The STEPPER-STICK is a full-featured Stepper Motor Controller + Drive
built into a USB Stick. The Stick
Measures 2 x 1 x 0.5 inch and can provide 0.25A of motor current if powered by the USB
Bus or up to 0.5A if powered by an external power source. The controller performs fully profiled moves
with control of acceleration, velocity and position. Additional rich features include quadrature
encoder feedback, 4 Analog and Digital inputs, 2 On/Off power outputs, program
storage, and a built-in logic sequencer that can loop, branch and control the
stepper/outputs based on status of inputs. The STEPPER-STICK is designed for
ultimate ease of use. Only a PC, a
stepper motor and the STEPPER-STICK are required. The user needs to wire only four contacts for
the stepper motor and plug the STEPPER-STICK into a PC. An engineer unfamiliar with Motion Control
can have a stepper motor spinning intelligently in less than half an hour. The STEPPER-STICK is an introduction to the
capability and programming language for a family of more conventional products
at AllMotion. This family of products allows an engineer to progress to an OEM
application with ease. Most designs with this functionality occupy about 10X
the volume of this drive. Products of
similar volume have only the "driver" and depend on the PC to perform the "controller"
function. The STEPPER-STICK boosts the
5V from the PC to 15V and has a Bipolar Drive - similar products are typically
Unipolar and 5V. The STEPPER-STICK has all intelligence built in, and once
programmed can operate with no computer attached. In addition to Motion Control, the STEPPER-STICK
has other capability such as Analog Inputs, Digital Inputs, and On/Off Power
Driver Outputs useful in performing real world applications.
Almost every automaker has had to 'pick a side' when it comes to alternative fuel options and ways to divest from a reliance on gasoline. Fiat is looking to back compressed natural gas or liquid propane as an interim solution.
Designing and filling a new type of water bottle might take less engineering work, but the description will help kids understand how science, math, and engineering influence their lives even through things that seem mundane.
Against a backdrop of mounting product complexity and a need to keep a lid on development costs, companies are recognizing a need to make simulation a more integral part of the design process. In response, vendors in the CAD world are building out CAE functionality as part of their CAD suites while simulation vendors are building tighter integrations to leading CAD tools. Keith Meintjes, Ph.D., Practice Manager, Simulation and Analysis at CIMdata, Inc., joins Design News CAD Editor Beth Stackpole in this radio program to explore the new face of integrated CAD and CAE, how companies are benefitting from this tighter partnership between platforms, and how integrating CAE earlier in the development cycle pays off in optimized product designs.
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