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Affordable nanometer-level precision focus stage

Zaber Technologies has launched the DMA Objective Focus Stage, a compact, linear motor solution for microscope OEMs. Starting at $4,500 with an integrated controller, it offers 50-nm repeatability and sub-15-ms settling times -- matching piezo precision at one-third the cost. Featuring plug-and-play architecture, a developer-friendly API, and a tiny footprint, it accelerates high-throughput workflows like spatial biology and digital pathology.
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How Ford automated a moving EV assembly line with vision-guided robots: Inbolt case study

Automating moving assembly lines is highly challenging. At Ford's Cologne Electric Vehicle Center in Germany, applying pressure to water shields on vehicle bodies required following a precise path on unsynchronized, continuously moving vehicle carriers. To automate this, Ford deployed two Universal Robots cobots equipped with Inbolt 3D cameras. Using real-time vision guidance, the robots track vehicle positions and adapt on the fly. The result? Near-zero repairs, reliable moving-line automation, and new possibilities for tasks like tightening operations.
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Inbolt launches vision-enabled Robot Programming, closing the loop from CAD to factory floor

Inbolt is launching two new capabilities that complete the company's AI Vision Model for robot guidance at Automate 2026 in Chicago, June 22-25. With Robot Programming and Robot Control, Inbolt covers the full path from virtual commissioning to adaptive robot motion control, for stationary and moving-line applications. It's one platform from perception to motion -- on the robots manufacturers already own.
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Top Tech Tip: How to specify electric rod-style actuators for optimal performance, reliability, and efficiency

The engineers at Tolomatic provide their Top 10 Tips for specifying electric rod-style actuators, which have a higher initial cost, more advanced design, and more predictable performance compared to fluid power cylinders. This is a really thorough presentation filled with useful information.
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High-precision multi-axis motion platforms

Motion Solutions delivers high-speed, high-accuracy XY scanning solutions optimized for OEM integration. These rigid, modular platforms provide stable, repeatable multi-axis motion control, ensuring faster throughput and precise positioning for advanced workflows. Ideal for automated microscopy, digital pathology, and spatial biology, the scalable design supports flexible travel lengths and custom configurations to seamlessly optimize your system.
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What is the best palletizing option for your operation?

Is your business looking to install or upgrade a palletizing system, but you don't know where to start? Marc Giguère from Robotiq does a comprehensive run-through of options including a fully engineered system, a cobot, or a plug-and-play setup. A lot depends on your production volume, budget, available space, and need for flexibility. Systems are compared and contrasted. Fastest ROI? The best lean system? What works for high throughput? Find out these answers and more, complete with an available buyer's guide chart.
Read the Robotiq article.

Robotic machine tending for CNC mills and lathes

At IMTS 2026, Mitsubishi Electric Automation will feature live demonstrations of LoadMate Plus and ARIA, two pre-engineered robotic machine tending solutions designed to help manufacturers automate CNC mills and lathes with confidence, flexibility, and scalability. LoadMate Plus is designed for quick setup and long-term deployment at a single machine. ARIA is a compact, configurable, and mobile solution for mill and lathe tending in space-constrained environments.
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What's a ceramic motor-driven linear actuator?

PI, a global leader in precision motion control and nanoposi-tioning solutions, provides a large selection of piezo ceramic linear actuators for different size, speed, and force applications. At the top end of the force spectrum is the N-216 PiezoWalk Linear Actuator, a high-load, high-precision linear actuator designed for applications that require many millimeters of travel, high force, and extremely stable nanometer-class positioning. PiezoWalk technology offers significant advantages over traditional motorized actuators in precision, stability, and energy efficiency. Its non-magnetic drive principle and strong radiation-environment performance provide additional benefits.
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KUKA robots accelerate solar panel installation

It can be tough to find manpower to help build large solar farms. Watch how KUKA robots help workers for Sunstall, a construction company based in Novato, CA, that specializes in ground-mount systems for large solar utility sites. With each module weighing 70 to 80 lb, moving solar units can get tiring fast. Safety is an issue too. Cosmic Robotics (San Francisco) helped design and build the mobile system, which uses a KUKA KR 70 to do the heavy lifting of the panels and places them onto the racking with millimeter precision. [Credit: Video screenshot courtesy of KUKA Robotics]
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Economical gearbox series for delta robot drives

Neugart's new NDFC gearbox series expands its delta robot portfolio, balancing cost efficiency with reliability. Positioned below the NDF series, it features a proven output stage, robust sealing, and a dynamic clamping system. Available in three sizes (064, 090, 110) with ratios from 16 to 100, it offers adjustable backlash to optimize savings. Ideal for food, beverage, and packaging applications.
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Conveying: Drive system enables two synchronous movements with max performance

The new FAULHABER DualGear drive system optimizes automated warehouse logistics, enabling two synchronous, powerful movements in one compact unit. Combining a BX4 motor with two GPT planetary gearheads, it is ideal for storage/retrieval machines and autonomous logistics. Hall sensors ensure exact positioning for compact, efficient, and reliable performance in demanding, small-space environments.
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Decentralized drives offer seamless integration

NORD DRIVE-SYSTEMS' NORDAC LINK motor starters, plus NORDAC LINK and NORDAC FLEX variable frequency drives, feature a plug-and-play design for rapid commissioning and high system availability. With onboard AS-Interface (ASi) functionality, these modular products integrate seamlessly into existing or new systems, supporting ASi standards V2.0 and V3.0 with integrated follower profiles for connectivity.
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Non-Magnetic ball slides made in the USA

Del-Tron's USA-made, non-magnetic ball slides prevent magnetic interference in medical, semiconductor, military, and laser applications. Featuring silicon nitride ceramic bearings, titanium shafts, aluminum components, and brass fasteners, these lightweight slides come in seven sizes with travels from .5 to 12 in., providing an ideal solution for sensitive environments.
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What's new in robotic efficiency and advanced gauging systems?

Renishaw will highlight its latest solutions for maximizing robot performance and manufacturing efficiency at Automate 2026, taking place June 22-25 at McCormick Place in Chicago. Highlights will be demonstrations of its Robot Calibration System for cell recovery and in-field robot calibration, the Equator-X dual-method gauging system for high-throughput production environments, and position and motion control encoders.
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New Titanium servo-drive line for harsh environs

The Elmo advanced Titanium line of harsh-environment servo drives offers optimal performance with advanced power density, providing exceptional intelligent and compact servo drives that are operational within minutes. These single-axis and multi-axis servo drives, featuring top-performance multi-core processors, deliver superior productivity, Functional Safety, advanced networking, and local intelligence in a compact package for operation in extreme conditions.
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New method calculates more efficient route between Earth and Moon

Researchers have developed a mathematical method that enables more precise calculations of the most economical travel routes between the orbits of celestial bodies. To demonstrate this method, they calculated a more efficient path between the Earth's and the Moon's orbits than any previously described in scientific literature. The study was published in the journal Astrodynamics.

The new route requires 58.80 meters per second (m/s) less fuel than the most fuel-efficient routes previously described. This difference may seem small compared to the estimated total fuel cost of the journey (3,342.96 m/s), but it significantly impacts the cost of the mission. "When it comes to space travel, every meter per second equates to a massive amount of fuel consumption," says Allan Kardec de Almeida Junior, a researcher at the University of Coimbra and lead author of the study, which also involved the universities of Porto and Evora (Portugal), the Paris Observatory (France), and the universities of Pernambuco (UPE) and Sao Paulo (USP).

The method is based on the theory of functional connections, which reduces the computational cost of space travel simulations. This allowed the scientists to simulate a much larger number of different trajectories and arrive at a "more affordable" solution.

The study referenced 280,000 simulations to reach a result, while Almeida's research group simulated 30 million different routes.

From Earth to the Moon, in economy class
Almeida and his collaborators mapped out a trajectory to take a spacecraft from Earth's orbit to the Moon's, dividing it into two segments. In the first segment, the spacecraft would leave Earth's orbit and enter an orbit around the L1 Lagrange point, a region between Earth and the Moon where the gravitational pull of the two bodies cancels out. For most of this journey, the spacecraft would be guided by a "variate," or a natural trajectory leading to that orbit.

However, the actual path turned out to be different from what was expected.

While most existing models assume it is more efficient to enter the variate at the branch closest to Earth, simulations conducted by the team showed the most economical route actually came closer to the Moon and entered the variate from the opposite side.

Vitor Martins de Oliveira, a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science (IME) at USP and co-author of the study, explains that searching for solutions like this is one advantage of using functional connection theory.

"Instead of assuming it's easier to choose the part of the variate closest to Earth, we can use systematic analysis with faster methods to try to find nontrivial solutions," he says.

Using a control system, the spacecraft can remain in this intermediate orbit indefinitely until the mission is ready for the second part of the journey, when it proceeds to lunar orbit. This "space transfer" is advantageous because there is no interruption in communication with Earth or the Moon while waiting.

"The Artemis 2 mission, for example, lost communication with Earth for a while because it was directly behind the moon. The orbit we propose is a solution that maintains uninterrupted communication," Oliveira says.

Leonardo Barbosa Torres dos Santos, who gained a Ph.D. from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) with a scholarship from the Foundation, is also a co-author of the article.

Even greater savings, but only on specific dates
Although it is more economical than the previously described routes, the path mapped out by Almeida and his collaborators is not the most economical possible. Their simulations only took the gravity of the Moon and Earth into account, disregarding other celestial bodies, such as the Sun. Including them could lead to an even greater discount, but it would restrict the launch window.

"It'd be necessary to run the simulation for a specific position of the Sun. For example, if we simulate the mission's launch date as December 23, we'll obtain results valid only for a mission launched on that date," Almeida says.

In these cases, however, the method the team developed to perform a large number of simulations can be used to find the best trajectory. "The systematic analysis we applied in our work is something that could be adopted more widely going forward," Almeida says.

Source: Sao Paulo Research Foundation

Published May 2026

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