When engineers think of advances in motion control technology, they usually think of faster motors, improved accuracy, or seemingly never-ending improvements in MOSFET efficiency. While these advances ...

Monitoring takes the form of sensors and intelligent devices connected to a digital processor. These monitored values are used for computing and then controlling some sort of real-world action. Many ...

Using pulse outputs from a PLC is a cost-effective way to get simple motion. Most, if not all, PLC manufacturers provide a way to control servos and steppers using a pulse train signal. So when a ...

How does a piezoelectric transducer (actuator) work? Modern Piezo actuators are based on thin piezoceramic layers manufactured in a co-fired process to form a monolithic unit. They are also called ...

In today’s automated machines and platforms, the controllers, drives, and servomotors that move these machines are simultaneously the “brains” and “muscle” of automated production. As the technology ...

Thanks to hype in the popular media, the term “automation” tends to conjure images of robots, artificial intelligence and the cloud in the minds of most people. The root of most manufacturing ...