No insulated bearings required

June 2023 Motion Control & Drives

Earthrings has developed the world’s most reliable and co-t effective bearing protection solution, tested and approved by all electric motor manufacturers in South Africa

Earthrings protects all motors up to 400 kW without the use of insulated bearings, insulated housings or any other technology. Earthrings is also the only product in its category that comes with an official 10-year guarantee. Earthrings saves you money and lasts the operating life of your motor, so no unnecessary maintenance or replacement intervals are required. Shaft voltages from variable speed drives (VSDs) are one of the biggest causes of downtime on motors powered by VSDs, but are the least identified. Shaft voltage damage is seen as ‘frosting’ or ‘fluting’ in the bearing, and also as dark, burnt, damaged grease. All electric motor manufacturers around the world advise shaft grounding as a critical and necessary protection on their electric motors.

Further reading:

The mechatronic approach to designing motion as a system
Motion Control & Drives
Mechatronics is something engineers have been working toward for decades, designing machines where the mechanical, electrical and control systems work together as one. What’s changed is the level of sophistication we can now achieve, and the expectation that we should.

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Lowering a steam generator into a nuclear power plant
Motion Control & Drives
With different contractors working on the same site operating a wealth of machinery and equipment, effective planning and communication are critical to ensure a successful nuclear construction project.

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Self-tensioning system improves pump reliability in tough operations
Motion Control & Drives
OST-Africa has developed the E-Base system, which is a precision-engineered belt drive base system, developed to optimise tension, alignment and efficiency in pump and motor applications in mining and heavy industry.

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Building Zayed National Museum with one of the world’s largest land-based crane
Motion Control & Drives
To build Abu Dhabi’s Zayed National Museum, the construction team focused on a modular approach that could reduce work at height, accelerate build time, and limit disruption across an active construction site with multiple trades and tower cranes operating at the same time.

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Positioning system for format changeover in machines
Vepac Electronics Motion Control & Drives
The PSE 30x-8 positioning systems from Vepac are intelligent, compact drives for the automatic adjustment of auxiliary and positioning axes comprising an EC-motor, gear, controller, measuring system and several bus interfaces or IO-Link interface.

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Wind energy in the Black Forest
Motion Control & Drives
For more than 20 years, numerous wind turbines have stood in the Black Forest and are now receiving a performance boost through repowering projects.

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Kollmorgen advances linear motor safety and performance
Motion Control & Drives
Kollmorgen Corporation has released the next update for the SafeMotion Monitor (SMM) firmware, SMM 3.0. This upgrade expands functional safety support for linear motors and linear axes, helping machine builders implement functional safety in industrial applications that require safety.

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PC-based control for additive machine tools
Beckhoff Automation Motion Control & Drives
IRPD is a specialist in additive machine tools. Development is heavily focused on high system throughput and consistently high process quality. This goal was achieved with the help of PC- and EtherCAT-based control and drive technology from Beckhoff.

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Major software release for Parker PSD servo drives
Parker Hannifin - Sales Company South Africa Motion Control & Drives
Parker Hannifin has released its PSD servo drive family delivering new control modes, advanced synchronisation functions and performance optimisations designed to improve throughput, accuracy and system efficiency in demanding industrial applications.

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Robotic positioning system drastically reduces changeover times
Beckhoff Automation Motion Control & Drives
At the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, California, an advanced robotic system by Square One Systems Design and Beckhoff speeds up high-energy physics experiments.

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