ServoBelt™ Linear (SBL) may look like a belt-driven actuator, but it’s much closer to a rack-and-pinion and linear motor system. Instead of those saggy and loose belts that require re-tensioning, the LoopTrack technology allows SBL to maintain constant belt stiffness throughout the entire length of travel.
We’re excited to announce that our latest generation of ServoBelt™ Linear actuators features a design enhancement that simplifies the assembly and installation of our long-travel motion systems — including our gantry and linear robots. The new design also strengthens ServoBelt’s ability to non-destructively withstand high-force events, such as carriage crashes.
In our previous blog post we discussed the mechanical challenges in designing the solar simulator motion system to test NASA’s Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) solar arrays. We designed, engineered and fabricated a custom mobile-robot gantry to reduce system cost and complexity. In addition to addressing stability and lifting challenges as discussed previously, we also addressed construction, mobility and electrical challenges.
NASA’s Artemis Program will send humans back to the moon to establish a lunar ground base and space station. Known as Gateway, the space station will be powered by the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) module, which utilizes large solar arrays of advanced, multi-junction solar cells to generate 60 kilowatts (kW) of power.
Robot transfer units (RTUs) are gaining ground — literally — in many industrial applications. These sophisticated motion systems transport articulated arm and collaborative robots (cobots) along a linear path, adding a seventh axis of movement and extending the robot’s work envelope. Thanks to this increased mobility, the robot can tend to multiple workstations or machines across wide swaths of the factory floor, unlocking a number of benefits.
As part of our series on gantry robots, our last blog post took a deep dive into two important gantry types — the I-formation (I-form) and H-formation (H-form) gantries. Now, let’s dig into cantilever and T-formation (T-form) gantries, along with their features, use cases and design criteria.
Check out this video of two ServoBelt™ Light XY gantry systems "burning in" for use in a biotech application. All our gantries undergo burn-in before they leave the Bell-Everman shop floor to ensure proper motion.
There are many different types of gantry robots, which offer the design flexibility to suit a wide range of automation tasks. Two of the most important types are the I-formation (I-form) and H-formation (H-form) gantries. Let’s take a closer look at both designs, along with some typical applications and design criteria.
We're excited to announce we've recently enhanced the engineering experience for our LowBoy Linear Actuators by adding an online CAD configurator to our website. This new online tool lets you configure your own LowBoy product, generate and interact with a CAD model of your configuration, and then request a quote — all in a few clicks.
We’ve introduced a new multi-axis transfer robot based on our proven ServoBelt™ backlash-free belt drive technology. Called ServoBelt Arc Drive, it features custom designed rotary and tilt axes that precisely position semiconductor glass panels.
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