LOSYCO, a specialist in rail-based intra-logistics and feeding systems, has provided five floor-level LOXrail floor rail system tracks for a German machine manufacturer’s two assembly lines. A newly developed transport solution allows the transport system to be adapted to three different track widths. A telescopic axis connects two customized carriers with a 1.5-ton payload, each […]
Applications
Simplifying overhead machine tending with long-travel automation
Cartesian robots with the right design upgrades can assume manual transfer operations. By Michael Everman • Founder and CTO | Bell-Everman Manufacturing and packaging operations using manual material or parts handling operations can reap immediate benefits from automation with long-travel Cartesian robots having custom end-of-arm tooling (EoAT) and advanced sensing capabilities. These robots can support […]
Advanced wafer transport automation improves precision and processing time
By Danielle Collins | Business Development Manager — Semiconductor • Bosch Rexroth With computer chip shortages affecting virtually every industry, semiconductor manufacturers are working rapidly to build new fabs and expand existing production lines. This increase in manufacturing capacity creates major opportunities — and challenges — for automation technology suppliers. Consider that the typical chip […]
Vesconite material gives rail-transport equipment decades of service
Actom Signalling, a Southern African railway signal-equipment company, has found minimal wear in accelerated wear testing on Vesconite slides in its point machines. These machines control railway tracks and switch the tracks to which particular trains will be directed. Actom engineering projects and contracts development technician Wayne Meyer confirms the test results. Testing was executed […]
LINAK lifting column takes cobot palletizers to new heights
There’s an untapped automation potential for palletizing goods in production and other industries. Realizing this potential requires flexible, easy-to-use, and affordable cobot solutions that can adjust to different palletizing setups and generate rapid return on investment. To meet these demands, LINAK now offers the ELEVATE lifting column — a new product that extends the reach […]
Comparing belt-drive types for automation applications
Synchronous belt drives dominate motion control designs for positioning and other precision functions. Here we detail V belts and other belt types used in industrial, robotic, and consumer designs for both linear and rotary axes. Modern flat belts are either endless (welded or otherwise closed into a hoop by the manufacturer) or open. Common on […]
Update on today’s belt drives
Belt drives have continued to evolve with new applications. Industrial belt drives in motion designs consist of rubber, engineered plastic, metal, or (most common) multi-material belts that wrap around drive pulleys — grooved or otherwise profiled wheels mounted on a shaft — in turn driven by electric motors. Powered by various motor types, belt drives run […]
Linear and rotary motion components satisfy aerospace requirements
Linear guides, cam followers, and crossed-roller bearings can satisfy the demanding requirements for space-flight hardware. By IKO engineering staff | www.ikont.com As space activity shifts from governmental agencies to a growing industry driven by commercial entities and even startups, the types of spacecrafts and the missions they support are also expanding. This diversifying industry is […]
Choosing linear and angle encoders for semiconductor machinery
The manufacture and testing of semiconductors involves the competing requirements of nanometer positioning and high throughput. Here, the right encoder can help motion designs deliver on both counts. By HEIDENHAIN CORPORATION staff engineers Semiconductor manufacturing and testing equipment can have the best motion-control bandwidth, artificial intelligence capabilities, and optics in the world, but none of […]
How to calculate duty cycle and what it means for machine life
Determining the life of a linear system that uses balls or rollers is relatively straightforward, thanks to the L10 bearing life equation, which gives life in meters of travel (for linear bearings) or revolutions (for screws). And for plain bearings and lead screws, manufacturers typically use the bearing’s PV value and operating conditions to provide an […]
