There are many mechanisms that convert rotary motion of an electric motor to linear motion, such as belt/chain drives, screw drives, rack & pinion drives and even CAM drives. Each mechanism offers advantages and disadvantages. Choosing the right technology can help increase load, speed, travel distance, or positioning accuracy.
Topics: Absolute Positioning, Alphastep Hybrid Control, Linear & Rotary Actuators, VIDEOS, Vertical Lifts
In the world of industrial robotics, there are several types of robots typically offering multiple axes of motion for tasks such as parts assembly, material handling, or pick and place operations. These include articulated robots, cartesian/gantry robots, SCARA robots, and Delta robots. Variations of end effectors such as grippers, welders or part rotators can be mounted on the end of the arm to perform different tasks. Depending on number of axes or load capacity, costs can easily add up. Limiting the operation range for these robotic axes of motion is an easy way to prevent costly problems or safety issues later.
Topics: Stepper Motors, Robotics, Absolute Positioning, Alphastep Hybrid Control, VIDEOS, Software
With recent trends focusing on improving engineering efficiency, many products have been developed to specifically help shorten design cycles for machine automation. Part of improving efficiency is making products easier to use, so additional time and resources can be spent elsewhere. This post describes an example of a product feature that can make index table applications less complex to manage.
Topics: Stepper Motors, Absolute Positioning, Linear & Rotary Actuators, VIDEOS, Software
Automation is great for repetitive tasks, such as test fixtures for a process that has to repeated. In this post, we will explain how to perform a reciprocating motion (back and forth cycles) with a product that does not require a PLC or external presence sensors, which can help speed up design cycles.
Topics: Torque Limit (Push Motion), Absolute Positioning, Alphastep Hybrid Control, Linear & Rotary Actuators, VIDEOS, Software