine in Chenghe (Shaanxi province) and the Hongyuan coal mine in Puxian (Shanxi province), there are also four pipe conveyors, with a total conveying length of 8.7 km. More projects are in the works.

Learn more about Continental conveyor systems here.

Source: Continental

Published October 2019

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