January 21, 2020 Volume 16 Issue 03

Motion Control News & Products

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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.
Learn more.


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.
Learn more.


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.
Learn more.


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.
Learn more.


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.
Learn more.


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.
Learn more.


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.
Learn more.


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.
Learn more.


To the Moon by 2024: First NASA Artemis rocket core stage loaded on Pegasus barge

The first Artemis rocket stage is guided toward NASA's Pegasus barge Jan. 8 ahead of its forthcoming journey to NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, MS. Teams moved the completed core stage for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to the barge. Pegasus will transport the core stage more than 40 miles from Michoud to Stennis for the comprehensive core stage Green Run test series. [Credits: NASA]

 

 

 

 

The first Space Launch System (SLS) rocket core stage for NASA's Artemis program completed manufacturing work at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans and was loaded onto the agency's Pegasus barge on Jan. 8 for delivery to NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, MS. With NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard in attendance, NASA rolled out the core stage for the SLS rocket onto Pegasus in preparation for the Green Run test series, the final test campaign ahead of the agency's first Artemis launch.

"NASA's Space Launch System core stage is part of the Artemis program, which is a national asset," said Morhard. "The SLS rocket was built to deliver American astronauts and maximum payloads to the Moon and deep space destinations. Rolling out the completed core stage from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility to go on to NASA's Stennis Space Center for further testing is an exciting leap forward in the Artemis program as NASA teams make progress toward the launch pad."

The roughly 1.3-mile trip from the Michoud factory to the barge's dock is just the start of the SLS flight hardware's journey. Pegasus will ferry the SLS core stage from Michoud to Stennis, where the core stage will be lifted and placed into the historic B-2 Test Stand for the core stage Green Run test campaign that will begin later this year. The Green Run series is a comprehensive test campaign of the stage -- from its avionics and propulsion systems to its four RS-25 engines -- that will verify the core stage design ready for launch.

"Completion of this first-time build of the Space Launch System rocket's core stages puts humans on the cusp of a new era of space exploration," said John Honeycutt, the SLS Program Manager at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. "NASA's SLS rocket is designed to evolve so a variety of missions can be accomplished first to the Moon for the Artemis missions and then to Mars and other deep space destinations."

Before launching NASA's Orion spacecraft to the Moon, the SLS rocket stage will take the same water route that the first stages of the Saturn V rocket did when it was transported from Michoud to Stennis for testing during the Apollo Program in the 1960s and 1970s. Pegasus, which previously ferried the space shuttle tanks from Michoud to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, was modified to make it longer and stronger to accommodate the core stage and ferry the SLS rocket hardware. Following Green Run, the barge will carry the core stage flight hardware to Kennedy for launch preparations.

The SLS rocket's core stage is the largest stage NASA has ever built at its Louisiana factory, including the Saturn V rocket stages for the agency's first Moon missions. With a design featuring some of the most sophisticated hardware ever built for spaceflight, the core stage is the powerhouse of the SLS rocket. In addition to its miles of complex cabling, avionics, and propulsion systems, its two propellant tanks hold a combined 733,000 gal of propellant to power the four RS-25 engines.

NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket's core stage, complete with all four RS-25 engines, is transported from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to the agency's Pegasus barge on Jan. 8. The core stage will provide more than 2 million lb of thrust to help power the first Artemis mission to the Moon. [Credits: NASA]

 

 

 

 

"This is a historic moment for NASA's Artemis program and a proud time for the Space Launch System Core Stage team as the first flight article leaves the factory floor," said Julie Bassler, the NASA SLS Stages manager. "Roll out of the core stage to Stennis ahead of the core stage Green Run test series signals an exciting next phase as NASA prepares for the first Artemis launch. The Green Run test series will verify the stage is ready to ship to the launch site."

Manufacturing the SLS rocket's core stages is a combined effort for NASA and its industry partners. More than 1,100 companies across the United States contributed toward the production of the SLS rocket. Boeing built the core stage at NASA's facility in New Orleans, and Aerojet Rocketdyne upgraded and supplied the RS-25 engines.

Teams at Michoud are working in tandem to manufacture and assemble core stages for the first three Artemis lunar missions. With the assembly of the core stage for Artemis I complete, NASA is focusing its efforts on building the core stages for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of SLS and NASA's Orion spacecraft, and Artemis III, the mission that will send American astronauts to the lunar South Pole.

NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard joins Robert Champion, director of NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, John Honeycutt, SLS Program manager, Julie Bassler, SLS Stages manager, and Boeing and Aerojet Rocketdyne personnel in front of the fully assembled core stage for NASA's Space Launch System rocket as it rolls out from Michoud to NASA's Pegasus barge on Jan. 8. [Credits: NASA]

 

 

 

 

In addition to the progress of the SLS rocket in 2019, NASA and its partners completed production of NASA's Orion spacecraft. The spacecraft is undergoing final testing at NASA's Plum Brook Station in Ohio. NASA's Exploration Ground Systems at Kennedy has verified the launch pad's infrastructure and sound suppression system for the first Artemis launch. Kennedy's launch team held its first formal training simulation, while flight controllers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston conducted a similar simulation training for Orion's uncrewed flight to the Moon.

NASA is working to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. SLS, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, are NASA's backbone for deep space exploration. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon on a single mission.

Source: NASA

Published January 2020

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