Few technologies have contributed as much to industrial productivity as the collection of technologies known as motion control.

From servo and linear motors to drives, actuators, PCs, and PLCs, to name a few, these technologies have collectively revolutionized manufacturing and processing in industries ranging from automotive to packaging and beyond.

Even applications such as rapid prototyping are benefiting from motion control. Minneapolis-based Stratasys, for example, uses Baldor linear motors to help make the three-dimensional plastic prototypes the company produces. Those prototypes speed the process from design to manufacturing.

The applications keep growing-and the technology keeps advancing. An example of each: Kingsbury designed a 10.5-inch Leading Edge Groove thrust actuator that can handle two degrees of freedom to deliver lubricating oil in an industrial application. The design eliminated the need for a flooded cavity, which in turn would have required a seal to maintain the required oil level over the entire 3-inch stroke.

On the technology front, Ventura, CA-based ThinGap Motor Technologies has developed a half-horsepower ".slotless brush-less dc servo motor that uses a new winding technology that eliminates eddy current, hysteresis losses, and cogging. ThinGap says the technology eliminates wire and iron laminations in the stator while using a rotor containing the entire magnetic circuit as it rotates.

There are many other interesting applications and innovations described in this special supplement. Contributing Editor Alien Fresher reports the results of his research and interviews with industry insiders on the future of motion control software and networking.

Also, you'll find reports on the use of motion control in the production of Broadway plays, the winding of fiber optic wire, and the insertion of advertising and other inserts into daily and weekly newspapers. We hope you find the articles useful.

[designnews.com] 06.16.03 Motion Control Supplement S/5