Guides

Technology explained

How the technology works: construction, operating principles, control and the engineering trade-offs behind each type of motion component.

How slip rings workA slip ring passes power and signals from a stationary frame to a rotating one through conductive rings that turn against stationary brushes, so cables never wind up.

How electric linear actuators workAn electric linear actuator turns a motor's rotation into straight-line motion, usually through a screw and nut (lead, ball or roller screw) or a toothed belt; a linear motor skips the conversion and drives the load directly.

Closed-loop stepper motors explainedA closed-loop stepper adds an encoder to a hybrid stepper so the drive can detect and correct lost steps, raise current only when the load needs it and alarm on a stall; it lets you size with less torque margin than open loop and run cooler, but a servo still wins at high speed, high torque at speed and with rapidly changing loads.
How servo motors workAn industrial servo motor is a permanent-magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) with an encoder: the drive reads rotor position, commutates the three-phase stator current so it always pulls at right angles to the magnets, and closes current, velocity and position loops around it.
How stepper motors workA stepper motor turns a fixed angle each time its drive switches the current in its windings: a standard two-phase hybrid makes 200 full steps per revolution (1.8°).

Direct-drive torque motors explainedA direct-drive torque motor is a large-diameter, high-pole-count brushless motor bolted straight to the load, with no gearbox or belt.

How strain-wave gears workA strain-wave gear uses an elliptical wave generator to flex a thin toothed flexspline inside a rigid circular spline with two more teeth, so each input turn moves the output back by two teeth.

Encoder interfaces explainedMatch the encoder interface to what the drive accepts first, then to cable length and data needs.

How servo drives workA servo drive converts supply power into a DC bus, then switches that bus into the motor's phases with pulse-width modulation so the winding current follows a command.
Servo drive form factors explainedPut the drive where its heat, wiring and servicing are easiest to manage for your machine.

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