2nd Quarter 2017Electrical switching & drive systems & components
RS Components offers everything engineers need to design, develop and deploy world-class motion control solutions. From adding smart capabilities and upgrading systems, to dealing with sustainability challenges and ongoing maintenance, its huge range of products can meet almost any motion control application. Products come from many of the world’s leading motion control companies, including Festo, Danfoss, Omron, Phoenix Contact, Schneider Electric and ifm.
Conveying is one example. The upgrade of conveying solutions can offer immediate and tangible benefits in terms of throughput, energy usage and long-term service life. Upgrade options include the addition of newer, more intelligent hardware such as QUINT4 power supply units from Phoenix Contact. This intelligence can also improve access to the wider connected enterprise, using IoT-based solutions and capabilities.
Energy efficiency can be tackled through the use of higher efficiency motors such as the IE3 AC motor range from TECO Westinghouse, or the deployment of variable speed drives and inverters to control motor output more intelligently. Products of note include the new VLT FC 280 from Danfoss, which can be easily retrofitted to replace the popular VLT 2800. RS also provides multiple products and services to support predictive maintenance, for example electronic vibration sensors from ifm. These can be used to monitor motor and bearing vibrations in order to identify critical operating states before failures occur.
RS has also extended its stock from Festo, which comprises Festo’s top selling ranges, plus other innovative products such as the EPCO electric cylinder, which has numerous benefits compared to the traditional pneumatic equivalent.
Understanding standby, prime and continuous gensets WEG Africa
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
The increasing reliance of South African businesses on generator sets to mitigate power disruptions highlights a crucial need for proper selection based on specific operational demands. Despite their growing usage, there is still widespread confusion about how to choose the appropriate genset, often leading to inefficient and costly decisions.
Read more...PC-based control for advanced hydrogen storage technology Beckhoff Automation
Editor's Choice Electrical switching & drive systems & components
The proportion of renewable energies from solar, wind and water is rising continuously. However, sufficient storage options are of the essence to use these energies as efficiently as possible. GKN Hydrogen offers a particularly compact and safe option, low-pressure metal hydride hydrogen storage systems with PC-based control from Beckhoff.
Read more...Axiom reaches new heights Axiom Hydraulics
Editor's Choice Electrical switching & drive systems & components
When Rula Bulk Handling could not source a cable tensioner large enough for a new cableway, the engineers knew they had to come up with an inventive solution. After discovering that no such tensioner was immediately available, Rula approached Axiom Hydraulics and ifm to assist with building their own.
Read more...Local range of planetary units SEW-EURODRIVE
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
s SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa actively extends its offerings to customers, the SEW PPK and SEW P2.e industrial gearbox ranges are good examples of solutions that are well suited to the local business environment.
Read more...At least 60 million strokes Horne Technologies
Editor's Choice Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Designing and constructing compact automation systems is one of the core activities of the Austrian machine manufacturer, STIWA. Its modular LTM-CI system has been optimised for small parts assembly. Linear and rotating micromotors from Faulhaber perform key tasks in these systems.
Read more...Innovative five-axis laser precession scanner
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Motion control specialist, Aerotech has launched the AGV5D, an innovative five-axis laser precession scanner specially developed for laser micromachining. This makes it possible to create high-precision bores, contoured slots and other complex geometries with dimensional tolerances in the sub-micrometre range.
Read more...Minetruck with electric drivetrain combines power and innovation
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
The new Minetruck MT66 S eDrive is the first of Epiroc’s large-capacity mine trucks to feature the latest generation electric drivetrain. Along with an upgraded and powerful diesel engine, the hauler combines the cost-effectiveness of a traditional mine truck with the productivity of an electric one, without requiring changes to a mine’s infrastructure.
Read more...Modular hydraulic control blocks for brake actuation
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Electrohydraulic brake release valves are exposed to extreme loads, and can become uncontrollable in the event of a power failure. The experts at WEBER-HYDRAULIK GMBH have developed a practical, modular solution that ensures the safety of construction machinery, and is also suitable for a wide range of other vehicles with hydrostatic drive systems.
Read more...Modular assembly platform for clean manufacturing Beckhoff Automation
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
JR Automation delivers custom automated solutions for numerous industries. It has done this through its scalable, modular automation platform, FlexChassis, which speeds up time to market while cutting costs. The company chose the XTS linear transport system from Beckhoff because of its speed, and modular design that allows for multiple configurations.
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