Power Transmission/Motion Control 11577

Load guidance

D esigned for load guidance in the automotive industry, this company's Load Runners(R)are said to handle heavy loads in tough environments. The product is available in inch and metric sizes from 1 inch to 10 inches and 40 to 250 mm rolling diameters. Configurations available include Plain, Flanged, V-Grooved, and U-Grooved in both stud and yoke styles.

Osborn Int'l., 5401 Hamilton Ave., Cleveland, OH 44114-3997; FAX (216) 361-1606; www.osborn.com.

Bearings

D P4(TM) bearings from this company were developed to provide longer service life, corrosion resistance, and reduced friction in heavy duty hydraulic operations. Composite steel-backed and polymer lined, the product is for use mainly under lubricated conditions, where it is said to show excellent wear resistance, low static and dynamic friction coefficients, and a high resistance to cavitation and flow erosion damage to the bearing surface.

Garlock Bearings , Box 189 700 Mid Atlantic Pkwy.; Thorofare, NJ 08086; FAX (856) 848-5115; www.garlockbearings.com .

Linear guides

T his company's Redi-Rail(TM)linear guides are said to combine low friction and low weight. The guides are made with 6061-T6 aluminum rails, which, according to the company, are reported to be as rigid as steel but more cost effective, while the raceways feature hardened steel shafts pressed into the assembly. A number of wipers are also available to keep contaminants out of the shaft, which promotes long life and consistent performance.

Pacific Bearing, Box 6980, Rockford, IL 61125; FAX (815) 389-5790; www.pacific-bearing.com .

Drive/controllers

C OMPAX family of brushless servo systems offers powerful, reliable, and easy-to-use digital drive/controllers for the automotive industry. The product is available in standalone or distributed-power configurations, and is housed in a rugged, fully enclosed metal casing, which provides a high degree of protection along with electromagnetic shielding.

Compumotor, 5500 Business Park Dr, Rohnert Park, CA 94928; www.compumotor.com.

Pivots

F ree-Flex(R)pivots provide frictionless, precision operation, where limited angular rotation bearings are required, for angular travel up to 30 degrees . Product requires no lubrication or maintenance, is dirt insensitive, and eliminates inaccuracies caused by friction, stiction, and backlash associated with conventional rolling element bearings.

TRW Aeronautical Systems, Box 457, Utica, NY 13503; FAX (315) 793-1273; www.lucasutica.com.

Contact bearing

T hese contact bearings are said to offer design solutions for automotive components and other environmentally challenging applications. The product's zero clearance design is said to provide superior tracking, while the bearings are said to maintain contact with the shaft at a wide range of temperatures. Other applications include printers, copier, cameras, and other precision instruments.

Applied Bearing Products, 3466 Genesee St., Buffalo, NY 14225; FAX (716) 754-0181.

Brushless dc motors

T hese autoclaveable brushless dc motors, for use in powering medical instruments and other sensitive applications, are available in sizes 5, 8, and 10, with operating voltages of 12 to 48V dc and speeds of 3,000 to 100,000 rpm. Gearheads are available in sizes 5 and 8 with ratios of 3:1 to 256:1. Standard and customizable options are available with stainless-steel housings, hollow-shaft designs, and Samarium Cobalt magnets with gearheads and closed loop control electronics.

Transicoil, 2560 Gen. Armistead Ave., Norristown, PA 19403-5214; FAX (610) 539-3400; www.transicoil.com .

Polymer bearing

D eveloped for automotive power-seat mechanisms, this company's SnapLok Nyliner polymer bearing is said to be positively retained after insertion, with no additional assembly steps. According to the company, the product outperforms other bearings because it offers a low coefficient of friction, long life, smooth and quiet operation, corrosion resistance, and low cost. Models are available in standard and metric sizes.

Thomson Industries, 2 Channel Dr., Port Washington, NY 11050; FAX (516) 944-1892; www.thomsonindustries.com.

Brushless servomotors

U -channel brushless linear servomotors from this company include the BLMUC, BLMC, BLM, BLMH, and BLMX series motors. The products are direct drive and have two non-contacting parts: a moving forcer coil and U-channel rare earth magnet track. This design is said to eliminate backlash, windup, wear, and resistance associated with ball screws, belts, and rack and pinions. Travel lengths are said to be unlimited.

Aerotech Inc., 101 Zeta Dr., Pittsburgh, PA 15238; FAX (412) 963-7459; www.aerotechinc.com.

Motor and gear

P lanetary gears and a brushless servo motor are combined in this product to create what the manufacturer says is the first fully integrated servogear motor. The design is patent pending and is said to offer a smaller overall package than gear reducers separately mounted to servomotors. Available features include recirculated oil cooling, custom shafts and housings, and special coatings and materials.

Exlar, 1470 Lake Dr. W., Chanhassen, MN 55317; FAX (952) 368-4359; www.exlar.com.

Right-angle gearbox

S ingle worm reduction right-angle gearboxes are designed for applications requiring high torque. A continuous rating to 60 inch-lbs and speeds to 350 rpm. Features include grease lubrication, reversible design, ball bearings, foot mounting, and ceramic magnets. Available for various motor sizes and stack lengths, with 8-inch leads, externally replaceable brushes, optional bronze gear, and a dynamically balanced armature. Value added services include special output shaft modifications, specialty brackets, and special terminals or plugs.

RAE Corp., 4615 W. Prime Pkwy., McHenry, IL 60050; FAX (815) 636-1641; www.raemotors.com .

Motion controller

M AC200 Motion Controller is latest addition to line of motion control products. Designed for OEM and single user 2-axis motion control, it features a programmable LCD display, user interrupt inputs, and internal 32-bit timer. Applications include semiconductor manufacturing.

Nyden, 2610-B North First St., San Jose, CA 95134-2014; FAX (408) 232-7701; www.nyden.com.

Snap rings

S nap rings from this company are designed for easy installation and removal in automotive clutch applications. Manufactured by coiling flat wire, the product features no protruding ears to interfere with mating components. The product is stocked in carbon steel in diameters from 1/2 to 11 inches, with custom sizes up to 84 inches available through the company's No-Tooling-Cost manufacturing process.

Smalley Steel Ring Co., 385 Gilman Ave., Wheeling, IL 60090; FAX (847) 537-7698; www.smalley.com.

Linear positioning stages

T his integral brushless dc servomotor and encoder is designed to decrease overall system size while providing dynamic performance. Compliant parts, such as motor mounting brackets and flexible couplings are eliminated through the combined package. Low profile, lightweight aluminum construction, with recirculating linear guides for long travels and exceptional load carrying capabilities are included. Travels are available from 300-1,000 mm with precision ball screws available in 5, 10, and 20 mm leads, for speeds up to 1.5 m/sec.

Bayside Motion Group, 27 Seaview Blvd., Port Washington, NY 11050; FAX (516) 484-5496; www.baysidemotion.com .

Tolerance rings

T his company's tolerance rings are designed to be used as a torque limiting solution for automotive power steering systems. The product is a highly engineered frictional fastener formed from corrugated metal strips, and is typically used to fasten and mount components such as bearings, gears, and fans; and can also be designed to act as a slip clutch mechanism to protect systems from shock loads.

USA Tolerance Rings, Box 7509, West Trenton, NJ 08628-0509; FAX (609) 538-1110; www.usatolerancerings.com.

Servodrives

S ystem integrates the motion control function into the full-feature PLC architecture. This servodrive may also be used as a smart analog amplifier, stepper translator, or as a stand alone motion controller. For use in ladder logic, sequential function chart, structured text, or any other supported language, the motion profiles are reduced to simple function blocks. Features include a built-in regenerative resistor, built-in filtering, and a 230-480V ac line capacity.

Schneider Electric, 1415 South Roselle Rd., Palatine, IL 60067-7399; FAX (847) 925-7500; www.squared.com .

Guide system

F ully adjustable guide system will accommodate a wide range of materials being wound or spooled onto reels, to prevent improperly guided material. Additionally, reduced equipment downtime to straighten tangles or to make realignment adjustments to help ensure throughput rates remain on target is reported. Designed for use with rolling ring linear actuators for positioning, indexing, and other applications.

Amacoil Inc., 2100 Bridgewater Rd., Aston, PA 19014; FAX (610) 485-2357; www.amacoil.com .

Bearings

T hin-section design of this line of Reali-Slim(R)bearings provides weight and space savings over conventional bearings of similar bore size. Bearings are available in radial contact (Type C), angular contact (Type A), and four-point contact (Type X) configurations, in sizes ranging from 1 to 40 inches. Preloading and special coatings and lubricants are also available by special order.

Kaydon Corp., 2860 McCracken St., Muskegon, MI 49443; www.reali-slim.com .

Servo amplifiers

P WM servo amplifiers from this company are available for a variety of high performance motion control applications. The product is said to feature extremely high power densities with peak currents ranging from 10 to 120A and supply voltages from 18 to 400V dc. Amplifiers are available to drive linear or rotary motors of the brushed, brushless ac sinusoidal and brushless dc trapezoidal types.

Advanced Motion Controls, 3629 Vista Mercado, Camarillo, CA 93012; FAX (805) 389-1165; www.a-m-c.com.

Link ball

L ink ball assemblies from this company are designed for use where small size, light weight, and smooth movement are essential. The product features a steel ball with a welded shank attached to a die cast socket holder, in which the balls' mirror finish is transfer to the holder, allowing for smooth movement with minimal clearance. The link is also supplied with a boot to keep out contaminants.

THK America, 200 E. Commerce Dr., Schaumburg, IL 60173; FAX (847) 310-1182; www.thk.com.

Tie-rod cylinders

N FPA aluminum-body, tie-rod cylinders are now offered in 5-, 6-, and 8-inch Triple-Rod, non-rotating cylinders and a 12-inch bore NFPA-interchangeable aluminum Tie-Rod Cylinder. The 12 inch TA Series is machined from high alloy aluminum bars and features a pre-lubed design which is said to eliminate the need for additional lubrication, and is available with a single or double rod end.

Bimba Manufacturing, Box 68, Monee, IL 60449; FAX (708) 234-2014; www.bimba.com.

Plastic rollers

P lastic roller technology from this company is designed for automotive applications, including steering column and seat track actuation. Engineered for straight radial load applications, the rollers are primarily used to lower steering column positions in cars, light trucks, and SUVs. The product is available in engineered plastic materials, and can be used individually or in custom-design bearings and retainers.

Hartford Bearings, 1022 Elm St., Rocky Hill, CT 06067; FAX (860) 571-3661.

Linear positioning module

T he motion controller incorporates both the Synchronous Serial Interface (SSI) standard and the PROFIBUS DP 12 Mbaud ASIC open-architecture fieldbus technology. High-speed communications between PLC's and I/O's. Available software for Windows 95, NT, or MS DOS provides troubleshooting and diagnostic information, calculates scale and direction parameters, and includes algorithm for teach mode. Applications include precision operations such as tool handling, injection molding, casting, and mechanical animation.

Delta Computer Systems Inc., 11719 NE 95th St., Suite D, Vancouver, WA 98682-2444; FAX (360) 254-5435; www.deltacompsys.com .