No one wants a linear bearing to fail prematurely. While many factors can threaten a bearing’s expected life, designers of industrial machines must especially guard against alignment errors between the bearing rails and moving elements. Not only is misalignment one of the most common causes of bearing failure, it is also among the most costly […]
Linear motion for robotic handling in automated warehouses
When designing and configuring an automated warehouse, one design goal is to keep the system as light and compact as possible. Depending on the size of the load being moved, there are two common types of automated warehouses. In lighter applications, aluminum structures can handle loads up to 100 kilograms, while steel structures are good […]
Motion and control objectives for automated storage and retrieval systems
Automated storage and retrieval systems are a key enabler of the next-day delivery we’ve come to expect from online retailers. But like other types of automation, AS/RS equipment must meet the customer’s objectives for safety, footprint, and energy efficiency. It used to be that as you drove through industrial suburbs, just beyond cities such as […]
The good old days…they were terrible!
That was the mantra of my Technology and Society professor in college. And in many cases, I have to agree with him. While we like to romanticize the “good old days,” when things were simpler and more straightforward, how many of us would really want to go back and work in the era of slide rules […]
Guide systems that turn corners
The shortest distance between two points may be a straight line, but some applications dictate moving in curved sections and around corners. When two or more axes are combined, as in a Cartesian or gantry system, a method of control called contouring can be used to create radii and round the corners of traditional rectilinear coordinates. […]
2016 trends in linear motion design
Technology improvements continue in linear motion design, with packaging and medical leading the charge this year. In fact, the biggest trend has been more reliance on flexible machine designs, which require that machine axes constructed for one purpose easily reprogram for others. “Flexible machine designs—ones that engineers can reconstitute for multiple functions—are what machine builders want […]
Things are moving at ATX West 2016: Rollon in Cartesian robots
There are plenty of robot exhibitors at the ATX West tradeshow in Anaheim, Calif., this week, showing off everything from 6-axis robots that nearly reach the exhibit hall ceiling to SCARA robots assembling miniature medical devices. But there’s a new entrant into the robot space this year, and their aim seems to be to make robots—Cartesian robots, specifically—more […]
How to get predictable and reliable linear motion
by Bob Ward, Product Manager, Rollon Corp. Here are some tips on how to correctly specify and size a linear-motor-driven actuator using the mnemonic ACTUATOR—short for accuracy, capacity, travel length, usage, ambient environment, timing, orientation and rates—to remember all the key parameters Choosing the right actuator for a given application may seem like an easy […]
Rollon acquires Tecno Center
Rollon Corp. has expanded its global linear actuator and cartesian robot offering with the acquisition of Italian company Tecno Center. “The Tecno Center acquisition enables us to deliver new, complementary technologies to our customers, support many new applications and provide a higher level of integrated systems expertise,” said Rick Wood, Rollon Corp’s managing director. “In […]
2015 linear-motion trends: What to know about pre-engineered setups
Technology improvements continue to elevate the performance of linear-motion setups. When we asked industry experts about this trend, all identified the same driving markets—packaging and medical—but different technologies to satisfy new design challenges. Case in point: Jeremy Miller, product manager for linear mechanics at the Electromechanical Div. of Parker Hannifin, said tubular linear motors lead innovation. […]
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