Rollon, a leading manufacturer of linear motion guides, actuators and systems, has acquired Intelligent Machine Solutions, Inc. (iMS), a Michigan-based designer and manufacturer of standard and custom machinery for the automation industry. With this acquisition, Rollon is expanding its lineup of linear actuator modules and robotic transport units (RTUs), allowing for static loads of over […]
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Linear guide handles higher loads, misalignment
Rollon has introduced its Compact Rail Plus — part of its new generation of high-performance linear guides. This rugged unit features a new design to handle higher loads while maintaining the Compact Rail product family’s self-aligning capabilities. Compact Rail Plus is designed for demanding applications such as those involving higher loads, high speeds, fast accelerations […]
Motion Trends: Linear bearings help some CNC machine builders trim cost
Axes on CNC machines to allow spindle movements are mission critical — requiring high accuracy. But doors and other linear axes have different design requirements — with forgiveness and ruggedness being priority instead. Now, linear bearings from Rollon Corp. help some CNC machine builders trim cost and improve reliability by satisfying these unique design requirements. […]
Take the burden out of managing misalignment in linear motion systems
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 […]
