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Rugged high-accuracy hexapod for industrial 6-axis alignment applications

The H-815 6-Axis Hexapod from PI is a low-profile, ruggedized, highly accurate positioning and alignment system designed for continuous 24/7 operation in demanding industrial motion applications such as camera lens alignment (automotive, cell phones etc.), micro-assembly, aerospace test and assembly, micro-LED production, fiber optic alignment, aerospace test and assembly, and more. It provides 6-DOF -- X, Y, Z, pitch, roll, and yaw -- to deliver exceptional flexibility. Load capacity is 22 lb.
Learn more and get all the specs.

Long-life electric actuators: Improved controllability, performance

Thomson Electrak LL Linear Actuators now offer your machine designs a higher speed option, more electronic control options (including CANopen), and a 48-V option to meet the power requirements in battery-powered applications. Thomson says the new Electrak LL choices are for those who want to gain more control over the position, load, and speed of their applications, such as smart railway pantographs and couplers, AGVs, automated farming robots, movable steps, and access lifts for trains and buses.
Learn more and get the specs.

New high-payload vacuum gripper automatically adjusts to box size

The powerful and robust new VGP30 vacuum gripper from OnRobot is capable of handling up to 30 kg (66 lb) and is designed to excel at palletizing boxes and handling irregular shapes and porous surfaces -- even those constructed from cost-saving, thinner cardboard. It automatically adjusts to any box size or interlayer, optimizing air consumption and reducing energy costs. This unit is ready for immediate deployment out of the box and includes all the hardware and software needed for all leading robot brands. Lots more features.
Learn more.

Go inside the revolutionary GAM GPL Robotic Flange Gearbox

GAM's new GPL Series Robotic Planetary Gearbox combines the lowest backlash (<0.1 arcmin) and high tilting rigidity with vibration-free motion for smooth, controlled path motion in robotics and motion control applications. Its patented design guarantees backlash will not increase over the lifetime of the gearbox, so no future adjustments required! Many more benefits.
View the video.

Revamped Step By Step tool to configure Galil motion controllers

Galil introduces its revamped Step By Step tool for Galil Design Kit. Now with enhanced functionality and a new user interface, this tool allows first-time users to configure Galil motion controllers. Along with the existing ability to configure brushed and brushless servos, users are now able to configure steppers, set up serial-type and sine-cosine encoders, and tune axes -- all within the new Step By Step tool.
Learn more and check it out.

Stepper drives detect stalls in open-loop control mode

Automation-Direct has added the new Titanio series of stepper drives from Ever Motion Solutions. These drives offer peak performance, a rich feature set, and work seamlessly with AutomationDirect SureStep^® stepper motors. Three new drives are available with two open-loop (no encoder feedback) models and one open/closed-loop version (a motor-mounted encoder provides position feedback to the drive). Unlike typical stepper drives, Titanio steppers can detect stalls in open-loop control mode by monitoring the motor's back EMF. This allows system designers to take advantage of stall detection without the hassle and expense of a closed-loop system.
Learn more.

New high-thrust linear motor stage

IKO's LT170H2 direct drive linear motor stage delivers 260N of rated force and up to 500N maximum, exceeding the thrust ratings of previous LT stages and expanding the linear stage series' range of suitable applications -- especially those that involve positioning heavy objects in tight spaces. Its redesigned linear motor leverages direct drive technology that is free of mechanical power transmission parts that can otherwise hinder positioning accuracy. It includes C-Lube linear bearings for guidance. Together, they allow the stage to achieve higher thrust forces and high speeds with exceptional precision.
Learn more.

What is a low-waving linear motion guide?

If you are having a problem with your linear guides not always staying perfectly straight during use, it may be due to a phenomenon called waving -- a problem that is particularly critical in high-precision markets such as semiconductor and LCD equipment-related applications or machine tools. Thankfully, THK has an answer.
Read the full article.

Advanced motion controller for BLDC motors

The PCR 56/06 EC SD from Portescap is an integrated hardware and software package for single-axis control of brushless DC motors. It features a user-friendly Windows-based software suite with autotuning capabilities to reduce setup times. With a power supply of up to 56V and a continuous current capability of 5.5A, along with Hall sensor and encoder feedback options, the PCR 56/06 EC SD meets various application requirements with ease. A standout feature is the module-only option, which allows the controller to be mounted directly onto the application's PCB to facilitate a smooth transition from prototyping to series production. Ideal for the Aerospace, Automation, Industrial Power Tools, Medical, and Robotics markets.
Learn more.

3-axis motion made simple using CLICK PLUS PLC

Automation-Direct CLICK PLUS PLCs, when combined with stepper motors, make advanced motion control and edge integration simple for smaller systems. Learn motion control basics, motor options, motion with micro-PLCs and steppers, and more in this informative whitepaper from AutomationDirect. No registration required.
Get the AutomationDirect whitepaper.

Ultra-lightweight humanoid robotics arms are ultra affordable too

RealMan's ultra-lightweight robotic arms offer unmatched agility, strength, and precision at a surprising price. Designed with cutting-edge materials and advanced motion control, these arms enable lifelike movements, making them ideal for manufacturing, service industries, and even domestic assistance. Among these, GEN72 is a consumer-grade robotic arm with a load capacity of 2 kg priced at just over $1,000. It is suitable for large-scale applications such as personal research and development, and commercial service scenarios. Lots of other options.
Discover what RealMan Robotics has to offer.

Advanced 4-axis delta robot for high-speed pick and place

igus has launched its latest high-performance 4-axis delta robot, the DR1000. Designed specifically for fast and precise pick-and-place tasks, this new unit sets a benchmark for cost-effective and efficient automation solutions. The DR1000 boasts an impressive working diameter of 1,000 mm and an additional rotary axis that provides four degrees of freedom, enabling users to grip and orient components seamlessly. An ideal choice for end-of-line applications. Fast at 96 picks/min.
Learn more.

How to maximize and optimize stepper motor control

Engineers from Performance Motion Devices take a comprehensive look at how to control two-phase stepper motors, beginning with the basics (operations, strengths, and weaknesses) and moving on to traditional and updated advanced techniques for control including closed loop. A very thorough presentation.
Read this Performance Motion Devices article.

Nanotec expands stepper motor line

Nanotec has added the ASA86 to its family of high-performance stepper motors designed to meet the demands of advanced automation applications. All ASA series motors are UL/CSA-certified and offer IP65-rated protection for reliable operation in harsh environments. For precise positioning, they feature a built-in encoder in incremental or multiturn versions. With a holding torque of up to 933 Ncm, the ASA86 is optimized for dynamic, high-load applications. Comes in two lengths and can be combined with various gearboxes.
Learn more.

Electromate offers advanced UAV and drone subsystems in partnership with maxon

Electromate has just announced the availability of advanced UAV and drone subsystems through its partnership with maxon, a renowned Swiss manufacturer of precision drive systems. These durable parts are engineered to meet the specific demands of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). maxon's UAV propulsion systems consist of brushless DC motors, electronic speed controllers, and propellers built for the utmost safety and efficiency.
Learn more.

IIHS says supersizing vehicles offers minimal safety benefits -- and substantial dangers

Park a tiny Mini Cooper in the shadow of a giant Chevrolet Suburban, and it seems obvious which vehicle would offer its occupants more protection in a head-on collision. But there's a clear ceiling to the notion that bigger is safer, new research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) shows.

For vehicles that weigh less than the fleet average, the risk that occupants will be killed in a crash decreases substantially for every 500 lb of additional weight -- but those benefits top out quickly. For vehicles that weigh more than the fleet average, there's hardly any decrease in risk for occupants associated with additional poundage.

On the flip side, adding 500 lb to a lighter-than-average vehicle poses virtually no increased risk to people in other vehicles. However, the same weight increase for a heavier-than-average vehicle increases the danger to people in other vehicles.

"For American drivers, the conventional wisdom is that if bigger is safer, even bigger must be safer still," IIHS President David Harkey said. "These results show that isn't true today. Not for people in other cars. And -- this is important -- not for the occupants of the large vehicles themselves."

IIHS has been studying crash compatibility -- or how the interaction between different vehicles affects the relative safety of their occupants -- for many years. For this update, researchers examined two-vehicle crashes that occurred between one- to four-year-old cars, SUVs, and pickups. They looked at two periods, 2011-16 and 2017-22, and calculated driver death rates for vehicles and their crash partners per million registered vehicle years (i.e., one vehicle registered for one year).

In general, the researchers found that compatibility across vehicle types has continued to improve, a phenomenon that IIHS first documented in 2011 and analyzed most recently in 2019.

For many years, SUVs and pickups posed an outsize threat to people in cars, in part because their force-absorbing structures were not aligned. As a result, when an SUV or pickup struck a car, it bypassed the car's crumple zone and rode up over the hood of the smaller vehicle.

Beginning in 2009, as part of a voluntary commitment that IIHS helped broker, automakers changed the front ends of their SUVs and pickups to make them align better with cars' energy-absorbing structures. They also strengthened the structures of their cars and added side airbags to all varieties of vehicles to protect occupants in T-bone crashes.

Largely as a result of those changes, both SUVs and pickups are substantially less dangerous to people in cars than they were earlier.

Because the study looked at one- to four-year-old vehicles, some SUVs and pickups in the 2011-16 sample dated from before automakers changed the structure of their front ends. In those years, car occupants were 90% more likely to die in crashes with SUVs weighing more than 5,000 lb as in crashes with other cars. (SUVs of that weight include most vehicles classified as large SUVs in the IIHS rating system.)

In contrast, between 2017 and 2022, those heavy SUVs were only 20% more likely than cars to result in car-partner fatalities.

Compatibility improved almost as much for pickups, though they remained dangerous to drivers in cars.

Pickups were 2.5 times as likely as cars to result in car-partner fatalities in 2011-16 but a little less than twice as likely in 2017-22.

Now that their force-absorbing structures are better aligned with those of cars, a greater share of the risk they pose to crash partners comes from their weight.

However, improvements to airbags and other occupant protection technologies mean that the relative safety benefits of being inside a larger SUV or pickup have decreased, the study shows.

The average weight of passenger vehicles in the study sample was 4,000 lb.

For cars below that average, every additional 500 lb in curb weight reduced the driver death rate by 17 deaths per million registered vehicle years, while only increasing the death rate for crash-partner cars by one.

In contrast, for pickups above the average weight, every additional 500 lb only reduced the driver death rate by one but increased the death rate for crash-partner cars by seven.

[Credit: Graphic courtesy of Insurance Institute for Highway Safety]

 

 

"There's nothing magical about 4,000 pounds except that it's the average weight," said Sam Monfort, a senior statistician at IIHS and lead author of the study. "Vehicles that are heavier than average are more likely to crash into vehicles lighter than themselves, while the reverse is true for vehicles that are lighter than average. What this analysis shows is that choosing an extra-heavy vehicle doesn't make you any safer, but it makes you a bigger danger to other people."

In keeping with that observation, changes in vehicle weights account for some of the improvements in compatibility as well as the continued gap between SUVs and pickups.

The weight of the average U.S. car increased to 3,308 lb in 2017-22 from 3,277 lb in the earlier period, bringing the category closer to the 4,000-lb all-vehicle average.

As that was happening, the portion of SUVs weighing more than 5,000 lb fell from nearly 11% of all late-model SUVs in 2011-16 to 7.4% in 2017-22.

In contrast, pickups got larger. The proportion weighing more than 4,000 lb increased to 97% of late-model pickups in 2017-22 from 91% in the earlier period.

"It's a positive development that cars and SUVs are now closer in weight," Harkey said. "These numbers show that transitioning to lighter pickups could have big benefits too, especially since many drivers don't use their trucks for carrying heavy payloads."

Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Published February 2025

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