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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.
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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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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Wireless sensors could make diesel engines greener

By Rob Matheson, MIT

Mounted inside a vehicle's exhaust system, Filter Sensing Technologies' sensors (shown here) track the radio frequency signals coming through a vehicle's filters. The weaker the signals, the greater the soot and ash buildup. [Image courtesy: FST]

 

 

 

 

Advances in wireless technology continue to pave the way for better consumer devices. In the future, however, wireless devices could also benefit the automotive industry by helping diesel engines use less fuel while curbing soot and ash emissions.

Years ago, MIT spinout Filter Sensing Technologies (FST) invented sensors that use radio frequency signals -- commonly used to transmit and receive data from wireless devices -- to measure in real time exactly how much soot and ash builds up in engine exhaust filters. These data help automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) -- which build engines and vehicles -- to program engines to burn fuel more efficiently to clean the filters.

Now, with an acquisition in October by CTS Corporation, a major manufacturer of vehicle electronics and sensors, FTS is poised to scale up manufacturing of its sensors for diesel engines, which must meet increasingly strict emissions limits.

"The industry dynamics are such that it is challenging for a small company to scale and meet OEM requirements of quality and volume. This means additional resources for scaling up and manufacturing" to meet those requirements, says FST co-founder and sensor co-inventor Alex Sappok PhD '09, former CEO of FST and now director of RF sensors for CTS.

FST's co-founder and sensor co-inventor is Leslie Bromberg '73, PhD '77, a research scientist at MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center.

Headquartered in Malden, MA, FST is now the Boston Innovation Office for CTS, where the startup team will further develop and explore other applications for the sensors. Currently, the FST sensors are being piloted with OEMs across the United States, Europe, and Japan for commercial vehicles as well as construction and agricultural equipment. The sensors could be available to the automotive industry within a few years.

In a two-year study with New York City garbage trucks, FST's sensors cut the frequency and duration of filter regeneration in half, which produced a 1 to 2 percent fuel savings. This can be significant for fleets of trucks, such as those in the study, which use roughly 5,000 to 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually.

 

 

 

 

More efficient emission controls
The FST sensors are basically metal antennas mounted inside the exhaust system of vehicles that use diesel particulate filters (DPF). In 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency introduced strict emissions limits for diesel engines, resulting in the widespread use of these large ceramic filters, which capture more than 95 percent of soot and other particles emitted from diesel engines.

A downside to DPFs, however, is they become saturated frequently, sometimes every eight hours -- depending on engine use -- and must be cleaned. With diesel trucks, for instance, the engine "regenerates" the filter by using some fuel to heat up the exhaust to high temperatures and burn the soot, like a self-cleaning oven. Conventional technologies use pressure-drop measurements and predictive models to roughly estimate buildup. If the estimates are off, soot and ash can also exceed the filter's limit, impacting the pressure-drop response, service life, and fuel consumption.

With no way to accurately measure buildup in real time, OEMs generally program a diesel truck's control system to regenerate the filter more frequently than necessary, regardless of actual contamination, Sappok says. "Trucks are burning a lot more fuel than they need in order to heat up and clean off this filter," he says.

FST sensors transmit a radio frequency signal very similar to those used for cell phones, through part of the vehicle's emissions-control system. As soot and ash accumulate in the filter, the signal strength decreases -- the weaker the signal, the more buildup. "It's the same concept as going through a tunnel on your phone and losing a signal," Sappok says.

These data are received by the onboard engine-control system, so the engine only initiates self-cleaning when needed and cuts off when the filter is cleaned, saving fuel and cutting costs for operators.

The sensors have so far proved effective in field and engine tests. In a two-year study with heavy-duty trucks operated by the New York City Department of Sanitation, funded in part by the Department of Energy, the sensors demonstrated the potential to cut the frequency and duration of filter regeneration in half in some cases, which may enable a 1 to 2 percent fuel savings. This can be significant for fleets of trucks such as those in the study, which use roughly 5,000 to 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually.

Classic MIT story
Launching FST was a "classic MIT story," Sappok says, where two researchers from different backgrounds combined forces to innovate and launch a startup.

In 2005, Sappok, then a PhD student in mechanical engineering, delivered a presentation as part of a speaker series in the MIT Sloan Automotive Laboratory, which focused on diesel filter technologies that aim to lower emissions, and on issues related to measuring buildup. In the audience was Bromberg, who had studied RF technologies during his time in academia. Bromberg had earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and PhD in nuclear engineering/plasma physics, both from MIT, in the 1970s.

"[Bromberg] came up to me after the presentation and asked, 'Have you ever thought of using radio-frequency technology to measure what's going on in these filters?'" Sappok says. "It's something I had no background in and never would have come across myself."

Forming an unofficial collaboration, Sappok and Bromberg began constructing a proof-of-concept sensor that measured not soot but wooden toothpicks stuck in a filter -- which have the same nonconductive properties as soot. "We found out we could count how many toothpicks were in a filter," Sappok says, laughing. "We presented at a conference that we could count toothpicks."

From there, Sappok built a suitcase-size sensor out of his basement, which he and Bromberg hauled around to OEMs worldwide for testing -- which made clear the sensor's commercial potential. "The fact that OEMs were willing to pay for us to come out with our prototype and conduct measurements," Sappok says. "That's when we thought there was some real interest."

In 2008, Sappok and Bromberg launched FST and entered the $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, "which was a crash course on the whole operational and financial side of a business," says Sappok.

The co-founders also went through the MIT Venture Mentoring Service's VentureShips program, which matches startups with entrepreneurial MIT students who work through business problems and other issues. In turn, the students learn tricks of the trade from the startup founders.

Published February 2016

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