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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.
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Universal Robots emerges as preferred robotics platform for AI solutions at Automate 2024

At North America's largest automation show (Chicago, May 6-9), cobot pioneer Universal Robots will redefine the frontiers of physical AI, showcasing how the "ChatGPT moment for robots" has arrived in a wide range of applications. Automate attendees will also experience how Universal Robots' newest cobot models, the UR20 and UR30, automate tasks with increased payload, reach, and torque.
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Multi-stage mini vacuum pumps: Max performance

Designed to meet the demanding needs of industrial users, the CMS M series mini vacuum pump from COVAL combines robustness, performance, and modularity, offering an optimum solution for applications requiring high suction flow rates, such as gripping porous parts, emptying tanks, or material handling when integrated into vacuum grippers. Thanks to their ultra-compact design and optimized multi-stage Venturi system, these pumps guarantee powerful suction flows up to 19.42 SCFM, while reducing compressed air consumption in a compact footprint.
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Choosing a stepper motor: PM or hybrid?

Lin Engineering stepper motors are widely used in various applications that require precise control of motion, such as in robotics, 3D printing, CNC machines, and medical equipment. There are two main types of stepper motors: permanent magnet (PM) and hybrid. Learn the differences, advantages, and when to use one type or the other.
Read this informative Lin Engineering article.

Top Product: Integrated servo system is 20% smaller than standalone unit

Applied Motion Products has introduced the MDX+ series, a family of low-voltage servo systems that integrate a servo drive, motor, and encoder into one package. This all-in-one drive unit is an ideal solution for manufacturers in logistics, AGV, medical, semiconductor, the solar industries, and many others.
Read the full article.

Overhung load adaptors provide load support and contamination protection

Overhung load adaptors (OHLA) provide both overhung radial and axial load support to protect electrified mobile equipment motors from heavy application loads, extending the lifetime of the motor and alleviating the cost of downtime both from maintenance costs and loss of production. They seal out dirt, grime, and other contaminants too. Zero-Max OHLAs are available in an extensive offering of standard models (including Extra-Duty options) for typical applications or customized designs.
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Why choose electric for linear actuators?

Tolomatic has been delivering a new type of linear motion technology that is giving hydraulics a run for its money. Learn the benefits of electric linear motion systems, the iceberg principle showing total cost of ownership, critical parameters of sizing, and conversion tips.
Get this informative e-book. (No registration required)

New AC hypoid inverter-duty gearmotors

Bodine Electric Company introduces 12 new AC inverter-duty hypoid hollow shaft gearmotors. These type 42R-25H2 and 42R-30H3 drives combine an all-new AC inverter-duty, 230/460-VAC motor with two hypoid gearheads. When used with an AC inverter (VFD) control, these units deliver maintenance-free and reliable high-torque output. They are ideal for conveyors, gates, packaging, and other industrial automation equipment that demands both high torque and low power consumption from the driving gearmotor.
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Next-gen warehouse automation: Siemens, Universal Robots, and Zivid partner up

Universal Robots, Siemens, and Zivid have created a new solution combining UR's cobot arms with Siemens' SIMATIC Robot Pick AI software and Zivid's 3D sensors to create a deep-learning picking solution for warehouse automation and intra-logistics fulfillment. It works regardless of object shape, size, opacity, or transparency and is a significant leap in solving the complex challenges faced by the logistics and e-commerce sectors.
Read the full article.

Innovative DuoDrive gear and motor unit is UL/CSA certified

The DuoDrive integrated gear unit and motor from NORD DRIVE-SYSTEMS is a compact, high-efficiency solution engineered for users in the fields of intralogistics, pharmaceutical, and the food and beverage industries. This drive combines a IE5+ synchronous motor and single-stage helical gear unit into one compact housing with a smooth, easy-to-clean surface. It has a system efficiency up to 92% and is available in two case sizes with a power range of 0.5 to 4.0 hp.
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BLDC flat motor with high output torque and speed reduction

Portescap's 60ECF brushless DC slotted flat motor is the newest frame size to join its flat motor portfolio. This 60-mm BLDC motor features a 38.2-mm body length and an outer-rotor slotted configuration with an open-body design, allowing it to deliver improved heat management in a compact package. Combined with Portescap gearheads, it delivers extremely high output torque and speed reduction. Available in both sensored and sensorless options. A great choice for applications such as electric grippers and exoskeletons, eVTOLs, and surgical robots.
Learn more and view all the specs.

Application story: Complete gearbox and coupling assembly for actuator system

Learn how GAM engineers not only sized and selected the appropriate gear reducers and couplings required to drive two ball screws in unison using a single motor, but how they also designed the mounting adapters necessary to complete the system. One-stop shopping eliminated unnecessary components and resulted in a 15% reduction in system cost.
Read this informative GAM blog.

Next-gen motor for pump and fan applications

The next evolution of the award-winning Aircore EC motor from Infinitum is a high-efficiency system designed to power commercial and industrial applications such as HVAC fans, pumps, and data centers with less energy consumption, reduced emissions, and reduced waste. It features an integrated variable frequency drive and delivers upward of 93% system efficiency, as well as class-leading power and torque density in a low-footprint package that is 20% lighter than the previous version. Four sizes available.
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Telescoping linear actuators for space-constrained applications

Rollon's new TLS telescoping linear actuators enable long stroke lengths with minimal closed lengths, which is especially good for applications with minimal vertical clearance. These actuators integrate seamlessly into multi-axis systems and are available in two- or three-stage versions. Equipped with a built-in automated lubrication system, the TLS Series features a synchronized drive system, requiring only a single motor to achieve motion. Four sizes (100, 230, 280, and 360) with up to 3,000-mm stroke length.
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Competitively priced long-stroke parallel gripper

The DHPL from Festo is a new generation of pneumatic long-stroke grippers that offers a host of advantages for high-load and high-torque applications. It is interchangeable with competitive long-stroke grippers and provides the added benefits of lighter weight, higher precision, and no maintenance. It is ideal for gripping larger items, including stacking boxes, gripping shaped parts, and keeping bags open. It has high repetition accuracy due to three rugged guide rods and a rack-and-pinion design.
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NASA grant funds aeroacoustic research to develop quieter vertical lift air vehicles

As noise levels in urban spaces swell, a multi-university partnership seeks to turn down the volume on urban air mobility vehicles.

Drone delivery is rapidly taking off in major cities, with rotor-powered rideshares not far behind. The convenience promised by electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles generates a substantial buzz -- not just from excitement but from all the noise generated by rotors filling the sky.

To address key challenges facing the future of air transport, NASA has awarded $5.7 million to a multi-university partnership as part of the agency's University Leadership Initiative.

The project, led by Boston University over the next three years, will bring together researchers and engineers from Virginia Tech, Embry-Riddle University, Tuskegee University, and industry partner Joby Aviation to focus on developing quieter vertical lift air vehicles.

A researcher prepares for particle image velocimetry measurements of unsteady inflow into a rotor inside the test section of Virginia Tech's Stability Wind Tunnel. [Credit: Photo courtesy of Nathan Alexander for Virginia Tech]

 

 

 

 

Advanced or urban air mobility concept vehicles are typically electric vertical take-off and landing, commonly called eVTOL, vehicles with four or more rotors. The grant will support research into the technical and environmental challenges of flying in urban environments.

Added convenience brings added noise
As populations in urban areas continue to grow, increased traffic and industrial activity is causing cities to become louder and louder. Factoring in new modes of transportation, such as vertical lift air vehicles, will contribute to already existing noise pollution.

The research will develop methods to better predict low-noise operations of such vehicles within the urban canyon. The research team will explore how much the ingestion of large-scale disturbances during flight, such as gusts of winds, will affect rotor noise.

"This is a complicated problem," said W. Nathan Alexander, assistant professor in the Kevin T. Crofton Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering. "While a helicopter has one main rotor, these vehicles have multiple rotors. This provides additional degrees of freedom to control sound through individual rotor RPM and tilt, but it also makes the problem more complex. The goal is to determine the optimal configuration for safe operations in unsteady environments that also produce low noise."

Both computational and experimental methods will be used to satisfy the research objectives.

Virginia Tech will take point on the experimental studies and has been awarded $1.3 million from the total NASA grant. Alexander, an expert in fluid dynamics, flow-structure interaction, and flow-generated noise, will team with Nanyaporn Intaratep, research assistant professor, to plan and execute testing in the Stability Wind Tunnel.

The Stability Wind Tunnel is one of the leading university-owned research facilities of its kind specializing in aerodynamic and aeroacoustic testing. In addition to low background noise, the facility boasts state-of-the-art instrumentation and unique capabilities for measuring aeroacoustic flow, such as its 251-channel microphone array and stereoscopic particle image velocimetry systems.

Working with Joby Aviation, Alexander and Intaratep will design and conduct experiments to assess the aerodynamic and acoustic performances of multirotor configurations.

The team's experiments will focus on the rotors themselves -- studying their interaction in gusty environments, and measuring the RPM, thrust, torque, and noise from a variety of angles, as well as the flow field in and around those rotors.

The data captured will help validate computational models from university partners to predict the steady-state noise as well as a vehicle's response to disturbances in an urban setting.

Throughout the experimentation phase, Alexander and Intaratep will also develop a virtual lab to increase the research's educational impact. "Most institutions do not have a facility like the Stability Wind Tunnel," Alexander said. "By using what we learned over the COVID-19 pandemic in delivering a meaningful, online lab experience, we will be able to offer students at our partner universities the ability to participate in real flow and noise data acquisition and processing."

The methods and data derived from this study will be open-sourced, aiding in the industry advancement of vertical lift air vehicles. The research will also provide graduate and undergraduate students with hands-on research experience related to the urban air mobility industry.

Source: Virginia Tech

Published June 2023

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