Motion and Controls Reference Materials

Description: Alternating-current (AC) and direct-current (DC) motors have traditionally served distinctly different applications due to their construction and inherent operating characteristics. In general, AC ...

Description: Linear motion products are the most commonly used motion elements in the automation of transfer, locating, and assembly machinery. Here, three types of linear guides, Linear Bushing, Slide Guide, and ...

Description: The standard method for taking up backlash is to bias two nut halves axially using some type of compliant spring. (Wavy washer, compression spring, rubber washer, etc.) The unit is very stiff in the ...

Description: Lead screws were once believed to be a cheap substitute for ball screws, to be used in less demanding applications. They were often assembled using low quality screws from ball screws or fastener ...

Description: Small motors, less than 300 W, are found in a wide variety of applications. These include automobiles, printers, copiers, paper handlers, factory automation, test equipment, robotics, space & ...

Description: This reference design provides a hardware and software solution for Sensorless Brushless dc motors. This document includes complete schematics, printed circuit board layout, and firmware. The ...

Description: Stepper motors are used in a wide variety of applications. They are prevalent in consumer office equipment such as printers, plotters, copiers, and scanners. Stepper motors are also used in automotive ...

Description: Medical devices require space saving and highly efficient components. Miniature ball screws as small as 3 mm, with 0.5 mm pitch, offer the perfect precision linear drive mechanism for many medical ...

Description: The environmental challenges of space-related applications are immense, and include vacuum (10-8 to 10-12 torr), deep space cryogenic (20 Kelvin), thermal shock (sun at +200°C to shade at -200°C in ...

Description: A new generation of step motors is allowing motion control applications to prosper where they were previously impossible or, at best, very difficult. The reason? Previous step motor designs were ...

Description: Like few other hostile environments for industrial components, the deep sea is a forbidding place in which to launch a motion control application. Very cold temperatures, the corrosive effects of sea ...

Description: Motion control in radiation-intensive environments poses a serious challenge to the design engineer. Conventional step and microstepping motors are susceptible to high-energy gamma radiation particles ...

Description: In addition to highly repetitive tasks, positioning equipment has long been used to provide very specialized functions and processes. A good example is the semiconductor manufacturing industry. ...

Description: In the motion control industry, hostile environments often require specially-designed motors to combat corrosion, and a small company in Rohnert Park, California has built an entire business around ...

Description: Because of the preponderance of water and solvents, motion control components are often exposed to the risk of corrosion and failure. Waterproof motors are a key part of the solution to water-induced ...

Description: Recent local, state and federal mandates have required the reduction of harmful emissions, both particulate and NOx, from diesel engines used in off road equipment, generators, buses and construction ...

Description: This application note discusses the steps of developing several controllers for brushless motors. We cover sensored, sensorless, open loop, and closed loop design. There is even a controller with ...

Description: Two low-cost CMOS ICs manage a 12 VDC, current-limited speed control circuit for DC brush motors. The circuit design (see Figure 1) uses PWM (pulse width modulation) to chop the effective input ...

Description: As modern MOSFET transistors are developed with lower ON resistance and smaller packages, Electronic Speed Controls (ESC) follow. By using a microcontroller and a few small MOSFETs, high performance ...

Description: Induction motors are the most widely used motors for appliances, industrial control, and automation; hence, they are often called the workhorse of the motion industry. They are robust, reliable, and ...

Description: A stepper motor, as its name suggests, moves one step at a time, unlike those conventional motors, which spin continuously. If we command a stepper motor to move some specific number of steps, it ...

Description: The PIC17C42 microcontroller is an excellent choice for cost-effective servo control in embedded applications. Due to its Harvard architecture and RISC features, the PIC17C42 offers excellent ...

Description: AC induction motors are the most common motors used in industrial motion control systems, as well as in main powered home appliances. Simple and rugged design, low-cost, low maintenance and direct ...

Description: Brushed DC motors are widely used in applications ranging from toys to push-button adjustable car seats. Brushed DC (BDC) motors are inexpensive, easy to drive, and are readily available in all sizes ...

Description: Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) motors are one of the motor types rapidly gaining popularity. BLDC motors are used in industries such as Appliances, Automotive, Aerospace, Consumer, Medical, ...

Description: A PICDEM™ MC demo board was used to develop, test and debug the motor control code. The PICDEM MC has a single-phase diode bridge rectifier, converting AC input to DC and a power capacitor bank ...

Description: Electronic motor control for various types of motors represents one of the main applications for MOSFET drivers today. This application note discusses some of the fundamental concepts needed to obtain ...

Description: Stepping motors fill a unique niche in the motor control world. These motors are commonly used in measurement and control applications. Sample applications include ink jet printers, CNC machines and ...

Description: Single-phase induction motors are extensively used in appliances and industrial controls. The Permanent Split Capacitor (PSC) single-phase induction motor is the simplest and most widely used motor ...

Description: Before getting into actual control applications, we should understand what distinguishes the PIC18F4431 from other Microchip devices used for motor control. The core is a set of unique peripherals ...

Description: Continuous processes have been controlled by feedback loops since the late 1700's. In 1788, James Watt used a flyball governor on his steam engine to regulate its speed. The Taylor Instrument Company ...

Description: Brushless DC fan (BDC) speed can be varied using pulse-width modulation (PWM). The typical PWM control scheme inserts a power switch in series with the fan, as shown in Figure 1. In such applications, ...

Description: This application note demonstrates how you use the dsPIC30F MCU to control an AC Induction Motor (ACIM). The discussion is based on the dsPICDEM MC motor Control Development System, but you can use ...

Description: When equipment fails, often the biggest concern is how to get it running again. However, equally important is discovering the cause and how that can be prevented in the future. Often, managers and ...

Description: The dsPIC30F2010 is a 28-pin 16-bit MCU specifically designed for embedded motor control applications. AC Induction Motors (ACIM), Brushless DC (BLDC) and DC are some typical motor types for which the ...

Description: This application note describes how to provide Sensorless BLDC motor control with the dsPIC30F2010 Digital Signal Controller. The technique used is based on another Microchip application note: Using ...

Description: This application note describes a method of driving a sensored Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM) with sinusoidal currents controlled by a dsPIC30F Digital Signal Controller (DSC). The motor ...

Description: Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) motors have many advantages over other types of motors available in the industry. Previously, we have discussed the working principles of BLDC motors and the basics of ...

Description: AN1162 Sensorless Field Oriented Control (FOC) of an AC Induction Motor (ACIM) operate at a speed that is roughly proportional to the Author: Mihai Cheles input frequency. As you decrease the ...

Description: This application note describes a sensorless brushless DC (BLDC) motor control algorithm, implemented using the dsPIC® digital signal controller (DSC). The algorithm works by digitally filtering ...

Description: AN1160 Sensorless BLDC Control with Back-EMF Filtering Using a Majority Function SENSORED CONTROL VERSUS Author: Daniel Torres Microchip Technology Inc. SENSORLESS CONTROL The BLDC motor is used for ...

Description: AN1078 Sensorless Field Oriented Control of PMSM Motors This application note focuses on the PMSM-based sen- Author: Jorge Zambada sorless FOC control of appliances because this control Microchip ...

Description: AN906 Stepper Motor Control Using the PIC16F684 MICROSTEPPING Author: Reston Condit Microchip Technology Inc. Single stepping, or turning a stepping motor at its rated step size, results in less than ...

Description: AN901 Using the dsPIC30F for Sensorless BLDC Control Known Limitations Author: Charlie Elliott Smart Power Solutions, LLP As delivered, the maximum output frequency at Co-author: Steve Bowling which ...

Description: With the increase of design integration of electronic control systems with mechanical systems, new concepts of engineering are being developed to simplify the overall equipment and increase its ...

Description: Increasingly, DAC's are a limiting factor in nanopositioning resolution, especially in the latest millimeter-travel stages. A newly patented technology adds up to 10 bits of resolution to virtually ...

Description: New developments in the semiconductor industry and in the research areas of materials and life sciences are leading to greater and greater need for nanopositioning devices. Many applications like ...

Description: Astronomical telescopes usually employ active position control for primary mirror surfaces using motorized mechanical actuators. The motion needed is generally quasistatic, to compensate gravitational ...

Description: Benefits of using SmartFan include acoustical noise reduction, environmental (humidity, temperature or pressure) regulation, greater product reliability, increased fan life, improved safety and energy ...

Description: Multi-axis motion control systems are used extensively for positioning in manufacturing. These systems often rely on feedback from position sensors to maintain closed-loop control for improved ...

Description: A CNC router manufacturer had been using low-quality spur racks for years on their machines. The racks worked fine and provided decent accuracy, but their customers kept requesting better accuracy and ...

Description: A gantry mill manufacturer wanted to improve the positioning accuracy of their existing rack & pinion drive. The backlash at the rack & pinion caused inaccuracies while cutting material. ...

Description: A pick & place robot manufacturer needed an axis drive solution for the Injection Molding industry to reduce their part removal time, thereby increasing the throughput of the injection molding ...

Description: A manufacturer of waterjet cutting machines needed a axis drive solution for a new traveling gantry machine. They wanted to reduce the amount of machining needed for a typical rack & pinion drive, ...

Description: A machine builder for the Aerospace industry needed to build a 100 meter long machine with very precise positioning accuracy over the whole travel. They were concerned about any cumulative error that ...

Description: A punch press manufacturer needed to precisely position a sheet of metal in order to accurately punch parts. The material feed axis had to have high repeatability and no lost motion. ...

Description: Plastic gears are continuing to displace metal gears in a widening arena of applications. Their unique characteristics are also being enhanced with new developments, both in materials and processing. ...

Description: There are several causes of noise. The noise and vibration in rotating gears, especially at high loads and high speeds, needs to be addressesd. Following are ways to reduce the noise. These points ...

Description: The purpose of lubricating gears is as follows: 1. Promote sliding between teeth to reduce the coefficient of friction (m). 2. Limit the temperature rise caused by rolling and sliding friction. To ...

Description: When it comes to precision in the motion control industry, there are many important factors that contribute to inaccurate steps. As a total system, engineers must become knowledgeable of their step ...

Description: When it comes to precision in the motion control industry, there are many important factors that contribute to inaccurate steps. As a total system, engineers must become knowledgeable of their step ...

Description: Today, mobile robots are often deployed in critical situations that are simply too dangerous for humans to handle - as part of industrial operations, law enforcement or anti-terror measures, e.g. to ...

Description: For over 30 years, Bishop-Wisecarver Corporation (BWC) has been developing best practices for matching guide wheel linear motion properties to customer requirements, based on engineering and empirical ...

Description: Development of Electromotive Force * Faraday's Law * Application of Faraday's Law * A Single Coil DC Motor * Motor Constants ...

Description: The FAULHABER Group offers a complete line of programmable motion controllers with various communication and performance features to fit your application. We offer controllers with multiple interfaces ...

Description: * Calculating Mechanical Power Requirements * Torque - Speed Curves * Numerical Calculation * Sample Calculation * Thermal Calculations ...

Description: Closed loop control of hydraulic or electric systems offers an excellent means of achieving precision movement with big loads and high forces. However, hydraulic servo drives in particular have a lot ...

Description: PCL-240 family In this family, each command is allocated a specific bit. Basically, this is a simple family that has only four modes: start mode, control mode, register select mode, and an output mode ...

Description: The output voltage waveform of an adjustable frequency drive is not a sine wave but a series of square wave voltage pulses that result in a reasonable approximation of a sine wave current. Although ...

Description: The SCK is the new kiln gas exit sampling system from ABB, a market leader in gas analysis for cement applications. It is the proven solution for the rough environmental conditions at the rotary kiln ...

Description: It was not too long ago that machine tool builders had to choose between constructing a machine capable of great precision or one capable of great speeds. Increasingly machine tool users are demanding ...

Description: High-precision motion control applications put demands on a motion controller that many other applications do not. Many of the requirements are subtle, and not immediately obvious from data sheets. ...

Description: Until recently, digital control of a motor's current loop was not feasible - the required bandwidth of the current loop was too high for a cost-effective digital solution. However, with the advent of ...

Description: It's an increasing dilemma for today's designers of machines employing motion control: as the machines get more complex, the wiring required for traditional highly centralized controllers becomes more ...

Description: Evolving technology in high-speed serial links has dramatically changed the connectivity options available to integrators of motion control systems. Substantial investment in the technologies ...

Description: A white paper on the development of 3U Turbo PMAC2 and the UMAC (Universal Motion and Automation Controller). This paper is written for the purpose of informing all concerned about Delta Tau's point ...

Description: Delta Tau's PMAC and Turbo PMAC families of controllers justly have the reputation as being the most powerful and flexible in the world. Many people do not realize that PMAC controllers have many ...

Description: AdvancedTCA, ATCA (Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture) is the latest standard for carrier grade switching systems developed by the PICMG (PCI Industrial Computers Manufacturers Group) ...

Description: PI Ceramic piezoelectric actuators offer today's motion engineer and scientist a practical way to achieve extremely high positioning accuracy, shortest possible response times, best dynamic operation ...

Description: Transducers come in two basic types. 1. Contact- which measure the absolute movement of the Casing 2. Noncontact, which measure the relative movement of the shaft versus the casing. Noncontact probes ...

Description: The reliability maintenance team at the fine papers division of a major multinational paper producer recently discovered an alternative to the maintenance and repair aggravation they were experiencing ...

Description: Warner Electric Precision Tork magnetic particle clutches and brakes are the ideal solution for controlling and maintaining torque. If the application is tensioning, load simulation, torque limiting, ...

Description: MICROMO offers an extensive line of brush type DC motors ranging from 0.5 mW to 500 Watts in power. Here are some general notes on the application of our DC motors and some general guidelines for care ...

Description: Caution: 1. Disconnect power to the motor before performing service or maintenance. 2. Discharge all capacitors before servicing motor. 3. Always keep hands and clothing away from moving parts. 4. Be ...

Description: Today is truly an exciting and challenging time for specifiers, buyers, users and manufacturers of industrial electric motors. It is a time of change in the motor industry rivaled, in recent times, ...

Description: Converting the rotary motion of a stepping motor into linear motion can be accomplished by several mechanical means, including rack and pinion, belts and pulleys and other mechanical linkages. All of ...

Description: Motion control in radiation-intensive environments poses a serious challenge to the design engineer. Conventional step and microstepping motors are susceptible to high-energy gamma radiation particles ...

Description: A&F Corporation, a machinery builder for the paper industry, recently completed the start-up of a slitter/ rewinder machine at a North American paper mill. The slitter/ rewinder is used for processing ...

Description: The piezoelectric effect is often encountered in daily life. For example, in small butane cigarette or gas grill lighters, a lever applies pressure to a piezo-electric ceramic creating an electric ...

Description: In order to select the proper motor several factors must be considered. Is linear or rotary motion required? Following is a list of some of the basic requirements to consider when choosing a motor. ...

Description: Motors convert electrical energy into mechanical energy. A stepper motor converts electrical pulses into specific rotational movements. The movement created by each pulse is precise and repeatable, ...

Description: Operating a motor in a vacuum is often perceived as a design challenge. Among engineers, the problems - outgassing, contamination and temperature - are well known. What is less well known is that ...