Electric motors are the engines of motion control and automation. A vast range of motion applications makes use of all kinds of motors, from stepper and servo motors to traditional brushed dc motors. Manufacturers are seeing a number of trends in motor design, based on changing industry demands. Below you’ll find what some of the top motor suppliers shared with us about the state of the industry and the trends they’re seeing.
Are you seeing any new trends in stepper motors or stepper-based actuation systems?
Eric Rice
National Marketing Director
Applied Motion Products, Inc.
Stepper motor-based solutions continue to be a solid, lower-cost alternative to servo motors for precise positioning and velocity control applications. Closed-loop control of stepper motors further blurs the line between choosing a servo or stepper motor for a given axis. While adding some complexity for the end user in terms of product selection, the tradeoff is a better fit in terms of price and performance. Closed-loop stepper systems provide greater acceleration rates, more torque, and higher overall system accuracy than conventional, open-loop step motor systems, while retaining most of the cost advantage compared to servo motors. Additionally, the inclusion of multi-turn, absolute encoders; functional safety features like Safe Torque Off (STO); and on-board industrial Ethernet networking, are keeping stepper motors very relevant for many machine builders.
Dunkermotoren
The main trend we see is that customer want to ensure availability of stepper motors independent of global restrictions or trade barriers. Dunkermotoren is offering a new range of NEMA steppers which are designed and manufactured in Europe. We have the ability to combine these steppers with gearboxes and well as feedback devices for an economical servo system substitute.
What about trends in the use of brushed motors?
Dunkermotoren
We see a high demand for brush-type motors. They are robust and simple in commissioning. Our product improvements have focused on increased power density, high environmental protection classes, longer life and suitable controllers.
James Gallant
Director of Operations
ISL Products
We’ve seen a significant uptick in brushed motor usage for a variety of applications. As more applications and processes become automated, brushed motors and gear motors are the most cost-effective option.
What kinds of capabilities do your components or engineered designs incorporate to support functions related to the Internet of Things (IoT) or the Industrial IoT?
Eric Rice
Applied Motion Products, Inc.
The central tenet of the Industrial IoT is connectivity between devices, from the simplest sensor to the most sophisticated machine controller. Motion control solutions must provide this connectivity to the system designer as well. To support users we offer a range of industrial Ethernet protocols to choose from when using our motors and drives. Major protocols such as EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP, EtherCAT, and Profinet are supported directly by the motor and drive, with no gateway or protocol conversion needed between the axis and the network.
Dunkermotoren
Like many field-level components, Dunkermotoren drives are becoming increasingly intelligent. Dunkermotoren uses its many years of experience in smart motor solutions and customer applications to offer suitable IIoT solutions based on these – without customers having to worry about connecting and analyzing motors. The software provided for Edge takes on the function of connecting the various motors to the cloud or providing data for customer applications. At the same time, a device cloud is currently being created that will function as a remote platform independent of location. This enables analytical functions such as the prediction of failure probabilities and remote firmware downloads.
Jake Hatzfeld
Applications Engineer
ISL Products
We have the capability to incorporate, various controllability methods such as encoders and hall effect sensors to allow the motor to be controlled and monitored by other components within the IoT.
Has your company seen increased activity or demand from customers in any specific industries or application areas?
Eric Rice
Applied Motion Products, Inc.
Warehouse and fulfillment automation is growing rapidly with a surge in ecommerce. The trend of ecommerce was already rising steadily when the coronavirus pandemic accelerated that rise significantly. Warehouse and fulfillment centers are working hard to keep up with the trend, which is translating into the development and use of more automation in various areas. We are seeing increased activity in mobile robots, automated storage and retrieval systems, end-of-line packaging machinery, and equipment that augments human labor such as semi-automatic baggers.
Dunkermotoren
There is a strong increasing demand for online orders across all industries. More and more warehouse automation is used in logistics and package handling. Our smart motors with integrated electronics and the hub style gearboxes are used for AGVs. There is also a trend for more automation in the agricultural section due to the rapid global population growth. We see similar trends in the medical sector, not only for direct patient care but also in various medicine delivery systems and pharmaceutical automation.
Has the coronavirus pandemic impacted your business in any significant ways?
Maria Rojas
Mechanical Engineer
ISL Products
ISL Products has been successful during this difficult time with our adaptation to relevant industries that would help combat the spread of COVID-19. Although we have been involved with countless industries for many years, we have seen a particular spike in the robotics industry as well as the HVAC industry. Due to the work-from-home mandates and limited occupancies in offices worldwide, the use of robotics has allowed for production to remain continuous especially in industrial applications. We have seen many new innovations in this industry.
As of more recently, we have also been seeing more hybrid technologies involving the robotics and HVAC industries. The coronavirus outbreak was an unavoidable topic of 2020 and we here at ISL wanted to do our part in combatting the spread of the virus.
We have been working closely with companies involved in disinfection and purification technologies. We have seen a trend on the use of UV-C light technology to eradicate unwanted pathogens and viruses that may be found in the air, surface, and water applications. This technology has existed for decades, but we have seen a drastic spike as of last year where many companies and start-ups are involving themselves in the use of these light waves. We have found UV robotics boom in many applications such as healthcare, sports, commercial, and residential. This, in my opinion, has been one of the most fascinating technologies to arise in the past year.
Dunkermotoren
Dunkermotoren products have been known in the medical industry for many years in diagnostic and direct patient care. Through the pandemic we also had the chance to deliver our products for PPE production. Our sister company MAE in Italy manufactures the perfect product for respirators in the treatment of Covid patients with our advanced BLDC blower technologies.
Do you offer any selector, sizing, or sales software to customers? Or any value-add services or in-house engineering support that you provide to OEMs or customers? Also, how are these tools changing how design engineering is done?
Eric Rice
Applied Motion Products, Inc.
One of the most important services we offer to OEMs has always been our motion control expertise, which we offer as a free service to complement our motion control products. Our team of motion control experts originates in California and spreads out across the United States. This means we can offer local expertise and support to our OEM customers, wherever they are located. This is not something every supplier can provide, especially overseas suppliers with limited personnel in the US. Sometimes this support is something as simple as assistance with product selection. Other times it means the development of a custom product that is tailored to the OEM’s exact requirements. Approximately 1/3 of the products we ship every year is customized to fit an OEM application.
Dunkermotoren
With our Dunkermotoren online configuration tool, we are offering the possibility to easily configure motors, controllers, gearboxes, brakes and encoders. Technical data sheets and 3D models of combinations can easily be generated – that supports engineers to find solutions quickly. Whenever needed, a human consultant is available for chat online. And for our OEM customers we do offer also on-site consultation and commissioning.
James Gallant
Director of Operations
ISL Products
We offer value-added electo-mechanical components that are designed to meet each customer’s specific requirements. We understand that not all applications are the same, so we work with you to design components that are unique to your application. We do this by working within the confines of pre-existing designs, no NRE fees! Our all new “DC Motor / Gear Motor Selection Guide” is a quick and streamlined way for our customers to spec out their exact requirements. Our entire RFQ process has been automated and digitalized to ensure a quick response time.
Filed Under: Warehouse automation, Motion Control Tips
