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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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DARPA/Boeing Experimental Spaceplane program successfully completes engine test series

This test series is the first time engineers had operated the RS-25 engine in an aircraft-like fashion with such repetition.

 

 

DARPA's Experimental Spaceplane (XSP) advances toward its goal for rapid turnaround and on-demand launch with the completion of a test series that put the spaceplane's AR-22 Experimental Spaceplane Main Engine through a rigorous campaign. In the two weeks preceding the campaign, the engine ran twice to establish initial performance characteristics and turnaround processes. Then, starting July 26, the engineering team successfully fired the engine 10 times in just under 240 hours. All firings lasted at least 100 seconds. The AR-22 engine is a variant of the RS-25, also known as the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME).

The Experimental Spaceplane program is a public-private partnership between DARPA and Boeing. The XS-1 program envisions a fully reusable unmanned vehicle, roughly the size of a business jet, which would take off vertically like a rocket and fly to hypersonic speeds.

Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1) concept.

 

 

The vehicle would be launched with no external boosters, powered solely by self-contained cryogenic propellants. Upon reaching a high suborbital altitude, the booster would release an expendable upper stage able to deploy a 3,000-lb satellite to polar orbit. The reusable first stage would then bank and return to Earth, landing horizontally like an aircraft, and be prepared for the next flight, potentially within hours.

Boeing teamed with Aerojet Rocketdyne for the AR-22. The program is in the second of three phases, the final of which is a flight test targeted for early 2021. Highlights of the unmanned Experimental Spaceplane include:

• Automated flight termination and other technologies for autonomous flight and operations;
• Capability to deploy at least 3,000 lb to low Earth orbit; and
• Design that accommodates different types of upper stages.

Other technologies in the XS-1 design include:

• Advanced, lightweight composite cryogenic propellant tanks to hold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants;
• Hybrid composite-metallic wings and control surfaces able to withstand the physical stresses of suborbital hypersonic flight and temperatures of more than 2,000 F; and
• Automated flight-termination and other technologies for autonomous flight and operations, including some developed by DARPA's Airborne Launch Assist Space Access (ALASA) program.

The 10 x 10 test series, with its sequence of 10 discrete, long-duration firings in rapid succession, is unprecedented for large hydrogen-fueled liquid rocket engines. The test is an early check for one of the Experimental Spaceplane program's most critical subsystems required to achieve aircraft-like operations. This first-of-its-kind test series took place at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Stennis, MS.

"When it comes to space access, DARPA's focus is on getting there quickly and inexpensively, to the specific orbit we want, at a time of our choosing," said Fred Kennedy, director of DARPA's Tactical Technology Office, which includes the Experimental Spaceplane program. "In the future, we foresee large constellations of small satellites, with an ongoing need for replenishment to replace old systems and demonstrate new, innovative capabilities. If successful, XSP will be a key part of that strategy."

VIDEO: Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1) phase 2/3 concept video.

The RS-25 engine family has a history of more than 1 million seconds of runtime, demonstrating its maturity. This test series is the first time engineers had operated it in an aircraft-like fashion with such repetition. Achieving this level of performance required engineers to streamline the maintenance and turnaround procedures to only what was truly necessary. That meant, for example, understanding and running with the kind of natural wear-and-tear associated with aircraft engines, without compromising reliability, safety, or performance. After each run, the team analyzed myriad recorded data to assess the engine's health. These rapid, yet accurate, assessments were made possible by decades of prior SSME data.

Another significant challenge of the series was rapidly drying the engine between tests. The propellants -- liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen -- combine to create liquid water that accumulates internally. If the engine is chilled down and restarted with excessive internal water, damage could result. Typically, engineers have weeks to let an engine dry between tests, but to meet the demands of 24-hour turnaround, the team introduced new processes to cut the drying time first to eight hours and then down to six.

One ingredient in the test program's success was its use of a new main engine controller, originally developed for the RS-25 variant that will power NASA's Space Launch System rocket. The controller, designed around modern avionics standards, provided significant flexibility and advanced capabilities to the program. Such capabilities include being able to support new adaptive software to handle anomalies in the engine's operation. A portion of the new software logic was deliberately exercised in the final test.

"With each successful milestone, we're closer to the goal of driving down cost and time to space by an order of magnitude," said Scott Wierzbanowski, DARPA program manager for the Experimental Spaceplane. "For instance, we're targeting the ability to affordably turn the vehicle within a day. If successful, we will be able to launch payloads on demand, which will change the paradigm for how the nation uses space."

In its pursuit of aircraft-like operability, reliability, and cost efficiency, DARPA and Boeing are planning to eventually conduct a flight test demonstration of XS-1 technology, flying 10 times in 10 days, with an additional final flight carrying the upper-stage payload delivery system. If successful, the program could help enable a commercial service in the future that could operate with recurring costs of as little as $5 million or less per launch, including the cost of an expendable upper stage, assuming a recurring flight rate of at least 10 flights per year -- a small fraction of the cost of launch systems the U.S. military currently uses for similarly sized payloads. (Note that goal is for actual cost, not commercial price, which would be determined in part by market forces.)

Source: DARPA, Boeing

Published September 2018

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