Motion, Actuators & Drives

Many automation tasks require dedicated motion beyond the robot itself. Servo motors, drives, linear axes, pneumatic cylinders, gear motors and rotary actuators are used in feeders, fixtures, conveyors, handling modules and robotic workcells.

A typical robotic cell contains far more motion than the robot itself: 7th-axis rails, indexers, conveyors, feeders and auxiliary axes. Choosing the right drive technology — servo, stepper, frequency inverter, pneumatic — depends on speed, accuracy, duty cycle and integration with the robot controller.

Gearboxes, harmonic drives and encoders determine the achievable repeatability and stiffness of these auxiliary axes.