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Green Drive Linear Actuator from Nippon Pulse

Editor — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:04:18 +0000

Nippon Pulse has announced the introduction of its newest linear servo product, the Green Drive linear actuator. The Green Drive is an all-inclusive linear direct drive actuator suited for high-performance applications requiring high force, accuracy, and precision.

Features of Nippon Pulse’s Green Drive include:

• Acceleration (peak) force of up to 600N for 40 seconds
• Effective stroke lengths between 10mm and 1540mm
• Cooling systems that can increase rated force up to 20%
• Rated force between 13N and 150N
• Position repeatability of ±0.05mm
• T-slots for easy and quick integration into applications
• Position sensors, temperature sensors, interpolation electronics
• Four different feedback output types: analogue SIN/COS, Digital Bus BISS-C, Digital A/B TTL Linedrive Incremental, and Absolute SSI
• Color coded quick connectors
• High-performance slide bearings

The Green Drive currently is available in two sizes, the G16x series and G25x series. The G16x series features a shaft (magnets) with a 16mm diameter and the G25x a 25mm shaft diameter. The G16x series is 66mm wide and high, while the G25x series is 88mm wide and high. Each has varying lengths depending on the required effective stroke.

Nippon Pulse will be highlighting the Green Drive at the ATX West tradeshow in Anaheim, CA in mid-February. Those interested in the Green Drive can visit booth #4348 to learn more about the actuator.

Nippon Pulse America, Inc.
www.nipponpulse.com

Linear Motion Tips

Minarik Drives Announces Distribution Agreement with Kaman Industrial Technologies

admin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:00:39 +0000

Minarik Drives is very pleased to announce that it has signed and implemented a National Distribution Agreement with Kaman Industrial Technologies. This agreement will further enhance a partnership that will provide Minarik Drives with 200 new locations and will provide Kaman Industrial Technologies a premier DC drive and drive systems product line.

“We are very pleased to add Kaman Industrial’s selling capability and the value added approach they brings to their customers to our already strong distribution channel.” said John Hegel, President of Minarik Drives. “Kaman’s penetration into the user and OEM markets will open doors for us that had been previously inaccessible and will help us serve a greater cross section of business across the U.S.”

Minarik Drives is an independent company that specializes in low to medium power electric drive and power applications. It has been a standard, and a leader, in the DC drive business for almost 60 years. With design engineering and manufacturing headquartered in S. Beloit, Illinois, it provides standard and customized solutions at a globally competitive price. More information about Minarik Drives is available at www.minarikdrives.com or by calling 815-624-5959.

Linear Motion Tips

Thomson WhisperTrak™ Linear Actuators

admin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:05:49 +0000

Thomson Industries, Inc. introduces the new line of Thomson WhisperTrak™ Electric Linear Actuators. Through quiet (<45 dBa), maintenance-free operation in a compact one-piece housing, the Thomson WhisperTrak linear actuator maximizes design flexibility and improves performance and user comfort in personal mobility, rehabilitation, and medical equipment applications where reliability, small size and low noise are primary design considerations. These attributes also make the Thomson WhisperTrak actuator an ideal solution in office and domestic-use equipment. Thomson WhisperTrak actuators comply with all relevant certificates and are built in accordance with ISO 9000.

A completely sealed, IP67 enclosure enables the WhisperTrak electric linear actuator to provide true maintenance-free operation throughout the entire life of the actuator, even with regular exposure to washdown, rain, dust or other particulates. Even in these conditions, the WhisperTrak actuator is rated to provide a minimum of 10,000 cycles, defined as one full stroke back and forth, at maximum load. Reducing the stroke and/or the load will naturally increase operating life.

Thomson WhisperTrak electric linear actuators are available off-the-shelf with optional electronic limit switches (ELS) and anti-rotation options. These options do not increase the housing size, but fit within the compact envelope of the standard WhisperTrak model.

Thomson WhisperTrak actuators operate at 12 or 24 VDC, and are rated to handle static and dynamic loads up to 2000 N (450 lbs.) at speeds up to 5.8 mm/s (0.23 in/s). They are available with standard stroke lengths of 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 cm; custom stroke lengths are available.

Thomson
www.thomsonlinear.com

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Large Aperture Lift Stage from Aerotech

admin — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:04:30 +0000

Aerotech’s AVS1000 series stages offer the ideal solution for applications that require positioning of large or heavy loads over very small incremental movements in elevation above a horizontal plane. The low profile and precise motion capability make these stages ideal for use in semiconductor manufacturing and inspection, automated tool alignment, machine vision inspection systems, laser machining applications, and more.

Quality Design Provides Superior Performance
The AVS1000 series provides precise elevation of a load in a vertical plane using a moving-wedge design. The precision machined wedge block converts horizontal movement from a precision-ground ball screw into vertical elevation of the AVS1000 series tabletop. Excellent pitch and yaw characteristics over the length of travel minimize the impact of angular errors. AVS1000 performance includes exceptional resolution (5 nm) and accuracy (±1 µm), with the ability to apply this performance to large loads up to 135 kg.

Sealed linear motion guide bearings with integral wipers are incorporated to provide excellent payload capability, long life, and smooth, precision motion. Stable and parallel vertical motion with no rocking or horizontal deviation of the platform is assured. Careful design of the wedge angle and bearing system allows the AVS1000 series to achieve submicron resolution and still maintain a compact profile.

A Better Approach to Vertical Motion
The vertical lift approach offers an alternative to traditional Z-plane oriented stages. Not only do the AVS1000 series stages offer a lower profile, but the load can also be conveniently accessed from any side due to the large aperture. And by centering the payload over the bearings, there are no cantilevering effects.

Motor and Drives
The AVS1000 series includes Aerotech’s high performance NEMA 34 frame-size BMS series brushless, slotless servomotor. The slotless motor has zero cogging and therefore is optimized for applications requiring very smooth motion.

Aerotech
http://www.aerotech.com/products/liftstages/avs1000.html

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HepcoMotion® ALR Aluminum Rings from Bishop-Wisecarver

admin — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 13:09:20 +0000

Bishop-Wisecarver Corporation announces the availability of the new HepcoMotion® ALR Aluminum Ring, a cost-effective rotary movement system for medium precision and light load applications. ALR is suitable for use in applications requiring corrosion resistance and a non-magnetic environment.

Available with external vees and in 4 sizes from 148mm to 300mm in diameter as standard, ALR Rings are machined from high strength aluminum alloy and are anodized for excellent durability with an attractive finish. A number of special rings are also possible, such as additional diameters and thicknesses, rings with internal vees, gearcut rings, and rings machined in the form of self aligning timing belt pulleys.

Matched to run perfectly on the surface of the Aluminum Rings are Bishop-Wisecarver’s Size 2 DualVee® polymer overmolded guide wheels with integral studs. The outer portion of the polymer wheels are comprised of a high performance plastic molded onto a stainless steel bearing and stud which allows for smooth, anti-friction motion and little wear on the aluminum ring vees. For smaller, lighter applications, Bishop-Wisecarver’s Size 1 and Size 0 polymer wheels can also be specified.

Bishop-Wisecarver
www.bwc.com

Linear Motion Tips

Ball Screws for Ultra High Vacuum Applications

admin — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 19:58:15 +0000

Steinmeyer, Inc. announced a new option for its extensive line of precision products – ball screws designed for operation under high vacuum.

Typical applications include actuators for use in:
- Aerospace
- Electron Beam Inspection
- Lithography
- Synchrotron research
- Nanotechnology

Any Steinmeyer ball screw, from 3 millimeter to 160 millimeter in diameter, can be completely customized to meet your vacuum requirements. All components utilized in such a ball screw, including shaft, ball nut body, ball deflectors and balls, are manufactured from stainless steel. Depending on the application, the ball screw is provided with either vacuum compatible grease or a dry lubricant coating such as tungsten disulfide or molybdenum disulfide. And for certain special demands, the ball nut can be supplied with silicon nitride balls.

Steinmeyer
www.steinmeyer.com

Linear Motion Tips

Haydon unveils new linear actuators

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:57:33 +0000

Haydon Kerk Motion Solutions (www.haydonkerk.com) has proudly released an exceptional line of hybrid stepper motor linear actuators that offer new avenues for equipment designers who require exceptional endurance and high performance in a small package. Its numerous patent pending designs utilize a proprietary manufacturing process, which integrates engineering thermoplastics in the stainless steel acme lead screw and the rotor drive nut. This enables the linear actuator to be more durable, more efficient and much quieter than the bronze nut and v-thread configuration generally used in other linear actuators. Motor life is enhanced more than 10 times compared to the traditional bronze nut style – and it does not affect the cost and requires no maintenance. It also features a bearing pre-load adjustment that does not protrude from the motor configuration usually used in other actuators.

Haydon’s hybrid linear actuators consist of six sizes, from 21 to 87 mm square corresponding to NEMA size 11, 8, 17, 14, 34 and 23. Each size comes in three designs – non-captive, captive and an external linear version. There are more than 20 different travels per step available, from .001524 mm (.00006 inch) to .127 mm (.005 inch). It also allows micro stepping to achieve even finer resolution.

Haydon’s linear actuators are suitable for applications that require a combination of rapid motion, long life and precise positioning. Typical applications include X-Y tables, semiconductor handling, medical equipment, valve control, telecommunications equipment and numerous other uses.

Linear Motion Tips

Integral Studded Guide Wheels Designed for “V” Groove Rails

Heather Brown — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 17:28:51 +0000

Quality Bearings & Components (QBC) announces a new line of integral studded standard guide wheels. Identified as the BGXCOMMSW… Series, they are made of 52100 chrome steel and feature nylon retainers. They are offered in both concentric and eccentric stud types. The rails for these guide wheels are also stocked.

Quality Bearings and Components
www.qbcbearings.com

Linear Motion Tips

Miniature M3-L Closed-loop Linear Motion Module

admin — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 19:23:59 +0000

New Scale Technologies announces the latest product in its M3 Micro-Mechatronics Module family: the miniature M3-L closed-loop linear motion module. With 0.5 micron position resolution and a total package size of less than 27.5 x 13 x 7.5 mm, the M3-L module is the smallest, highest-resolution closed-loop linear motion control system on the market.

The M3-L linear motion module is the smallest, highest-resolution closed-loop linear motion control system on the market. It is ideal for RF, microwave and photonics tuning applications as well as a wide range of miniature optical and hand-held instruments; aerospace and UAV controls; and biomedical systems.

It is ideal for precision motion control of variable inductors, trimming capacitors and optical elements for RF, microwave and photonics tuning applications. It also adds reliable motion to a wide range of miniature optical and hand-held instruments; aerospace and UAV controls; and biomedical systems including fluid controls, microspectrometers and microsurgery.

All motion and control functions are fully integrated into the M3-L module, including a piezoelectric linear micro motor, position sensor, guide mechanism, motor driver, control processor and software. The module runs on 3.3V input for battery-powered operation. The standard serial interface (I2C or SPI) accepts PID closed-loop system tuning parameters, as well as high-level input commands such as “move specified distance.” No external controller is needed.

The M3-L module is offered with a bullet nose for pushing or an eye end tip for pulling loads. Typical travel range is 6 mm. New Scale also develops custom OEM modules including bi-directional (push/pull) systems, modules with custom travel range up to 20 mm, and multi-axis configurations.

The M3-L module draws approximately 500 mW of power while moving and 200 mW quiescent. Weight is approximately 4.5 grams without tips.

“The M3-L linear module offers unrivalled precision in the smallest possible spaces,” said Ralph Weber, product manager at New Scale. “This latest innovation based on our M3 Micro-Mechatronics Module platform demonstrates our continuing leadership in miniaturization and micro-mechatronics integration to meet our customers’ most demanding motion control needs.”

New Scale Technologies

www.newscaletech.com

Linear Motion Tips

Tolomatic Expands ‘Your Motor Here’ Program

admin — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:41:13 +0000

Tolomatic has expanded its “Your Motor Here” program to include more than 80 actuator products in nine different series for inline and reverse-parallel drive configurations. The Your Motor Here (YMH) program allows designers an efficient way to match almost 50 brands and over 900 models of servo and stepper motors to Tolomatic’s actuators at no additional charge and delivered within 5 business days. Thousands of motor-linear actuator combinations are possible using Tolomatic’s easy-to-use YMH online configurator on the company’s Web site.

Tolomatic’s Your Motor Here (YMH) program allows designers an efficient way to match 50 brands of stepper or servo drive motors with Tolomatic’s actuators at no additional charge.

The expansion of Tolomatic’s YMH program now gives designers the freedom to use their preferred brand of motor with any of Tolomatic’s rod-style (RSA, GSA) or rod-less style (MXE, MXB, B3S, B3W) actuator products in inline or reverse-parallel drive configurations.

The YMH online configurator is easy to use for either inline or reverse-parallel motor mount combinations. From a series of drop-down windows, the user can select the motor manufacturer of choice, choose the motor series and select the motor model, and a list of matching Tolomatic actuators will be displayed. Once the actuator of choice is selected, verification of the motor and mounting plate dimensions can be made. A reference code for the mounting kit is provided for the order. Links are also provided to Tolomatic’s Sizing and Selection software to verify that the selected actuator is sized correctly, including a link to actuator 3D/2D CAD files.

Tolomatic
www.tolomatic.com

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