ABB Robotics gets free advertising via summer blockbuster.

In the history of machine tools, spindles have been very good relative to other bearings and structures on the machine. So quality professionals have developed a cache of tools—-ball bars, grid encoders displacement lasers, etc.—-to help them characterize and understand the geometry of the structural loop. But as machine tools have improved in their capability and precision, and the demands of part-geometry and surface finish have become more critical, errors in spindles have become a larger percentage of the total error.

Now more than ever, manufacturing companies are examining what steps need to be taken to ensure improvements to machine reliability by predicting system failures and minimizing downtime.

Bearings with integrated sensors are used in a wide variety of applications, but many potential industrial uses are not yet implemented.

The complete product news section from the June 2009 issue of Power Transmission Engineering.

The Royal Danish Theatre has occupied the heart of Copenhagen for centuries and recently upgraded to a new control system featuring Sprint Electric DC drives to extend the lives of the existing motors, keeping replacement costs down. The Swedish stage design and technology company Visual Act retained most of the original motors and mechanics while providing a much-needed facelift to the stage.

In this paper, Edward Hage, founder of specAmotor.com, an online motor calculation and selection tool, focuses on the overheating of electric motors. Presented here is a calculation method with which the temperature and heat development of a direct current (DC) motor and a brushless motor can be predicted accurately.

The ocean is full of secrets. Knowledge of its movement can help scientists and researchers predict when there’s going to be a drought in California, excessive rainfall on the East Coast or when crops might not make it through a season in Africa.

Robots are everywhere these days— bots in the factory, bots in space, bots at the airport, bots in the movies and much, much more. But robots in the operating room?

When a bearing is damaged, it is often removed from service and replaced before it reaches its full, useful and economical life. Advancements in bearing design, materials, bearing maintenance and repair methods have greatly improved the potential for and popularity of bearing repair as an effective way to extend the life of the bearing.