Actuators / Motors / Servos

Heidenhain’s new KCI 120 Dplus rotary encoder provides both motor feedback and position measurement.

The Series A supports the launch of the Archimedes Drive, which relies on friction instead of gear teeth to transmit torque.

The ATX West show is next week. Check out our show guide with a curated list of robotic vendors to visit while at the show.

The Profinet communication protocol is designed to meet the demanding conditions within an industrial environments.

Genesis Robotics launches LiveDrive LDD 1800 series direct-drive actuators, that enable high speed, oil-free, low maintenance operations.

Performance Motion Devices (PMD) recently debuted its new ION/CME N-Series Digital Drives, new members of the ION Digital Drive family that provide high-performance motion control, network connectivity and amplification. The N-Series ION digital drives feature a patented, ultra-rugged PCB-mountable package with three power output levels – 75, 300, and 1,000 W. All ION/CME N-Series Digital…

Harmonic Drive announced its new RSF-5 miniature actuator with an integrated servo drive. This evolutionary product eliminates the need for an external drive and greatly simplifies cabling while retaining high-positional accuracy and torsional stiffness in a compact housing. The RSF Mini and Supermini series is a family of compact actuators that deliver high torque with…

Packaging operations continue to embrace automation as a way to reduce labor costs and workplace injuries while improving the efficiency and quality of packaged goods. But the use of automation isn’t evenly distributed, with large consumer packaged goods producers running with more automation than smaller packaging firms. One area ripe for increased automation are operations…

New soft actuator can flap nearly 500 times per second, giving drones insect-like resilience.

Outer space is unforgiving. This is why precision drives embarking on a trip to other planets need to meet extremely high quality standards. Every Mars drive from maxon is based on a catalog product and is modified for the specific mission. That’s because the DC motors, gearheads, and encoders face brutal conditions during liftoff, the…

Years of collaboration between maxon and the space experts at JPL led to the development of the BLDC motors which handle the valuable soil samples on Mars during the Perseverance mission. Meet maxon’s specialists behind those actuators and find out what drives them. Was there once life on Mars? To answer this question, NASA has…

More than 100 electric motors from maxon have been used on the Red Planet and have withstood cosmic radiation, dust storms, and temperature fluctuations. With the Perseverance rover, precision drives are once again flying to Mars. The key to success is the same as before: standard industrial products. Mars missions without maxon drive systems? Unthinkable!…

Celera Motion has added the Aura Absolute Chip Encoder Series to its line of precision rotary and linear optical encoders with MicroE technology. Aura uses a short wave-length LED for precise absolute position decoding. Celera said the series is designed for collaborative robot arms, robot joints, robotic grippers, surgical robots and exoskeletons. An incremental scale…

Celera Motion today announced its Capitan Series of premium Ingenia servo drives. The Capitan Series is designed for surgical robots, exoskeletons, robotic joints, flat actuators, end-effectors, haptics and more. The Capitan Series offers three servo drives – the XCR, NET and CORE. The XCR is a ready-to-use version, while NET and CORE are pluggable module…

SICK has released its DBS60I-W, an IP69K-rated incremental encoder with added ingress protection from a new, patented deflector shield. SICK said the encoder can withstand frequent high-pressure chemical washdowns in demanding food and beverage applications, for example. The SICK DBS60I-W washdown encoder delivers the high-resolution performance of SICK’s DBS60 incremental encoder but in a IP69K-rated,…

The FM060-25-CM is part of a new breed of micro-sized, high-power servo drives, immediately available from RBR50 company Advanced Motion Controls. Rated to output 25-A continuous and 50-A peak, this fully featured digital servo drive is small enough to fit in the tightest locations. It’s well suited for mobile and portable applications, including automated mobile…

maxon Group and Fourier Intelligence today announced they are entering into a global strategic partnership. Fourier Intelligence, a Shanghai-based  startup founded in 2015, will use maxon’s precision drive systems for the development of its rehabilitation robotics systems. Fourier already uses maxon’s BLDC motors in its ExoMotus X2 exoskeleton, a powered lower-limb exoskeleton. maxon will now be…

maxon’s new IDX compact integrated servo gearmotor + drive combines a powerful, brushless EC-i motor and an EPOS4 positioning controller, which can be complemented with a maxon planetary gearhead when required. This integrated motor features high torque density, high efficiency, maintenance-free components, and a high-quality industrial housing providing IP65 protection. The IDX also features configurable…

The Smart ArM project, in which researchers developed specialized prosthetic arms, was among the teams participating in the Cybathlon 2020 competition that used maxon motors.

RE2 Robotics’ latest patent, for a fluid rotary joint, covers a new gear and actuator combination that it said will make it easier for robots to inspect and manipulate objects underwater.

Mirmex Motor said its AI-developed electric motors and flexible circuits can make it easier to design and manufacture devices such as prosthetics and surgical robots.

Among the tradeoffs in designing robotic prosthetics is the one between cost and function. Unlimited Tomorrow uses innovative production methods and maxon drives to help children gain function.