EPSON Robots introduces the new EPSON S5-Series 6-Axis Robot Lineup. S5-Series are high speed, mid size 6-axis robots with a small footprint and advanced flexibility for even the most demanding and complex applications. Designed for maximum performance, S5-Series robots feature EPSON’s new SlimLine design for increased flexibility. The enhanced slim body and compact wrist design […]
Screw Design Basics
Actuator design is a series of tradeoffs to reach an optimized solution. The problem can be very complex because there are no rules for the design process. The connection between the mechanism and the source that powers the load seems arbitrary, but the impact is significant. Since all of the major components have to be […]
Matching Motor to Load – The first step in getting motion systems right
Motion control solutions are primarily mechanical in nature. If the mechanism is right for the load, the motion solution can be designed to meet the project objectives without difficulty. The starting point for this process is the selection of the motor. In keeping with the mechanical nature of the problem, consider that across all of […]
Sex With Robots? An Industry Review.
Ashley Madison, an online dating site for married people seeking affairs, reported a massive surge in female memberships the day after Mother’s Day. Women represent 65% of adult sex toy purchasers, particularly “smart” toys and vibrators while men provide a huge market for porn videos, games and paid websites. So the market is there. But…
Graduating Without A Wheelchair
CBS News Sunday Morning featured a UC Berkeley graduate who was able, using an exoskeleton constructed by UC Berkeley’s Robotics & Human Engineering Laboratory, to stand and accept his diploma. Just down the road is Berkeley Bionics, a UC Berkeley spin-off and designer of HULC and eLEGS exoskeletons. eLEGS is a wearable, artificially intelligent, bionic…
Servo Tuning
Making an electric motor operate correctly is as varied and complex as the millions of ways we use electric motors. Most of the time it’s just a matter of turning the motor on with a switch and letting nature take its course. Nature in this case as defined by Maxwell and Faraday. But when the […]
Energy, the Economy, and the DOE
For any modern economy, energy is part of the cost structure of pretty much everything. Depending on the specific product, direct energy costs are often the second largest cost of doing business for many industries. As an example, in electrolytic refining of metals, energy cost can be 10% or more of the final cost for […]
Optimizing Motion
Optimizing a motion control system is not easy. There are many tradeoffs that need to be considered. The strategy needed for each situation tends to be unique based on the problem that is being considered. One strategy involves speed, torque and time. These three variables are a connected system that is defined as the mechanical […]
FIRST Robotics World Championship Finals Awarded
St Louis’ HEC-TV broadcast the 2011 FIRST Robotics World Championships and Awards Ceremonies before a live crowd of more than 22,000 at the St Louis Dome stadium. Will.I.Am and The Black Eyed Peas played for the 300+ teams, their sponsors, mentors and parents, from more than 50 countries, which had qualified for the finals competition.…