A consumer electronic solution used to good advantage in cell phones may be the ticket to less expensive rotary torque measurement in the future. Passing current through the interlaced fingers of two comb-like electrodes on a piezoelectric surface creates acoustic waves. Interaction between the transducer components indicates torque, as described in Mechanical Engineering.

To date, the transducer has been used to evaluate custom slip ring motors and the health of servo motors. At the minimum, developers envision the transducer being used in motor, machinery, and variable speed drive control. Scroll down to fourth article, "A Sensor Hears Torque."

The RV-E Series reduction gears from Nabtesco incorporate large bearing capacity with high precision in an extremely compact, rigid, and torque-dense package. External bearings are no longer required as engineers can realize the advantages of Near Zero Backlash, tremendous external load support, and arc-second positioning from one complete solution.

Panasonic's FPΣ V3 PLC is compact in size, with a RISC processor of basic at 0.32 usec/ instruction. Super fast floating point calculation, built-in two-axis of motion with linear/circular interpolation, easy PID instruction, 4 ch of built-in high speed counters, and more.

MISUMI offers Stainless Steel X, XY, and XYZ Stages. Available from 40 mm X 40 mm to 80 mm X 80 mm. Features include linear ball design for increased accuracy and a thin profile for increased usability. Precise minimal travel of 0.01 mm.

Order your complimentary Metric and Inch catalogs today.

With NI Motion Assistant, you now can design a motion control application in an interactive 3D environment and convert it into C code for any C compiler, or into NI LabVIEW. NI Motion Assistant also delivers smart-contouring functionality with an API that you can call from C, Visual Basic, or LabVIEW.
Download complimentary evaluation software.

Celesco has developed a new string encoder for correlating a cable's linear motion into the encoder's rotary motion.

Designed for applications such as die cast, valve positioning, material testing, and stage positioning, the PT5600 detects and measures a range of 10 to 250 in. with four different measurement cable directions. The spring-loaded spool features 8 in. of linear measurement per encoder shaft turn.

Resolvers dominate the low-performance market in industries using brushless servo technology, largely because of cost. But they have technological limitations. Sick predicts its SEK52 capacitive encoder will eventually replace traditional technology, as the encoder has 16X the resolution of a standard resolver at a comparable price. It also offers improved dynamic regulatory behavior and is easily integrated with modern automation structures, largely because of its electronic type label and Hiperface interface.

From the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Aesop, Inc., comes a patent-pending hydrostatic linear guide, the HydroMax™ bearing. A novel Wrap-Around™ bearing design replaces the traditional design of four planar pad surfaces surrounding a box rail. This feature, reports MIT, cuts the fluid flow rate and pump power required to operate the bearing by 50 to 70%. Further, the HydroMax bearing is said to be less costly to manufacture due to its simple design.

A range of cost-effective, easy-to-mount, hydrostatic linear guides may give profiled rail linear guides a run for their money, says Engineering Talk. Schaeffler engineers teamed up with the Machine Tool Laboratory at Germany's University of Aachen to develop the prototype system.

Able to fit within the standard design space (DIN 645) and handle the same loads as similar-sized profiled linear rail guides, the hydrostatic guides are intended for high-precision machining and machine tool applications.

Miniature Ballscrew stocking program offers quick deliveries of Precision Ground and Rolled ballscrew assemblies. The Precision Alliance, teamed with the world's foremost manufacturer of miniature precision ballscrews, KSS Co., are now offering a special stocking program to speed delivery of 448 different ground ballscrews, 15 rolled ballscrews, and 2 bi-directional ground screw configurations.

Nexen Mechanical Torque Limiters feature an innovative design that isolates the driving from the driven elements within a matter of milliseconds, eliminating machine downtime due to torque overloads. These mechanical torque limiters feature high precision, zero backlash, and allow adjustment without the removal from the application.

SmartFan Multi SR has been used to manage cooling systems by leading telecommunications OEMs since 2001. This new version will communicate with shelf management modules via dual IPMBs as specified by AdvancedTCA PICMG 3.0. The control provides FRU information, individual fan status, and temperature readings. Call for more details.

The SRX-150 from Bishop-Wisecarver is a high-precision, ready-to-mount linear actuator. Available in belt or ball screw drives, the SRX-150 is capable of dynamic loads up to 66 kN and speeds up to 5 m/s. Zero backlash, high speed, and long stroke operation makes the SRX-150 excellent for high-load gantry systems.

Faulhaber Motion Controllers, series MCBL / MCDC 3006 C/S, are capable of handling up to 127 drives via CAN interface and CANopen protocol. [First page of originating content, German; second page, English.]

These controllers, appropriate for brushless DC micromotors and DC servomotors, depend on their digital signal process for high efficiency with a resolution up to 1/3000 revolutions. They permit a low continuous output current of 6 A or less. The traditional RS232 interface is also available.

What do you get when you combine a 32-bit motion controller with an Ethernet bus? The FMOD-IPDCMOT — a Power over Ethernet (PoE) motion control card that can communicate data and supply power simultaneously to distances of several thousand meters. The company claims that this is an industry first. A 4-quadrant 32-bit RISC PID regulator refreshes power regulation up to 4 KHz with a sampling rate of 20 – 2,000 Hz. The card controls DC brush motors (10 – 48 V). Available in brake mode, free mode, open-loop mode, position control mode, and speed control mode, with 10 different homing modes.

With no need for maintenance or adjustments, Warner Electric’s
A-Track Series receives an "A" on handling intermittent duty cycle applications with loads from 25 to 1,330 lbs. Features include stroke lengths of 2 to 24 in.: a motor shaft supported by bearings instead of bushings; round, ground ball nuts; and limit switch, potentiometer options. The actuators are available in AC or DC versions.

For positioning accuracy, high feed force, and rigidity at changing counter forces, Berger Lahr's
new-generation linear axis system offers spindle and toothed belt driven carriages. The spindle allows speeds up to 3,000 rpm, even at stroke lengths of 3,000 mm. For more demanding applications, the toothed belt version handles loads to 100 Kg, at speeds of 8 m/sec, with stroke lengths to 5,500 mm. The modular axes can be combined as needed.

The DDT 100 direct drive rotary stage combines accuracy and precision in a clean, low profile package.The DDT 100 is a 100 mm table with precision of 20 microradians. The four-bolt pattern of the DDT100 allows for quick installation into your equipment and easy integration into additional Bell-Everman linear axes.

This new Signal Conditioner offers the user higher stability and increased functionality of the analog outputs. Operates from 10-30 VDC. Applications include automobile, testing, R&D, automated gauging, and checking stations. Outputs 4-20 mA 0-10 VDC or ±10 VDC. Includes math functions between conditioners. View all Macro Sensor Products here...

Custom designed metal encoder discs, strips, and masks with a pitch as low as 70 microns (0.0028 in.) can be manufactured by Stork Veco's electroforming process at prices competitive with etching. This technology offers the ability to manufacture a range of sizes with a high degree of precision. View our brochure.

Dramatically reduce setup time and improve consistency with powerful features like Automatic Tuning and Out of Round Roll Compensation. Complex tension settings are input quickly with full text prompts, reducing the time needed for setup and fine tune adjustments. For a demonstration at no charge, call (800) MAGPOWR.

DiceEngineering.com offers thousands of quality engineering jobs at top technology and engineering companies. Find jobs in your area of expertise. Search now.

There's still time to attend the Assembly Technology Expo, the world's largest "all assembly" trade event. More than 600 suppliers will exhibit electronics assembly, flexible automation, robotics systems, and other assembly products. The exhibition, held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont (Chicago), IL, will be open September 26-28. The conference portion begins on the 25th and also runs through the 28th.

Get details here.

Fall is a big conference month. ISA Expo, billed as North America's "only independent and unbiased information exchange" for automation and control professions, will be held next month in Houston, TX on October 17 – 19. This is not just an exhibition. Some of this year's highlights include: training and continuing education classes; daily forums, automation standards briefings; and automation connections which puts attendees in touch with authors of ISA books.
Visit the ISA homepage for more details.

It is confirmed…the abominable snowman is alive and living in Expedition Everest at Disney World. The 25-ft tall, 20,000-lb yeti moves with 19 axes of motion. At the heart of the hydraulic system is a 60-gallon pressure-compensated pump capable of putting out 400 gpm. According to Machine Design, "if all the actuators in the yeti were turned on at the same time, it would generate more thrust than a 747 jetliner." Now that is one powerful snowman!

Too good to be true? Tesla Motors says it has an electric car that can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in four seconds. Moreover, it brakes and handles like a Porsche. But its 3-phase, 4-pole electric AC motor allows it to travel 250 miles on a single charge.

Tesla's electromagnetic motor design uses the lowest loss conductors and the highest quality magnetic steel available.

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