Here are a few of our favorite videos:

Advanced Motion Controls overview. This video includes an introduction to AMC’s design philosophy, a description of their product capabilities, and a tour of their integrated manufacturing and R&D facility in California.

B&R Automation Studio Preview. This video demonstrates the power of B&R’s integrated approach to automation software. Automation Studio is a comprehensive programming tool that supports logic and I/O, visualization/HMI, motion, diagnostics, safety, and project management.

Nexen Roller Pinion System. It’s always cool to see products in action, especially when they are new and innovative ones like Nexen’s Roller Pinion System (RPS). The RPS combines some of the advantages of ballscrews, belts, and linear motors to provide high speeds, high loads, high accuracy, and long travel all at a reasonable cost.

With traditional rack and pinion systems, the pinion gear teeth slide along the rack teeth as the pinion rotates. To reduce wear and friction, a small clearance is required between the rack teeth and pinion teeth. Depending on the application, this may introduce too much inaccuracy. For higher accuracy, a ballscrew might be used, but ballscrews have a limited length and speed. Linear motors address the speed and length issue, but the cost of long magnet tracks can be prohibitive.

The RPS system addresses the accuracy and wear issues by using bearing supported rollers and a special rack tooth profile. The rollers meet each tooth along a tangent path and smoothly roll down the tooth face, as opposed to a pinion which slaps into the tooth and then slides down its face. This increases life and lowers noise. The tooth profile is designed so that two rollers are loaded in opposition at all times, providing zero backlash.

The RPS system can achieve speeds up to 11 m/s and provide dynamic thrust up to 14000 N (3150 lbf). Racks can be assembled together in 0.5 and 1 meter increments, allowing unlimited travel lengths. As shown with the sample data below, the system’s accuracy is better than +/- 30 microns and does not vary with travel distance.

The video below shows the RPS system in action.