Engineering Notes by Oriental Motor

Welcome to Oriental Motor's "Engineering Notes" Blog:

Products and technology are only valuable when coupled with skilled people and services to support them. Since 1978, ORIENTAL MOTOR U.S.A. CORP. has been building a service and support system to better serve customers. It is our goal to provide the best product and service from the design phase, through the sale and beyond.

Our blog will feature:

  • Introduction to new products and technologies
  • Motion control basics and application examples
  • Tips for motor selection, programming, and troubleshooting

 

Reactive vs Preventative vs Predictive Maintenance: What are the Differences?

Posted by Johann Tang on Aug 20, 2019 2:58:24 PM

Along with the advancement of industrial technology, maintenance methods of motion control components of a machine, such as motors, drives, and sensors, have also evolved.  Which method is the most efficient?

The most common method of maintaining a machine after a failure has occurred was the traditionalreactive maintenancemethod.  Realizing the need for improvement, maintenance personnel started to estimate life and replace motion control components before they fail.  This is called the preventive maintenancemethod.  More recently, with the advancement of IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) and real-time availability of status data, another method was born - the predictive maintenance method.

The three maintenance methods have the same goal of eliminating machine downtime but do it differently.

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Topics: Stepper Motors, Linear Actuators, VIDEOS, Network, Application Examples

How Easy Is It to Build a Robot?

Posted by Johann Tang on Jul 19, 2019 8:31:19 PM

Robot adoption is increasing in many industries due to global efforts in reducing long term costs, maintaining quality, and freeing up time for humans to do "human" tasks.  For example, by using a robot to clean floors or restock shelves in a supermarket, human employees can spend more time helping or selling to their customers.  A company can either tap into this robotic trend by buying ready-made robots, or by making their own with less cost. 

If engineering resources are limited, selecting the right components can reduce the difficulty and time for building a robot.

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Topics: Stepper Motors, Robotics, Absolute Positioning, Alphastep Hybrid Control, Linear Actuators, Motor Sizing, VIDEOS, Gearheads, Software, Application Examples

Benefits of an Absolute Rack and Pinion System Compared to Other Linear Motion Mechanisms

Posted by Johann Tang on Jul 2, 2019 3:25:24 PM

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.

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Topics: Absolute Positioning, Alphastep Hybrid Control, Linear Actuators, VIDEOS, Vertical Lifts, Application Examples

Eliminate Motor Speed Fluctuations Caused By Input Voltage or Load Variance

Posted by Johann Tang on Jun 21, 2019 6:57:39 PM

An AC motor can be simple to use, but its speed changes according to the size of the load or amount of voltage supplied.  For an application where keeping a uniform speed is important, there is another type of motor that can improve performance.

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Topics: AC Motors, Speed Control, VIDEOS, BLDC Motors, Application Examples

Improving Stop Accuracy for Start/Stop Conveyors

Posted by Johann Tang on May 7, 2019 1:32:29 PM

Are you using motors for a start/stop conveyor or similar application?  While AC motors are a common choice for conveyors, there is a unique speed control motor solution available that could improve stop accuracy as well as reduce footprint and cost of machine designs.

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Topics: AC Motors, Stepper Motors, Speed Control, VIDEOS, Application Examples, Conveyors

Better Motor Alternatives for Variable Speed Pumps

Posted by Johann Tang on May 6, 2019 8:03:26 PM

What motors do you use for pumps?  For variable speed pump applications that typically use 3-phase AC induction motors with variable frequency drives (VFDs), there is another type of motor that can transfer fluids more consistently and help reduce footprint.

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Topics: AC Motors, Speed Control, VIDEOS, BLDC Motors, Pumps, Application Examples, Medical

Simple Method to Limit Motor Operation Range for Robotics Safety

Posted by Johann Tang on Apr 1, 2019 2:09:05 PM

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.

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Topics: Stepper Motors, Robotics, Absolute Positioning, Alphastep Hybrid Control, VIDEOS, Software, Application Examples

Torque Limit Application Example - Bottle Capping with BLDC Motors

Posted by Johann Tang on Feb 15, 2019 1:00:00 PM

For applications where torque needs to be limited, an external mechanical torque limiter is typically required in addition to the motor system.  When the torque exceeds the limit, the torque limiter will either decouple the load or limit the torque by slipping.  An electric motor system's built-in torque limit function can simplify machine designs by eliminating this extra component.

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Topics: Torque Limit (Push Motion, Tension Control), Speed Control, VIDEOS, BLDC Motors, Application Examples, Food & Packaging, Bottle Capping

Flexible Mounting Options for Compact Stepper Motor Drivers

Posted by Johann Tang on Feb 1, 2019 11:00:00 AM

A driver is a must-have for any stepper motor.  In a stepper motor system, a driver controls how the motor operates based on signals received from the controller.  It is responsible for sending current through various phases in a stepper motor and also regulates the motor current (torque) and step resolution.  With recent trends of minimizing machine footprint, finding space to install drivers could be challenging.

Standard Stepper Motor System Configuration

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Topics: Stepper Motors, VIDEOS, Application Examples

Improve Gripping Operation with Multiple Torque Limit Settings

Posted by Johann Tang on Jan 15, 2019 1:00:00 PM

Robotic grippers are typically used to grip parts for transport.  The driving force behind a gripper can be pneumatic, hydraulic, or electric.  Which type is best for gripping?

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Topics: Torque Limit (Push Motion, Tension Control), Robotics, Speed Control, VIDEOS, BLDC Motors, Application Examples, Medical, Grip Conveyors

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