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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.
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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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Extend your range of motion: Controllers for mini motors

FAULHABER has added another extremely compact Motion Controller without housing to its product range. The new MC3603 controller is ideal for integration in equipment manufacturing and medical tech applications. With 36 V and 3 A (peak current 9 A), it covers the power range up to 100 W and is suitable for DC motors with encoder, brushless drives, or linear motors.
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When is a frameless brushless DC motor the right choice?

Frameless BLDC motors fit easily into small, compact machines that require high precision, high torque, and high efficiency, such as robotic applications where a mix of low weight and inertia is critical. Learn from the experts at SDP/SI how these motors can replace heavier, less efficient hydraulic components by decreasing operating and maintenance costs. These motors are also more environmentally friendly than others.
View the video.

Tiny and smart: Step motor with closed-loop control

Nanotec's new PD1-C step motor features an integrated controller and absolute encoder with closed-loop control. With a flange size of merely 28 mm (NEMA 11), this compact motor reaches a max holding torque of 18 Ncm and a peak current of 3 A. Three motor versions are available: IP20 protection, IP65 protection, and a motor with open housing that can be modified with custom connectors. Ideal for applications with space constraints, effectively reducing both wiring complexity and installation costs.
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Closed loop steppers drive new motion control applications

According to the motion experts at Performance Motion Devices, when it comes to step motors, the drive technique called closed loop stepper is making everything old new again and driving a burst of interest in the use of two-phase step motors. It's "winning back machine designers who may have relegated step motors to the category of low cost but low performance."
Read this informative Performance Motion Devices article.

Intelligent compact drives with extended fieldbus options

The intelligent PD6 compact drives from Nanotec are now available with Profinet and EtherNet/IP. They combine motor, controller, and encoder in a space-saving package. With its 80-mm flange and a rated power of 942 W, the PD6-EB is the most powerful brushless DC motor of this product family. The stepper motor version has an 86-mm flange (NEMA 34) and a holding torque up to 10 Nm. Features include acceleration feed forward and jerk-limited ramps. Reduced installation time and wiring make the PD6 series a highly profitable choice for machine tools, packaging machines, or conveyor belts.
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Army developing next-generation surveillance aircraft

By Kris Osborn, ASA (ALT)

Army scientists, engineers, and program developers are making substantial progress building and integrating a technically sophisticated battlefield surveillance aircraft called Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System in a laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, service officials said.

Artist's rendering of the Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System now under development.

 

 

The initial task, now underway at Aberdeen's Joint Test and Integration Facility, is aimed at engineering and integrating an Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System or EMARSS, fuselage with cameras, sensors, software, antennas, intelligence databases, and electronic equipment so that the Army can deliver four Engineering Manufacturing Development aircraft to Afghanistan as part of a forward assessment of the capabilities, said Raymond Santiago, deputy product manager, Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance Systems.

"An EMARSS Forward Operational Assessment will place this system in the hands of our Soldiers, allowing them to inform an assessment as to whether the system meets the approved requirements. We will get to see the system being used to gather real-world data in a combat environment, with a high optempo. This will help us refine and establish the architecture for the platform," an Army acquisition official explained.

The Army plans to complete the EMARSS EMD Phase with a minimum of four aircraft systems. Overall, the EMD contract has options to procure two additional EMD systems and four to six Low Rate Initial Production systems.

Plans for the EMARSS aircraft include efforts to engineer a surveillance aircraft with a wide range of vital combat-relevant capabilities, such as the ability to quickly gather, integrate, and disseminate intelligence information of great value to warfighters in real time; it is being built to do this with an integrated suite of cameras, sensors, communications, and signals intelligence-gathering technologies and a data-link with ground-based intelligence databases allowing it to organize and communicate information of great relevance to a commander's area of responsibility, Santiago explained.

The work at the JTIF laboratory, involving a significant development and integration-related collaborative effort with Army and industry engineers, is aimed at reducing risk through rapid prototyping and software and sensor integration. The EMARSS fuselage in the laboratory is a built-to-specification model of a Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350, Santiago said.

"The laboratory gives us the flexibility to try things out with the fuselage. This helps us with how we configure the equipment," Santiago added.

A key aim of the effort is to engineer and configure a modular aircraft designed with "open architecture" and a plug-and-play capability, allowing it to successfully integrate and function effectively with a variety of different sensor payloads, software packages, and electronic equipment, he said.

"We want to build one bird with as many common capability packages on it as well as a full-motion video camera. We want it to be sensor agnostic," Santiago said.

For example, the EMARSS aircraft is being configured to integrate a range of sensor packages such as Electro-Optical/Infrared cameras, MX-15 full-motion video cameras, and an imaging sensor technology known as Wide Area Surveillance System able to identify and produce images spanning over a given area of terrain, Army acquisition officials explained.

The EMARSS capability is unique in that it is engineered with a data-link connecting the aircraft to the Army's ground-based intelligence database called Distributed Common Ground System - Army. DCGS-A is a comprehensive integrated intelligence data repository, able to compile, organize, display, and distribute information from more than 500 data sources; DCGS-A incorporates data from a wide array of sensors, including space-based sensors, geospatial information and signal and human intelligence sources. By having a data-link with information from the ground-bases DCGS-A, flight crews on board EMARSS will be able to use display screens and on-board electronics to receive and view intelligence information in real-time pertaining to their area of operations.

"As they are flying over an area, the EMARSS crew is able to immediately pick up the latest information from what other nearby intelligence assets are picking up. They can immediately get results from DCGS-A and see it on their display screens. Intelligence experts on the ground are doing analysis, and they can send relevant information back up to the aircraft," Santiago explained.

Also, EMARSS' plug-and-play, open architecture framework is being engineered so that the aircraft could potentially accommodate certain radar imaging technologies in the future, such as Ground Moving Target Indicator, a radar imaging technology able to detect moving vehicles and Synthetic Aperture Radar, a radar system able to paint an image or picture of the ground showing terrain, elevation, and nearby structures, Santiago said.

Given that all the sensors, antennas, cameras, and electronics are designed to operate within a common architecture, one possibility is to strategically disperse various sensor capabilities across a fleet of several EMARSS aircraft, thus maximizing the ability to gather and distribute relevant intelligence information, Santiago explained.

The Army Training and Doctrine Capability Manager for Intelligence Sensors (TCM Intel Sensors) is also working on the Capabilities Production Document which, according to plans, will eventually be submitted to the Joint Requirements Oversight Council before the EMARSS program can achieve a Milestone C production decision paving the way for limited rate initial production of the system in FY 13, Army acquisition officials explained.

Published January 2013

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