The trade show circuit has offered a wealth of e-mobility and motor technologies recently. From IMTS and Pack Expo to MINExpo and CES 2025, there are plenty of disruptors in the motor segment for power transmission components. One area—in particular—is the aerospace industry where vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) rotorcrafts continue to redefine aerial transport, variable frequency drives (VFDs) support aircraft performance, stepper motors provide passenger comfort and software enables engineers to optimize electric motor design.
Mechatronic drive systems are intricate by nature. Tailoring solutions to meet the specific needs of our customers, SDP/SI motion control specialists integrate carefully selected components—such as DC motors, BLDC motors, stepper motors, gearheads, controllers, sensors, and housings—into a cohesive, high-performance drive system. Let’s collaborate!
The ASI8100 stepper motor with built-in drive from Beckhoff adds another space-saving tool to the company’s broad range of compact drive technology products (up to 48 V DC). The ASI8100 series combines a stepper motor, stepper motor output stage, and fieldbus connection in a fully integrated design. These EtherCAT devices mount directly on the machine without a control cabinet or upstream I/O, allowing for highly compact, control cabinet-free machines.
Optimal Engineering Systems, Inc. (OES) has added four high-resolution, low-profile goniometers to their expanding catalog of high precision positioning stages. This newly released, AK120-45 Goniometer Series features precision ground worm gears with a 296:1 ratio and pre-loaded cross roller guides, and +/- 45 degrees of travel with 10 kg of load. The very high resolution of 0.0006 degrees (2.16 Arcsec.) is realized when using the standard Two-Phase Stepper Motor driven by a 10 micro-steps per step micro-stepping driver or with the servomotor options and Quadrature Optical Encoders.
OES (Optimal Engineering Systems, Inc.) has added vertical stages to their extensive line of high accuracy, high resolution lift stages. The Z110 Series of Z-axis Stages are available in travel strokes of 15 mm (0.590 in.), 30 mm (1.181 in.), 50 mm (1.969 in.), and 75 mm (2.953 in). These black anodized aluminum alloy stages feature preloaded crossed roller bearings and 1 mm per motor turn lead screws.
Zero-Max has added to their field-proven ServoClass Flexible Shaft Coupling line with the introduction of the new ServoClass-HSN Coupling to address noise and vibration issues that can be experienced in certain high gain, high speed stepper/servomotor applications.
New High Precision Dual-axis ZVR-60-60 Series of Lift and Pitch Stages have been released by Optimal Engineering Systems, Inc. (OES). These compact stages feature 60 mm +/- 2 mm (2.362 in. +/- 0.078 in.) of vertical travel and a vertically mounted rotary stage. The scissor lift design combined with precision roller bearings and slide rails assures smooth motion and very high parallelism throughout the raising and lowering of the table. The Rotary Stage is capable of continuous 360 degrees CW or CCW rotation.
Measure angles or move to a precise angular position with a new series of high precision, low cost XYHG Multi-axis Stages that can be easily integrated into new and existing applications from OES (Optimal Engineering Systems).
The ATR-V-60-60 Series (-01 thru -04) of Dual-axis Elevator-Rotary Stages has been released by Optimal Engineering Systems, Inc. (OES). These compact, Elevator-Rotary Stages feature a high stability Elevator Stage with 120 mm x 80 mm table and 60 mm +/- 2 mm of vertical travel and a load capacity of 5.0 kg. A 60 mm diameter Rotary Stages is mounted vertically. The scissor lift design of the elevator stages combined with precision roller bearings and slide rails assures smooth motion and very high parallelism throughout the travel of the table. The rotary stages capable of continuous rotation feature high precision bearings and 90:1 worm gear.
Advanced Motion Controls (AMC) is proud to announce the release of the FE060-25-IPM FlexPro series servo drive. This drive is designed to provide advanced control and power in one compact package, making it the perfect choice for a wide range of industrial and commercial applications.
Harmonic Drive LLC, a leading provider of precision motion control solutions, is proud to announce the release of its CSF-2XH mini gearhead designed for servo and stepper motors.
Available with an output shaft or flange, the CSF-2XH miniature gearheads are offered in 4 sizes with gear ratios 30:1 to 100:1 and peak torque: .5~28Nm. These mini strain wave gears are ideal for semiconductor and robotics applications.
Intellidrives new overhead XY gantry built with precision ball screw actuators and are offered in travel length from 100 to 600 mm. They can be motorized with stepper motors, brushless servomotor/encoders or integrated Smart motors.
Ruland beam couplings are ideal for surgical, warehouse, and industrial robotics due to their increased torque and torsional stiffness and ability to accommodate all forms of misalignment. Ruland manufactures four-beam couplings for encoders and six-beam couplings for light-duty power transmission, such as connecting a stepper or servomotor to a lead screw. This allows robotic designers to design a standard beam coupling into most systems.
The Neugart Calculation Program (NCP) configuration tool reliably leads to the most cost- and energy-efficient gearbox-motor combination. In the new NCP 4.3 version the performance of the program has been improved further through enhanced multi-core usage of the processor. Above all, effective immediately the proven software will offer many additional features and optimizations - including better comparisons and rack-and-pinion drives.
Kollmorgen recently announced the new P80630-SDN stepper drive. Customers can now benefit from features such as smoothness, precision and torque across the full speed range in a significantly more compact package that enables smaller, lighter, more versatile machines. Kollmorgen will also be introducing additional stepper drives and features in the coming months, building upon the new, flagship P8000 stepper drive platform.
Thomson Industries, Inc., a leading manufacturer of linear motion control solutions, has introduced a family of compact linear systems that makes it easier for motion designers to implement complex applications in small spaces. Designers needing thrust and bearing support in a single, compact unit now have the flexibility to build such applications with versatile, time-tested components from Thomson.
The DMC-3x01x Motion Controller Series is Galil's latest generation single-axis motion controller. It uses a 32-bit RISC processor to provide higher speed than older models. Like all Galil controllers, programming the DMC-3x01x is simplified with two-letter, intuitive commands and a full set of software tools for servo tuning and analysis.
Optimal Engineering Systems, Inc. (OES) has released four new high resolution, high repeatability XY Alignment Stages. The AU200-120x120 Alignment Stages feature 120 mm (4.724 in.) of travel in both the X and Y axes. These new low profile 87 mm (3.425 in.) high XY stages, have a 188 mm x 188 mm (7.401 in. x 7.401 in.) open aperture. Easy integration of tooling and fixtures is facilitated through a precision series of threaded mounting holes.
The new AT20-600 series of Motorized Vertical Lift Stages from Optimal Engineering Systems, Inc. (OES) features a vertical lift of 600 mm. The AT20-600-01 (pictured) is driven by a Two-Phase Stepper Motor features a repeatability of 5 microns, positional accuracy of 20 microns and has a knob on the motor for manual adjustment.
The following article looks at the latest news on servo motors, drives and motors. How do we differentiate between the definitions? What can design engineers find between a stepper and a servo motor? Also, a quick update this summer on the benefits of closed-loop motor control.
Product design remains the most fascinating aspect of linear motion components as manufacturers try to answer the speed, size and efficiency challenges of customers utilizing rails, tables, actuators, sliders and other components. Companies like Heidenhain, AMTEK, NB Corporation and PBC Linear continue to provide technologies that increase productivity in this rapidly evolving market segment. Credit e-mobility, robotics, motion control and automation technologies for the market growth.
Ametek Haydon Kerk Pittman, a business unit of Ametek, is pleased to announce the availability of its new 43000 Max Series Size 17 single- and double-stack hybrid linear actuators.