Industrial Tools & Equipment

Industrial machines are becoming ever more complex with regard to functionality and design, while their size remains the same. FAULHABER motion control systems provide the full range of functions of complete positioning systems with minimum space and wiring requirements.

Application Highlights

Diode lasers

Laser beams can melt and even vaporise metals highly efficiently and very precisely. For this reason, they are increasingly used as a tool for joining components, namely for welding and soldering e.g. in the automotive industry. Normally, laser devices – like conventional welding torches – have a single focal point or "spot". Laserline has now developed multispot optics for laser soldering and welding which also allow particularly difficult materials to be processed. Motors from FAULHABER help to ensure that the spot energy is distributed correctly.

Sensor Screwdriver

Every handyman intuitively knows how to tighten a screw: according to feel. In the hobby room, this is generally sufficient for achieving the correct amount of tightening torque. In industrial production, on the other hand, the demand for secure screw fixing is much greater because the intention is to ensure that the end product remains functional until the end of its service life.

Inkjet labelling system

Where does this cable lead again? An industrial company simply cannot afford this question. Whether it is the power supply for the climate system or the safety circuit for the assembly line, it must be recognised in the switch cabinet at a glance - even ten years after installation. The company Weidmüller from Detmold develops and produces marker systems, among other things, that ensure this. Its inkjet labelling system “PrintJet ADVANCED” is the only device that can print on both metal and plastic (colour) for these purposes. Two FAULHABER motors take care of precise transportation of material through the print unit and fusing unit.

Electric pruning shears

Anyone who has already suffered from mouse arm or tennis elbow knows exactly about the painful and persistent condition that is known in medicine as RSI (injuries due to frequently repeated movement sequences). Even the smallest movement can cause extreme and long-lasting damage to muscles, tendons and nerves, if it is repeated thousands of times. If mouse arm results from operating computers, the equivalent for wine and fruit growers, who must trim countless branches and shoots, is ”shearing arm“.

5-axis CNC unit

There is a clear trend towards making components as small and compact as possible, even in mechatronic components. It saves both raw materials and costs! Even the production of these components has potential for savings. A new compact 5-axle CNC machine is now making the production of complex small components easier. Despite its small size, the use of brushless microdrives means the system can offer all the properties which were previously the domain of larger systems.

Adaptive Wire Feeder

There are various processes available for automated soldering or welding. Whether soldering, induction brazing or laser welding – the weld filler metal is often delivered by wire. However, this is exactly where the difficulty lies. The system must always deliver a reproducible length of filler metal to the correct destination, but without jolting or bending the wire in the process. A new automatic wire feeder driven by a controlled micromotor is now providing a reliable solution to this problem.

Solar wafer production

Modern micro-electronics and photovoltaics “live“ on coated silicon chips. The most cost-effective way to produce them is to cut out individual transistors, CPU chips and solar cells from large units known as silicon wafers. This means that the highly sterile silicon wafer has to be accurately and reproducibly coated with a range of different substances. Special horizontal furnaces are used for this process, as they allow the conditions to be defined exactly for the relevant reaction. High-performance, extremely reliable modern microdrives are perfect for the furnace logistics, i.e. the loading and unloading of furnace pipes and the opening and closing of the furnace doors.

Window wipers

Many processes in chemistry, pharmacy and biotechnology are automatically controlled. Nevertheless, a glimpse into what is happening at the reactor is often desired. As many of the reactor vessels are set up in a potentially explosive area, special requirements apply here. Papenmeier GmbH & Co. KG, in its Lumiglas division, specializes in sight glass assemblies.
In order to guarantee a clear view for automated equipment such as camera monitoring systems, the cleaning processes for the glass also had to be automated. Window wipers with ex-protected micromotors provide the necessary transparency here.
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Weighing System

The weighing of small items at high throughput speeds calls for exceptional precision of all components involved. To ensure reliable processing, even the slightest deviation has to be detected with supreme accuracy. This demands a high degree of synchronized precision when feeding and removing the objects to be measured. The requirements of the industrial scale itself are even more stringent. Neither the conveyor belt nor the drive may cause any disturbing vibrations. Precisely controlled and smooth-running sine wave commutated DC-Servomotors are the perfect solution for such demanding tasks.

Linear positioners

Miniaturization is much in demand. Whether in the field of electronics, mechanical engineering or biology, high demands have to be met in terms of dimensional accuracy of ultra-miniature structures in particular. To be able to measure structures in the sub-micrometer range reliable, specialist know-how is essential; simply adopting a downsized standard solution from the „big world“ is not an option. Linear positioners, permitting tiny increments beneath a measuring probe by means of piezo actuators, have been a tried and proven method for a long time. They do a reliable job even in the nanometer range. One of the disadvantages of them, though, is the low dynamism of their drives and their limited feed length. A patented system comprising a fast DC drive in combination with a high-precision piezo rotary drive mounted on a common spindle has provided a solution to this dilemma. Rapid delivery to the measurement point, then minimal feed rate for maximum resolution over long positioning distances is no longer a problem.

Pressure pulsations

Pressure pulsations in hydraulic systems generate disturbing noise. At the same time, body and fluid borne sound can place the hydraulic system under load. The main causes of it are hydraulic (positive displacement) pumps. As a result, fuel injection pumps in motor vehicles, for example, must be tested for smooth running in the relevant system. In the course of the necessary steep pressure rise to as high as 2000 bar, the pressure pulsations proliferate and may be reflected at line ends. Such reflections disturb precise measurement of the actual pump pulsation. A hydraulic damping resistor powered by a miniature drive prevents such reflections, so enabling accurate test rig measurements.

Laser welding

Joining thin sheets is the domain of the laser. Whether soldering or welding, the seams are always extremely narrow, accurate and durable. The high energy applied at specific points allows impressive welding speeds. However, this performance requires high-precision control and positioning of the laser. A new method involving mechanical scanning enables optimum positioning and rapid set-up.

Hexapod (Micropositioning technology)

The miniaturization of mechanical, electrical and electronic components is one of the key trends dominating research and development activities within the area of drive technology. Small yet high-powered motors are capable of exploiting new opportunities in automation technology. One area that has benefited con-siderably from miniaturized drive systems is micropositioning technology, designed to under-take high-precision tasks in the most varied areas of application. Micropositioning includes basic movements with resolutions in the sub-micrometre range and paths of just a few millimetres up to several hundred millimetres.

Flying-Probe-Systems

In the case of automatic test facilities for electronic circuits, it is becoming increasingly difficult to justify the use of conventional needle-bed adapters. High packing density in conjunction with increasingly short product life cycles often make it impossible to recoup the initial adapter-specific investment. The alternative is the so-called flying probe system, in which test probes are moved to the various test pads. Due to this flexibility, they are particularly suited for the automatic testing of prototypes, in the product launch phase, in the production of relatively small numbers or a large number of many different assemblies, where the costs incurred for needle-bed adapters do not represent a feasible proposition. One of the factors contributing to the further development of flying probes has been state-of-the-art DC servo motors, which provide a high level of functionality, power, and dynamic response in a very small space and are easy to integrate into the application.

Printer-System

Tension is mounting. The first print runs of FAULHABER's latest brochures are literally 'hot off the press' as they emerge from the printing towers and are immediately drawn off the stack in one deft movement. It's an anxious moment. Using standard illumination, expert eyes examine the first finished sheets and check them against the specimen colour proof.

Cutting plotter

Practically all modern products require protective packaging for shipment and handling. Paper remains the number one choice of material because, in the form of cardboard or (corrugated) cartons, it allows a multitude of customized design options. Prototype models are essential for the quick testing of design and functionality of a new design in practice. Making them by hand is too expensive and imprecise. But handy cutting plotters come to the rescue for office use. The state-of-the-art all-rounder converts CAD data directly into finished cut samples.