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Compact servo drives for harsh environs

Built on Copley's proven NanoPlus platform, the compact, 1.2-oz R-Series Nano servo drives withstand extreme temperatures, vibration, shock, and humidity. Available in R47 (CANopen) and R48 (EtherCAT) models, they suit space-constrained, harsh environments such as mil/aero robotics and gimbals. This commercial off-the-shelf series provides a hardened option without defense-specific development lead times.
Learn more from Copley Controls.

Hybrid actuator with force up to 14,726 lb

Kyntronics' new all-electric HyCore hybrid actuator is a compact, low-cost alternative to traditional hydraulic, pneumatic, and electro-mechanical systems. Engineered for OEMs, it delivers up to 14,726 lb of force. The self-contained design eliminates leaks and wear, providing precise control, shock-load tolerance, and high efficiency. It simplifies integration and lowers operating costs for mobile equipment, packaging, assembly automation, and more.
Learn more.

SDP/SI motion products: Best sellers

SDP/SI's best sellers aren't just popular -- they're proven. These are the motion components their customers return to time and again for precision, reliability, and unbeatable value. From belts and pulleys to gears, bearings, and couplings, each product has earned its place through consistent performance in real-world applications.
Learn more and see the full products list.

Automated part grinding and finishing in one unit!

Grinding large fabrications is a classic dull, dirty, and dangerous task perfectly suited for automation, yet traditional setups require multiple costly robots. At Automate 2026, Güdel debuted a single-robot solution that utilizes two extra degrees of freedom to finish massive surfaces without complex part repositioning.
Read the full article.

Rockford RBS ball screws and nuts now available

Automation-Direct now offers US-manufactured RBS ball screws and nuts for precise linear motion in OEM and maintenance applications. Achieving over 90% efficiency, they feature low friction, high accuracy, and minimal wear. Available in various diameters, lengths, and leads, these precision-matched components handle axial loads with minimal backlash, providing a dependable solution that reduces maintenance and extends operational life. Great prices too.
Learn more.

Next-gen conveyor transports 3,000-kg payloads

Building on its established portfolio of twin-strand conveyors that are currently used in a variety of industry verticals, Bosch Rexroth is introducing the TS 7plus transfer system, which is the world's first freely configurable, fully electric conveyance solution to workpieces weighing up to 3,000 kg. TS 7plus transports material via conveyor rollers on freely configurable modular sections with lift/transverse, rotary, and positioning units, as well as stop gates. Great for automotive, battery, aerospace/defense, and more.
Learn more.

Next-generation air bearing linear slide

The A-123 noncontact nanoposi-tioning stage integrates a brushless motor, air bearings, and a 1-nm encoder, supporting 40-kg payloads over 750-mm travel. Its pressurized air film eliminates the friction, wear, and vibration of mechanical stages, ensuring zero particle generation. Customizable with options such as granite bases and isolation systems, it is ideal for semiconductor metrology, inspection, photonics, and more.
Learn more.

How to implement redundancy in stepper motors

Some of the recent research activities in the area of electric motor drives for safety-critical applications (such as aerospace and nuclear power plants) are focused on looking at various fault-tolerant motor and drive topologies. After discussing different solutions, this article focuses on a miniature permanent magnet (PM) stepper motor design that provides increased redundancy.
Read this informative FAULHABER article.

Teradyne Robotics unveils a multitude of deployable AI applications at Automate 2026

Teradyne Robotics, the company behind Universal Robots (UR) and Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR), will demonstrate how physical AI is transforming industrial automation at Automate 2026 in Chicago, June 22-25 at booth #1250. The demos presented are real, deployable, and ready for purchase. They include assembly, pick-and-place, palletizing, mobile robots, and more. A lot of good new offerings here. Check it out.
Read the full article.

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.
Learn more.

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.
View the video.

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.
Read the full article.

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.
Read the full article.

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.
Learn more.

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.

Weird science: Study explains why your dominant hand is better at everyday tasks

Why is a person's dominant hand so much better at writing, throwing, or using tools? A new study from UCLA Health researchers suggests the answer isn't a hardwired brain advantage -- the dominant hand has simply had more practice.

The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, challenges a decades-old hypothesis in neuroscience that the dominant hemisphere of the brain is inherently better at controlling movement.

Previous studies have shown a limb side preference develops in the womb and can predict which side will become dominant after birth. Why the preferred side is more skilled has been debated since the early 2000s, with one influential view holding that the dominant brain hemisphere has built-in specializations that make it better for skilled motor control.

However, UCLA research led by neurologist Dr. Ahmet Arac, the study's corresponding author and assistant professor of neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, sought to test whether this superior skill is the result of more practice with the preferred side over time.

The team found that the skill gap between a person's dominant and non-dominant limbs largely disappears under the right conditions and reappears only when a task draws on the kind of complex, curved hand and arm movements that come from years of practice handling tools, pens, and other objects.

Arac and his team tracked the 3D arm movements of healthy adults using motion-capture cameras as they reached toward targets under three conditions: normal reaching, reaching while wearing a 4-lb wrist weight, and reaching while holding a lightweight stick strapped to the forearm to mimic tool use.

In a second experiment, participants wrote letters and numbers using a pen first with their hand, then with a pen taped to their elbow, which is an effector they'd never used for writing before.

During simple reaching, and even when a weight was added to make the movement physically harder, the dominant and nondominant arms performed about the same.

Once the stick was added, requiring the kind of curved, controlled trajectory needed to use a real tool, the dominant arm clearly outperformed the nondominant arm.

When participants wrote with their elbow instead of their hand, the usual dominant-side advantage vanished entirely; both elbows wrote equally poorly at first. However, after practice, both the dominant and nondominant elbow improved by the same amount, and both got better than the nondominant hand had ever performed.

"The dominant arm isn't more capable because one hemisphere of the brain is simply better at controlling movement," said Arac. "It is because we've spent a lifetime practicing the specific, complicated movements that tools and handwriting demand. Take away that practice by switching to a body part like the elbow that's never done the task before, and the advantage disappears."

The results may be of interest to clinicians who work with stroke survivors and others relearning motor skills, as well as researchers studying how skilled movement is learned and represented in the brain.

The research, conducted at UCLA, also involved coauthor Nicolas Y.H. Jeong Lee and senior author Dr. John W. Krakauer of Johns Hopkins University and the Santa Fe Institute. It was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation, NVIDIA, and UCLA's Department of Neurology.

The full study, "Arm Dominance Is an Emergent Effect of Practice Executing Complex Trajectory Shapes Required by Tools and Objects," is available in PNAS.

Source: University of California - Los Angeles

Published July 2026

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