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

Robotics automation can be easier to build than you think.  Here's an example of how a 5-axis SCARA robot can be built in-house with off-the-shelf products.

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

Many motor manufacturers offer a motor sizing tool to help with product selection, but if you don't know how to use it, you may still end up paying for it in the long run.

Topics: Speed Control, Motor Sizing, BLDC Motors

Which type of electric motor do you size for your conveyor, XYZ table, or robot?  Before you select one, you must understand the characteristics of each type of motor in the market.

Topics: Conveyor, AC Motors, Stepper Motors, Speed Control, Motor Sizing, BLDC Motors, Washdown, Servo Motors, Motion Control Basics

Besides load torque, acceleration torque, speed, and load inertia, overlooking certain sizing parameters during the motor sizing process can literally make or break your machine.

Topics: AC Motors, Stepper Motors, Speed Control, Motor Sizing, Capping, BLDC Motors, Gearheads, Servo Motors, Motion Control Basics

Now that we understand the calculations behind load torque and load inertia, we're a little closer to motor selection.  You might be wondering why I separated load torque and acceleration torque calculations.  That's because in order to calculate for acceleration torque, load inertia and speed must be calculated first. 

Topics: AC Motors, Stepper Motors, Alphastep Hybrid Control, Linear & Rotary Actuators, Speed Control, Motor Sizing, BLDC Motors, Servo Motors, Motion Control Basics

Other than torque or speed, another factor should be considered when sizing motors.  

Topics: AC Motors, Stepper Motors, Alphastep Hybrid Control, Linear & Rotary Actuators, Speed Control, Motor Sizing, BLDC Motors, Gearheads, Servo Motors, Rotary/Index Tables, Motion Control Basics

Proper sizing of a motor requires that 3 criteria must be met: torque, load inertia, and speed.  For the first part of this Motor Sizing Basics series, I will be explaining what load torque is, how to calculate it for specific application examples, and how it fits into the torque requirement for the application.

Topics: Conveyor, AC Motors, Stepper Motors, Alphastep Hybrid Control, Linear & Rotary Actuators, Speed Control, Motor Sizing, BLDC Motors, Servo Motors, Rotary/Index Tables, Motion Control Basics

Stepper motors vibrate.  It's what they do.  To minimize motor vibration, first we need to understand where they come from.

Topics: Stepper Motors, Smooth Drive, Motor Sizing, VIDEOS, Gearheads

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.

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

In the market of electric motors, there are products designed for general purpose applications, and there are motors designed for specialized applications, such as automated guided vehicles (AGVs) or autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).  While standard, general-purpose motors work for most applications such as factory automation, sometimes, it may help accelerate your design cycle by going with a motor system that already offers the features that you are planning to design into your machine.  In this post, we will summarize some of these features.

Topics: Robotics, Speed Control, Motor Sizing, BLDC Motors, Gearheads, Application Examples