Mechanics vs. Electronics

I have offered the opinion that mechatronics is a field whose solutions are mechanically bounded.  The limits to performance are initially constrained by the mechanical design of the system.  This is no small matter.

In many companies the mechanical design and electrical design are separate activities.  I know many companies whose mechanical and electrical departments are at war with each other after years of struggles and crises generated by the separation of the disciplines.

Sometimes the mechanical design team takes the lead in creating a machine with longevity as its primary constraint.  And customers deserve equipment that runs reliably for many years.  The mechanical designers may choose heavy materials for high strength to support the demand for strength and reliability.  Read more

Robotic Kits for “Do-It-Yourself” Packaging System Design

Modular programming and articulating arm kits let you design your own robotic-based packaging system.

By Tom Jensen
Engineering Manager
ELAU Inc., a Company of Schneider Electric

For many years two factors gave robot designers and manufacturers a lock on developing equipment for the packaging market: patents and the specialized kinematic knowledge required to program robotic motion. While the robotic arms were under patent, the controls held the unique motion algorithms needed to handle the complex path planning, blending, and resolution of multiple trajectories to the same point. Thus, robot articulating arms and specific controls were exclusive to robot developers.
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Wabco Extends ZF Contract

WABCO Holdings Inc. (NYSE: WBC) has extended its long-term agreement to supply ZF with transmission automation systems for their AS Tronic and AS Tronic lite automatic transmissions. According to Wabco, the contract will be worth several hundred million dollars in cumulative sales into the next decade.

Wabco’s transmission automation systems enable a manual transmission to be operated automatically, using mechatronics that combine mechanical systems with electronics and computational algorithms for greater efficiency and reliability, the company said.

According to ZF, the AS Tronic is fully integrated transmission that offers reduced maintenance, reliability, cost-effectiveness and environmental compatibility.

Designing a Low-cost Electric Range Control Using a Triac

Applying mechatronics’ principles to traditional mechanical components can result in a more
sophisticated and cost-effective control

By Reston Condit,
Microchip Technology Inc.

Most countertop cooking appliances like electric ranges, skillets, and fryers have an adjustable mechanical thermostat to vary the heat output of the range. This solution is inexpensive, but there are several drawbacks to mechanical thermostats:
•  Mechanical thermostats have to be calibrated at the factory.
•  They have poor simmer performance (control is not precise at low temperatures).
•  The accuracy of these devices is poor.
•  Mechanical components wear out over time.
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Ensure Gear Reducers Contribute to System Efficiency

More than $30 billion is spent on electricity dedicated to electric driven systems, of which, nearly 70% goes to motor systems. There are ways to reduce this cost in your motion based mechatronics system.
By Alex Howe, Application Engineer
US WITTENSTEIN Group

Motor-driven equipment in manufacturing currently accounts for more than 2.3 quads, or 2.3 quadrillion BTUs (roughly 674 billion kilowatt hours) of energy use, which equals nearly 23% of all electricity sold in the United States. Read more

Multi-Axis Systems Turn Custom into Standard

Rexroth’s camoLINE is a Cartesian Motion building system that allows rapid combination of pneumatic and electromechanical components.

Special machine construction and standardization: — this used to be a contradiction. Here is how one manufacturer developed a modular system to assemble handling systems with standard and custom components.

Schiller automation systems are used in the production of semiconductors in all clean room classes, in microelectronics processes, and in the production of solar cells and Smart Cards. Schiller recently chose camoLINE from Rexroth for its custom equipment. The camoLINE modular system covers commonly used handling tasks with flexible components from linear motion and assembly systems, pneumatics, drives, and controls.

The camoLINE systems offer features required for individual handling systems, such as electric and pneumatic axes, connecting elements and profile struts, ball-screw assemblies, and toothed-belt drives for high travel speeds. Depending on customer requirements, either servo or stepping motors can be used with an integrated belt drive or a planetary gear.

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Different Drive Concepts for Different Machine Tool Motions

Here’s a quick look at your options when selecting drives for use in machine tools.

In machine tools, typically the details of the installed drive technology are concealed. In principle, however, there are several possibilities for main, feed and auxiliary drives to carry out the needed machine movements.

Main Drives

Main drives are predominantly closed-loop controlled, electric synchronous, and asynchronous motors. Their applications include kit or housed motors for use in turning, milling and grinding machines as well as in machining centers. The traditional spindle drives with housed motors – mostly air-cooled – are also popular as main drives. In comparison with motor spindles they are less costly when considering the secondary costs of both systems. On the one hand, the interposition of gearboxes enables the rotational speed and torque to be tuned to the machining task. On the other hand the gear boxes cause unwanted radial forces, noise and increased wear. Read more