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Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. released two new high-voltage, single- and dual-supply single-pole double-throw (SPDT) analog switches. The DG469 and DG470 devices are identical, except the DG470 provides an enable pin, which puts all of the switches in a high-impedance state, maintaining a “safe state” at power up and preventing accidental signal or power shorts.
Continue reading ‘Vishay Announces High-Voltage SPDT Analog Switches’ »
ADVANCED Motion Controls announces development efforts with Robosoft, located in Bidart, France, to produce a new standard in service robots. To date, Robosoft has uniquely created a multi-use hardware platform for remote service mobile robotic needs. The robuLAB series for example can be used for indoor security, medical assistance, assisted living or any other service need.
The hardware incorporates ADVANCED Motion Controls servo drives at the heart of the motion control. Robosoft’s robuBOX is a flexible software platform that is operationally ready to take on many tasks and can be quickly and safely tailored to fit the customer’s exact needs. With the combination of the Robosoft’s hardware and software, including ADVANCED Motion Controls DigiFlex Performance high power density servo drives, OEM’s and users can develop new robotic applications much faster than attempting full scale development.
“Motor-drives are the key components in service robotics, this is the gateway between hardware and software,” says Vincent Dupourqué, CEO of ROBOSOFT. “The ADVANCED Motion Controls drives perfectly fit our control software needs, allowing implementation of advanced algorithms for mobile robots and manipulators.”
Additionally, for those customers looking to develop their own control algorithms within Microsoft’s Robotics Development Studio, drivers for ADVANCED Motion Controls’ DigiFlex Performance servo drives, and additional software features, are being developed by Robosoft in the robuBOX and will be available to developers before the end of 2008.
“Flexible mobile robotic platforms with available standards have now come of age. Robosoft’s robuters and robuBOX hardware and software products are proving to be excellent building blocks for companies looking to create their own specific robot designs” says Karl Meier, Marketing Manager of ADVANCED Motion Controls.
About robuBOX
RobuBOX launch took place in mid-2006. Several robots embedding the robuBOX have been deployed since: Estele, the remote tele-echography system already in operation in 4 French Hospitals, robuCAB an automatic vehicle guided by GPS, a mobile robot for construction sites carrying pallets of materials, as well as the off-the-shelf ROBOSOFT robuLAB and robuROC mobile platforms for miscellaneous indoor and outdoor applications.
robuBOX is now available and allows robotics integrators and mass market manufacturers to seamlessly build a variety of advanced robotics solutions using the Microsoft Robotics Studio environment.
About DigiFlex Performanceservo drives
DigiFlex Performance servo drive series, originally launched in early 2007, provides complete OEM flexibility by allowing use of any controller, any motor with any feedback. The product platform continues to set new motion control standards and provides excellent power density for applications requiring compact enclosure. Including both panel and PCB mount versions, many industries are now using these servos: military, homeland security, robotics, semiconductors, machine tool, medical, lab automation, etc.
About ROBOSOFT
ROBOSOFT is the European leader in service robotics. With more than 20 years of recognized scientific and industrial expertise in this field, ROBOSOFT provides advanced robotics solutions for transport, cleaning, surveillance, healthcare and research markets since 1985.
Beyond professional applications, the era of personal robotics is now starting. ROBOSOFT thinks that its service robots called “robuters” will be part of everyday life within 5 years. According to forecasts of Japan Robotics Association: in 2010 worldwide personal and service robotics market will reach 17 billion dollars. Robuters will make easier everybody’s life in activities such as entertainment, education, culture, healthcare, assistance to elderly and handicapped people etc… In order to bring these applications to life, ROBOSOFT already integrates 80% of software complexity in its robuBOX, a software module based on Microsoft Robotics Studio, which is already incorporated in ROBOSOFT’s robots, but can also be licensed to integrators and robots manufacturers for mass production.
About ADVANCED Motion Controls
ADVANCED Motion Controls designs, manufactures and supplies the highest performance servo drives and servo amplifiers available since 1988. From complete PWM servo control to custom servo solutions, ADVANCED Motion Controls provides brushed and brushless motor drives with the latest in digital servo technology. AC servo and DC servo motor controllers are available for general servo automation or specific robotic control. Complete servo motor drive controls are available for: AC and DC brushless servo motors, DC brush type servo motor, linear and rotary servo motors, closed loop vector motors, voice coils, inductive loads and actuators for precise motion systems. Servo drives with networking capabilities for either centralized or distributed motion control servo systems are readily available.
The all new A30 MEMS High Performance Single Axis Accelerometer offers excellent bias with a small light weight form factor and low power. Designed for commercial stabilization and aircraft applications, the unit utilizes standard +5V DC power and has a voltage output.
Continue reading ‘A30 High Performance MEMS Accelerometer’ »
Background
With an annual production of approximately 10 million products a year and manufacturing operations in 12 countries Grundfos is one of the most recognised and respected pump manufacturers in the world. Dedicated to making its products as reliable and durable as possible, Grundfos works with partners, education institutions and suppliers to research and develop the best pump technology for its products. One of the longest relationships of this kind is with Morgan Advanced Ceramics, which supplies the manufacturer with bearings, shafts and washers for its circulator pumps.
Circulator pumps are used in central and district heating systems and domestic service systems. They need to be able to run quietly and consistently for long operational periods - often up to 5,000 hours a year. As part of its on-going work to improve its products, Grundfos realised that the traditional steel-shaft carbon bearings used in the pump were having a direct impact on the pump’s longevity and noise.
Continue reading ‘Ceramic Bearings – Replacing Steel Bearings with Alumina Bearings’ »
In industrial applications, a digital-to-analog (D-to-A) interface may be rather straightforward but the analog-to-digital (A-to-D) converter (ADC) can be a challenge. The capacitive input stage of both delta-sigma and successive approximation register (SAR) interfaces used for the ADC requires signal capture within a limited time frame. An improper signal chain can cause ringing and oscillation and result in inaccurate readings. However, this is just one of many factors to consider when selecting an ADC.
Signal Chain
High-performance ADCs convert the output of an analog sensor to a digital format for a microcontroller or digital signal processor. The selection of the ADC must be part of a systems approach. “When somebody starts a design, you start with the sensor, you see what kind of output impedance it has and you choose an amplifier and resistors around the amplifier and you choose that configuration based on your sensor,” says Chuck Sins, applications engineer, National Semiconductor. “Based on the accuracy of your sensor and what you are ultimately trying to achieve, then I choose the resolution of the ADC.”
MEMS accelerometer wave approaching, says ABI April 15, 2008 — The Nintendo Wii’s motion-sensing remote control and the Apple iPhone’s self-orienting display represent the advance wave of what will be a rising tide of new and innovative uses for tiny MEMS accelerometers, according to ABI Research.
“In the very creative consumer electronics market,” says ABI analyst Doug McEuen, “the sky’s the limit. The growth rate of this market will be determined by the imaginations of designers as they think up innovative and unexpected ways to incorporate accelerometers into new devices. The arrival of another wildly popular consumer product that sells large numbers worldwide could give this market a significant boost.”
“Other major game console manufacturers are following Nintendo’s lead in seeking accelerometer applications for their next-generation products,” he says. “But games are only one use for these specialized devices. They are already widely used in automotive airbag systems (where the high sales volume has helped drive down prices.) They can measure vibration in industrial machinery; they are used in exercise step-counters, and we will see them in growing numbers of other phones and PDAs.”
A relative handful of manufacturers share this high-potential market. A “big three” — Analog Devices, Freescale, and ST Microelectronics — are joined by just a few others, including OKI Semiconductor and Hitachi Metals America.
Mems- Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems from Universal Semiconductor, Inc. USI offers rugged, miniature, and high sensitivity MEMS process capability for manufacture of sensors, transducers, switches, mirrors, and many diverse special custom designed products that go into wide ranging applications from medical to aerospace.
The MEMS integrated sensor chip can be readily combined with a signal conditioning circuitry chip for amplification, offset compensation, linearity improvement, and temperature compensation. All parameters for amplification, offset compensation, linearity improvement, and temperature compensation are stored in an internal EEPROM. No additional components required, simplifies incorporation in to existing systems.
Features: Continue reading ‘Mems- Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems’ »
The DNCE electromechanical rod actuator is a screw driven linear actuator with a nonrotating round piston rod. Based on ISO 6430, DNCE is able to be easily integrated into existing applications using DNC pneumatic cylinders. DNCE electromechanical actuators provide high precision and flexibility making them an ideal motion control solution when positioning accuracy is critical. It can be supplied as either a stand-alone mechanical axis to be mounted to a Festo or third party motor or as part of a complete Festo solution integrated with an MTR-DCI intelligent motor and controller.Motor and mounting attachments ordered separately.
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Carbon cages can hold super-dense volumes of nearly metallic hydrogen. Hydrogen could be a clean, abundant energy source, but it’s difficult to store in bulk.
In new research, materials scientists at Rice University have made the surprising discovery that tiny carbon capsules called buckyballs are so strong they can hold volumes of hydrogen nearly as dense as those at the center of Jupiter.
The research appears on the March 2008 cover of the American Chemical Society’s journal Nano Letters.
Continue reading ‘Tiny buckyballs squeeze hydrogen like giant Jupiter’ »
If you can, imagine a vehicle that runs on air, achieves over 100 gas-equivalent mpg and over 90 mph, has zero to low C02 emissions, seats six, has plenty of space for luggage, cuts no safety corners, and costs no more than an average economy to mid-size vehicle.
This is the expected performance of the revolutionary compressed air vehicle that Zero Pollution Motors (ZPM) is introducing to North America. The vehicle is powered by the Compressed Air Engine (CAE) developed by Motor Development International (MDI), a 15-year old company based in Nice, France, and headed by inventor and Formula One race car engineer, Guy Negre. ZPM is the exclusive representative for MDI in the United States.
Continue reading ‘Pure Driving: The Revolutionary Compressed Air Vehicle’ »
