Mechanical

Stanford University students have created a quadruped robot to navigate difficult terrain, and they’ve made the designs and source code open-source.

An international team of researchers has developed a climbing robot inspired by land leeches. The soft, flexible robots could be useful for infrastructure inspection and search-and-rescue applications.

Schunk GmbH last week released its EGL-C long-stroke gripper, which it said “represents a milestone in the road to achieving comprehensive human-robot collaboration.” The gripper is designed to achieve high gripping forces while complying with global safety standards. The company claimed that the EGL-C is the world’s first long-stroke gripper for collaborative operation. It achieves…

Plastic-motion-component maker igus could advance the collaborative-robotics industry when it unveils its low-cost ReBeL robotics joint at Hannover Messe 2018. The maintenance-free joint works in residential and commercial applications. The ReBeL gives a sixth rotation axis to modular robolink arms to let them reach myriad positions. According to igus, the new ReBeL will also make robots serving…

Conventional robotic actuators use a very traditional design of electric motors and gear systems to make robots move. These geared systems suffer from many limitations: Low speed, which limits productivity; play between the gears (known as backlash) which limits precision; high inertia that prevents rapid safety stops; high backdrive friction, which (with high inertia) makes gear systems […]

February fundings for 16 robotics-related startups totaled over $313 million – another solid month for the new year. Acquisitions also continued to be substantial with Ford's acquisition of Argo and Midea Group's purchase of Servotronix. Plus there were two IPOs. Fundings CloudMinds, a Chinese startup developing cloud-intelligence-based services for robotics and other application areas, raised $100…

Engineering of complex systems can sometimes be represented as a series of simplified approximations based on the performance of known subsystems.  In the case of wind turbines, there are 4 subsystems, aerodynamic, gearing, generator and power conversion.  In order to simplify the evaluation process of competing technologies in each category, they can be assigned an […]

For cost-effective, customizable robotic systems, igus has further updated the Robolink D modular robotic kit with new strain wave gearings in two installation sizes. The gearing, available as an individual component, or with integrated NEMA motor, consists of an outer ring gear and flexible, wear-resistant inner ring gear made from self-lubricating, wear resistant iglide plastic. […]

A thorough understanding of the mechanical load is crucial to successful motion applications.  Gear designers are experts in understanding the mechanical load.  Not just the RMS power requirement, but other issues such as impulse loads, the impact of heat on part geometry and life expectancy. Gear design, like electric motor design, has continued to evolve as clever designs have been […]

KEB America, Inc. has announced the launch of their System Integrator Program for the North American market. The program will partner talented system integrators with KEB engineers and application specialists. The goal is to pair KEB’s extensive automation product line with trusted local integrators. “Historically, KEB has worked with machine builder OEM’s in our target […]

February 7th is National Love Your Robot Day. Originally established 16 years ago by musician Victor Lams as a joke with a friend (and inspired by the original Star Wars trilogy and The Black Hole), today Love Your Robot Day still continues … even recognized by public school systems and the New York Public Library. So to celebrate, we robotictips.com editors pay homage to our favorite […]

One of the core principles of mechatronics is the ability to displace mechanical components where the functionality can be replicated by a blend of software in the control system and a good hardware strategy. The most commonly recognized application might be electronic line shafting.   The mechanical problem is that mechanical loads are required to […]

Today’s robotics industry could use some strategic guidance,  particularly in the area of healthcare.  By Frank Tobe, Editor and Publisher, The Robot Report  It is clear to me that the next big markets for robotics are: SMEs (robot workers and co-workers in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) Medical and healthcare (nursing assistance, surgeon augmentation, operating room…

In the computer industry we hear interesting metrics about the ever increasing capabilities of processors and hardware.  That capability is usually measured in a performance metric such as MIPS or Million Instructions Per Second.  We don’t generally talk about capability per dollar spent.  However, the cost of control is a major metric when evaluating control […]

Motion control, machine automation, mechatronics, actuator technology, whatever you want to call it, the thing you have to keep in mind is that in motion control, tasking is mechanically bounded.  The boundary conditions of the system are defined by the mechanical solution.  It is generally impossible for the control system and power electronics to cause […]

Recent, major improvements that eliminate numerous problems in the design of motion controlled limbs have come from a better understanding of users’ needs. Add to this knowledge base the application of aerospace materials, advanced motor designs, and  special safety circuitry, and you have the latest generation of prosthetic devices. Motion-controlled wrists and hands have helped […]

Previously, we covered mechanical considerations for electrical engineers. Now, we give the other side a chance to speak. Here are five targeted pieces of advice for mechanical engineers responsible for electromechanical systems, from the perspective of an electrical engineer. Mechatronics systems intelligently integrate mechanical and electrical elements to perform increasingly complex and demanding functions. When […]

Dual loop position and speed controller for almost any application Maxon’s EPOS (Easy to use Positioning System) is being expanded again in its second generation. The EPOS2 70/10 drives DC brush motors with encoders or brushless EC motors with Hall sensors and encoders, from 5 to 700 watts power. The unit is packed with a […]

Located in Effingham, Ill., B&L Machine & Design specializes in the remanufacturing of various printing presses and ancillary equipment. Its particular expertise is on the Harris M-1000 and M-110 series presses, as well as splicers, infeeds, chillers and folders. By redesigning all the electrical and mechanical components and subsystems, B&L exceeds customer expectations for the […]

Waukegan, IL – Yaskawa Electric America, Inc. announces the release of MotionWorks IEC Pro and MP2310iec, important additions to the MotionWorks IEC / MP2000iec Product Series. MotionWorks IEC Pro MotionWorks IEC Pro is a new Integrated Development environment based on the IEC61131-3 international programming standard. MotionWorks IEC Pro is built upon the same code as […]