ServoBelt is shrinking. And for the makers of biomedical machines and lab automation equipment, smaller really is better.

This week at the ATX West Show in Anaheim, we’re showing a line-up of our latest automation systems, including innovative linear and rotary stages for precision motion applications that would otherwise require expensive linear or direct-drive motors. Here’s a look at some of the systems on display:

Based on our proven ServoBelt™ Linear technology, the new ServoBelt™ RA actuator serves as a high-performance, drop-in replacement for applications that have traditionally used rod actuators, pneumatic cylinders or even linear motors. Watch our latest video to learn more.

One of our engineered solutions, this customized biomedical gantry incorporates our ServoBelt™ Light Duty linear stage. We designed this single side drive according to customer specifications and tested it prior to delivery.

With the emergence of self-driving tractors and other robotic systems capable of working the fields, the agriculture industry is ripe for automation. It may be some time before you see any robots wandering freely through a farm field near you, but there are related operations that can easily be automated right now.

With their modular design, LowBoy Linear Motion Stages let you choose the ideal price-to-performance ratio for a variety of applications, which include semiconductor, packaging, medical, assembly, lab automation and industrial machines.

Get all the details you'll need to select and size our linear motion stages. Our new engineering guide features our entire lineup of ServoBelt™ Linear and LowBoyLinear stages, which are suited for a wide variety of high- and medium-precision positioning tasks.  These easy-to-integrate motion stages cover a wide variety of applications—including factory automation, packaging, semiconductor, lab automation and test-and-measurement systems. 

Our new LowBoy Linear Stages are available in five different models—each with a different drive mechanism to address a range of precision, speed and force requirements. The drive choices include air- and iron-core linear motors, two ballscrew options and a lead screw drive. Watch the video to learn more.

We've just made it easier to configure our new SLS Sealed Linear Stages. Our new online configuration tool allows you to select travel length, drive options and accessories in minutes. And if you're ready for a quote, you can send your configuration to our applications engineering team. We'll have a price back to you within 24 hours.

We’re excited to announce our recent feature in Robot Report, a leading source of robotics news, research and information. The article looks at how our automation technology helps reduce labor costs and injuries while improving the efficiency of packaging operations.

Our SLS sealed linear stages have just become more versatile with the introduction of a compact model intended for lighter loads.

The SLS Light measures just 80 x 120-mm, or 60-mm less than our SLS Medium model. The Light version has maximum dynamic payloads of 15 kg for the direct drive linear motor variation and 30 kg for the ball screw version—versus 30 and 100 kg for the comparable SLS Medium models.

Linear stages in industrial settings often suffer from contamination problems. As manufacturing debris, particulate or liquid contaminants work their way into the stage, they can abrade or gum up the drive mechanism and bearings. Our new SLS Sealed Linear Stage keeps contamination outside the stage housing.

Our latest ServoBelt™ linear stage features a new LoopTrack carriage design that allows the stage to span long travel distances in any orientation. This linear stage also allows multiple, independent carriages to share a chassis and bearing rails.

The latest addition to our ServoBelt™ Rotary (SBR) line will debut at the ATX West 2011 Show in Anaheim, Calf., February 8 – 11. The new SBR 50 packs all the advantages of the original SBR 100 into a smaller package that makes it a cost-effective alternative to direct-drive motors in precision, light-duty rotary positioning applications. The new SBR features a through hole of 50 mm, half that of the original SBR but still very large for its overall size. Like the larger SBR 100, which will also be on display at the show, the new model offers a geometric accuracy of 2.5μm TIR or better at any point on the stage and a resolution of 16 arc-sec with a repeatability of ±40 arc-sec. SBR 50 has a gear reduction of 2.68:1.

Watch our latest video, which features one of our senior engineers exercising a two-axis LowBoy linear motion stage. The system includes a ModuSystems MMC controller/stepper drive, Posital absolute encoders, E-stop, power supply and joystick.

From the moment we turned on the first ServoBelt Linear drive, we knew that we had a linear motor killer on our hands. Our non-traditional belt drive offered nearly all the accuracy of a linear motor but cost only a fraction as much money. The one limitation to ServoBelt technology had to do with maximum continuous linear force, which initially topped out at 38 lbf and then increased to 75 lbf.

ServoBelt Linear has gotten some traction in large packaging systems lately. The reason comes down to the fact that our linear motion stages and actuators offer unlimited travel lengths and can support multiple, independently controlled carriages. These features have made it possible to build large Cartesian packaging robots that service multiple packaging machines over distances of more than 30 meters.

“How long does the belt last?” It’s one of the first questions we get when engineers look over our ServoBelt™ Linear stages for the first time. And it’s a natural question to ask since many engineers have had experience with a broken belt drive at one time or another.