TechBlog

Robotic transporters are key when you want to automate welding of extremely large, heavy parts.  The maximum work envelope radius of an extended-reach robot is about 3-meters (9.84’).  If the parts you are welding require more reach than that, you need to find ways to move the robot to the part to provide optimal torch access to the welds.  A variety of robot transporters are available, and each type lends itself to a particular type of work flow.  How do you decide whether your application is best-suited for a linear floor- or wall-mounted track, linear overhead gantry or radial transport beam solution? 

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Robotic Transporter

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Lab-on-a-Chip

Color coding: This prototype of a new paper diagnostic test from Harvard University analyzes the glucose (left well) and protein (right well) content of urine; the top well is a control for the glucose assay. The beige part of the test paper has been treated with a hydrophobic polymer that channels the liquid into the wells. In this test, the paper was dipped in an artificial urine solution that contained glucose and a protein extracted from cow blood.

By taking advantage of the natural movement of liquid through paper, researchers at Harvard’s Whitesides Research Group may have found a way to make microfluidics technology much cheaper. The result could be disposable diagnostic tests simple and abundant enough for use in the developing world.

The field of microfluidics deals with the precise manipulation of tiny quantities of liquid. One of its most promising applications is the so-called lab-on-a-chip, which can work with much smaller fluid samples than larger devices require, potentially allowing for more portable diagnostic tools. But existing microfluidic chips are generally made from comparatively expensive materials like silicon, glass, or plastic and have tiny pumps and valves that can be difficult to manufacture.

Continue reading ‘Lab-on-a-Chip Made of Paper’ »

The same nanotech approaches being explored to deliver drugs exactly to the cells where they are needed also provide a technology base that might lead to permanent enhancements of human metabolism. Excerpts from “Cell ‘organs’ get plastic upgrades“, by Tamsin Osborne at NewScientist.com news service:

Human cells could have their metabolisms upgraded without altering their genes by inserting tiny plastic packages of enzymes, Swiss researchers have shown. They hope the technique could allow advanced cancer therapies, or even upgrade a person’s metabolism.

Continue reading ‘Artificial organelles: nanotechnology beyond simple drug delivery’ »

Engineers and applied physicists from Harvard University have demonstrated the first room-temperature electrically-pumped semiconductor source of coherent Terahertz (THz) radiation, also known as T-rays. The breakthrough in laser technology, based upon commercially available nanotechnology, has the potential to become a standard Terahertz source to support applications ranging from security screening to chemical sensing.Spearheaded by research associate Mikhail Belkin and Federico Capasso, Robert L. Wallace Professor of Applied Physics and Vinton Hayes Senior Research Fellow in Electrical Engineering, both of Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), the findings will be published in the May 19 issue of Applied Physics Letters. The researchers have also filed for U.S. patents covering the novel device.

Using lasers in the Terahertz spectral range, which covers wavelengths from 30 to 300å, has long presented a major hurdle to engineers. In particular, making electrically pumped room-temperature and thermoelectrically-cooled Terahertz semiconductor lasers has been a major challenge. These devices require cryogenic cooling, greatly limiting their use in everyday applications.

Continue reading ‘Engineers Demonstrate First Room-Temperature Semiconductor Source Of Coherent Terahertz Radiation’ »

Ortech has a wide range of Technical Ceramics Materials to offer. Each one with its own unique characteristics designed to meet the requirements of many diverse applications. Some of the more widely used materials are described below.

Continue reading ‘Technical Ceramics Materials’ »

Nanomotion introduces the new EDGE motor, one of the smallest ceramic servo motors
in the industrial market. The EGDE motor provides 30 grams of thrust with a maximum
operating velocity of 150mm/sec. Capable of driving linear or rotary motion, the EDGE
is well suited for applications in Aerospace & Military, Medical Devices, and Industrial
Automation.

The Edge motor weighs .6 grams and operates at 8 Vrms. It is supported by
Nanomotion’s dual axis ASIC which can function as a drive and control. The Edge
motor is ideal for shutter/aperture control, small medical pumps, grippers, and other
devices.

These cards Comply with MD1 low profile card size, suit slim line PC Applications.

One to eight port cards are available for RS-232 applications; one or two port cards for RS-422/485. Use RS-422 to extend range, RS-485 to extend range and provide multi-drop ability.DB9 connectors offer positive thumbscrew locking, more robust than phone jack connectors. One port model has port on faceplate. Two, four and eight port models include fan-out cables.Operate on both 3.3 and 5 volt PCI, as well as PCI-X buses. Maximum baud rate on most models is 460.8 kbps (Model QSCLP-100 has a maximum baud rate of 921.6 kbps). Support Win 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Linux and OS/2.Unique Benefits:

• Low profile to fit slim-line PCs
• Available with 1 to 4 ports
• Choose RS-232 or RS-422/485 models
• Compatible with 5V and 3.3V PCI bus signals
• Positive connecting DB9 ports
• Includes standard PCI (full-height) bracket

Continue reading ‘Change Serial Port to PCI’ »

The tiniest endoscope yet takes 30 two-megapixel images per second and offloads them wirelessly. See how it works inside the body in an animation

Sayaka Endoscope Capsule: In situ, in your gut Photo by Medi-Mation

Continue reading ‘How It Works: The Endoscope Camera in a Pill’ »

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’ »

In 1981, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back featured a scene in which autonomous robotic surgeons attached a mechanical hand to Luke Skywalker after his climactic battle with Darth Vader. Real-life autonomous robotic surgeons are still just fiction, but a new breed of medical machines is taking advantage of robotic concepts to aide surgeons with complex medical procedures. Combining sophisticated and reliable electronic control systems and high-level design software with advanced mechanical elements has improved procedural safety and patient comfort level.
The improved medical machines are the result of applying a system-level approach to designing electromechanical systems. This system-level approach, called mechatronics, merges mechanical, electrical, control system, and embedded software design. It represents an industry-wide effort to improve the design process by integrating the best-available development practices and technologies to streamline the design, prototype, and deployment stages. By using system-level design software, domain experts, scientists, and doctors, who have expertise in medical procedures but necessarily programming, can develop medical machines themselves. With this approach, they can reliably develop, test, and validate complex robotic control systems. This opens up a new class of safety-critical applications that were previously out of reach of computer technology. The University of Nebraska Medical Center, OptiMedica, and Lebanese University have all developed surgical devices that have benefited from a mechatronics approach to development.

University of Nebraska Medical Center – da Vinci Surgical System

Continue reading ‘Robotic Surgery Moves from Science Fiction to Reality’ »