• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Linear Motion Tips

Covering Linear Motion Systems, Components and Linear Motion Resources

  • New
    • Editor’s blog
    • Industry news
    • Motion Casebook
    • Video
  • Applications
  • Slides + guides
    • Ball + roller guides
    • Track roller (cam + wheel) guides
    • Crossed-roller slides
    • Linear bearings
    • Plastic + composite guides
  • Drives
    • Ball + lead + roller screws
    • Belt + chain drives for linear
    • Rack + pinion sets
  • Actuators
    • Ball + leadscrew driven
    • Belt + chain driven
    • Linear motors
    • Mini + piezo + voice coil
    • Rack + pinion driven
    • Rigid-chain actuators
  • Encoders + sensors (linear) + I/O
  • Stages + gantries
  • Suppliers

Danielle Collins

What are common applications for hybrid stepper motor linear actuators?

November 15, 2021 By Danielle Collins Leave a Comment

When it comes to electromechanical linear actuators, integrated designs offer space savings, reduced complexity, and lower total cost of ownership with fewer parts required for repair or replacement. One such design that’s found multiple uses in medical, 3D printing, and assembly applications is the hybrid stepper motor linear actuator, which combines a ball or lead […]

Filed Under: Applications, Ball + leadscrew driven, FAQs + basics, Featured

How axial and radial loads affect linear motion systems

November 10, 2021 By Danielle Collins Leave a Comment

axial radial loads

In any motion system, understanding the type and direction of applied and resultant loads is important for determining bearing life and analyzing deflection. In linear motion systems, we typically use Cartesian coordinates (X, Y, and Z) to define the placement and direction of loads. But for rotating components such as screws, rack and pinion drives, […]

Filed Under: Applications, FAQs + basics, Featured, Linear actuators (all), Linear drives (all), Slides + guides (all)

Piezo motors vs. voice coil actuators for micron and sub-micron positioning

November 4, 2021 By Danielle Collins Leave a Comment

piezo motors

Applications that require micron or sub-micron level positioning with extremely smooth motion and control often call for a direct drive system — linear motor, piezo motor, or voice coil actuator. Linear motor stages are typically used when high forces are needed over stroke lengths greater than a few hundred millimeters. But for high-precision applications with […]

Filed Under: Applications, FAQs + basics, Featured, Mini + piezo + voice coil

How to account for rack and pinion inertia during system design

October 21, 2021 By Danielle Collins Leave a Comment

Rack and pinion systems

Rack and pinion drives are often used in applications that require stroke lengths beyond the practical limits of ball screws and thrust forces that exceed the capabilities of belt drives. And in some applications, rack and pinion systems can also provide lower total inertia than a suitable ball screw or belt drive alternative, which can […]

Filed Under: Applications, FAQs + basics, Featured, Rack + pinion driven, Rack + pinion sets, Uncategorized

Linear motion basics: 13 fundamental topics you need to know

October 15, 2021 By Danielle Collins Leave a Comment

roll, pitch, and yaw

Whether you’re new to designing and sizing linear motion systems, or you could just use a refresher, we’ve gathered all the articles that cover mechanical concepts used in linear motion systems and put them together here, as a sort of “linear motion basics” reference guide. Unlike our curated lists of articles that address sizing and […]

Filed Under: Applications, FAQs + basics, Featured

What factors contribute to friction in linear motion systems?

October 13, 2021 By Danielle Collins Leave a Comment

bearing friction

Designers and engineers typically try to avoid or mitigate friction in linear motion systems. Although friction isn’t always bad — in some applications, it can provide a damping effect and help improve servo tuning — when it comes to linear motion systems, it increases the amount of force required to move a load, creates heat, […]

Filed Under: Applications, FAQs + basics, Featured, Linear actuators (all), Stages + gantries

Motion basics: What are degrees of freedom (DOF) and how many are there?

October 5, 2021 By Danielle Collins Leave a Comment

degrees of freedom

To identify the position of an object in three-dimensional space, we use a coordinate system that defines three axes: X, Y, and Z. If the object is a point mass, we only need three coordinates (X, Y, and Z) to locate its position. But a rigid body can both move, or translate, along these three […]

Filed Under: Applications, FAQs + basics, Featured, Slides + guides (all)

How does hysteresis affect piezo actuator performance?

September 23, 2021 By Danielle Collins Leave a Comment

piezo hysteresis

Piezo actuators operate on the principle that application of an electric field (voltage) induces strain (displacement) in the material — a phenomenon known as the inverse piezoelectric effect. But if you plot the strain versus the electric field of a piezo material, you’ll see that the strain doesn’t follow the same path when the field […]

Filed Under: FAQs + basics, Featured, Mini + piezo + voice coil

Single-axis linear stepper stages with integrated encoder and electronics package

September 15, 2021 By Danielle Collins Leave a Comment

linear stepper

H2W now offers a revolutionary series of single-axis linear stepper stages that integrates a linear encoder into the stage to operate the linear stepper motor as a 2-phase brushless motor when coupled with an advanced motion control electronics package provided by H2W. When operated this way, the motors will tend to run cooler, as they […]

Filed Under: Industry news, Linear motors, Stages + gantries Tagged With: H2W Technologies, h2wtechnologies

What makes a linear stage different from other types of linear motion systems?

September 8, 2021 By Danielle Collins Leave a Comment

linear stage

Linear motion systems — consisting of a base or housing, a guide system, and a driving mechanism — are available in a wide variety of designs and configurations to suit almost any application. And because their designs are so varied, they’re often categorized according to key construction and operating principles. Case in point: The term […]

Filed Under: FAQs + basics, Featured, Stages + gantries

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to page 4
  • Go to page 5
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 47
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

DESIGN GUIDE LIBRARY

“motion
Subscribe Today

RSS Featured White Papers

  • Evaluating actuators for washdown in food & beverage applications
  • Identifying Best-Value Linear Motion Technologies
  • Introduction to accuracy and repeatability in linear motion systems

RSS Motion Control Tips

  • Encoders from SIKO support Industrial Ethernet
  • Draw-wire encoders from SIKO measure position, speed and inclination
  • Incremental encoders configurable via NFC (near-field communication)
  • Low-cost motion control offered with CLICK PLUS PLCs from AutomationDirect
  • Compact 4-axis controller for highly dynamic applications

Footer

Linear Motion Tips

Design World Network

Design World Online
The Robot Report
Coupling Tips
Motion Control Tips
Bearing Tips
Fastener Engineering

Linear Motion Tips

Subscribe to our newsletter
Advertise with us
Contact us
About us

Follow us on TwitterAdd us on FacebookAdd us on LinkedInAdd us on YouTubeAdd us on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 · WTWH Media LLC and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media.

Privacy Policy