In-Motion Blog

We might not manufacture motors at ADVANCED Motion Controls, but we work with them every day and build servo drives to make them run, so you might say we know a thing or two about them. We take a lot of pride in being able to serve any application, and that means we have a drive for just about every…

3D printing used to be an abstract concept. It was something out of science fiction. Or it was what a child thought would happen when they put their favorite toy under the lid of their parent's copier and expected another one to come out...no? Just me? Today, 3D printing is very much a real thing. What was once rare and…

The year is half over and it seems like a great time to review the servo drive trends we've seen so far in 2019 and to go over what we expect to see for the rest of the year. Latest Trends Smaller Miniaturization has been an ongoing trend for at least 15 years and so far 2019 hasn't disappointed.  Warehouse…

Above all else, military and aerospace equipment needs to be reliable and responsive when in the line of duty. Because of this, ADVANCED Motion Controls® has become a trusted motion control supplier for many defense contractors. Using logic controls, robust system architectures, and custom-built servo drives, our products offer the defense industry far more flexibility in control, allowing for advanced…

Automation is the way of the future,  and it relies heavily on the motion control industry. That's why ADVANCED Motion Controls® offers an automation architecture designed to answer the growing complexities of motion control systems. At first glance, Click&Move looks like a software package. It's not just software; it's a complete control system. What Can Click&Move do? Whether it's completing…

Servo drives for medical devices need to meet stringent requirements to be cleared to work in hospitals. That's why ADVANCED Motion Controls manufactures servo drives for MRI and diagnostic imaging that are a breed apart. Medical devices and the servo drives installed in them need to meet high standards. Primarily, servo drives must be reliable enough to maintain operation of…

When dealing with a digital servo drive system, the last thing you want is network bus traffic and interference impeding your machine's ability to operate efficiently. Smart servo drives can take the load off the controller and the network by closing the feedback loops on their end instead. However, different tasks are best suited for different drive-operating modes, and that…

Servo drives are not simple pieces of equipment, and they certainly aren't everyone's game. Some machine-building companies think they can save money by designing their own servo drives in-house, but the time and monetary investment often isn't worth it. In many cases, we've seen these companies come to us because their own design lacked the required features and reliability. We…

You can't afford to be bogged down in the technical aspects of configuring your digital servo drive, especially if they aren't your area of expertise. Servo drive configuration can be quite complicated and oftentimes require multiple trials to identify and rectify problems in commutation, tuning, etc. Any downtime spent trying to configure and troubleshoot a bad robotic arm, printer, or…

The entertainment industry blends an unconventional mix of art, physics and engineering to create experiences that viewers will never forget. Behind the scenes of your favorite movies, plays, and rides, motion control applications are actively assisting in creating unforgettable moments that you might not even realize. So what do movie studios and amusement parks use to make these motion control…

The primary responsibility of a power supply is to convert AC voltage to DC voltage. Most electronic devices you plug into the wall require this. But when linear supplies have a low power factor, it can introduce harmonic current into the system. With enough devices hooked up to a grid, the cumulative effect of this can lead to significant harmonic…

When searching for components for your motion control application, don't settle for a packaged solution that doesn't offer the customization and modularity  that you require. Choose the best components for your application with a "best in breed" solution. What does best in breed mean? There are two schools of thought for purchasing motion control equipment. You can purchase your components…

In many motion control applications, such as robotics and automated manufacturing, tracking shaft position is critical to ensuring the smooth operation of the devices at work. One of the best solutions is the implementation of position feedback in encoders to account for precise positioning at any point during shaft rotation. Feedback is simply a signal sent back to a servo…

While often simple in appearance, gantry systems often require sophisticated designs with linear motors and servo drives to operate with high speed and precision. Whether it's a low travel gantry system or a fully automated, high acceleration model, servo control solutions provide the precision, speed, and intelligence necessary to power your application. What is a Gantry System? As a general…

ADVANCED Motion Controls began with a few simple analog servo drives that were designed on a kitchen table in 1987. Later in the 90s, we began manufacturing our very own line of off-the-shelf digital servo drives for more sophisticated applications. Nowadays, we offer custom servo drives and off-the-shelf products for virtually every industry, from autonomous mobile robots and automated guided…