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Glossary Terms

Electric Linear Motion

Rodless screw and belt drive actuators, rod style screw and belt drive actuators, brushless servo motors and controls

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Voltage produced across a motor winding due to the winding turns being cut by a magnetic field. This voltage is directly proportional to rotor velocity and is opposite in polarity to the applied voltage.

Bending Moment

Equivalent torque produced by a force displaced by a known distance from the carriage. Ex. Mx, My, Mz, Fz

Backlash

Linear distance which is lost in positioning the nut or carrier when the screw direction of rotation changes.

Ball Screw/Nut

Screw and nut design utilizing a nut that contains one or more circuits of recirculating steel balls which roll between the screw and nut.

Baud Rate

Number of binary bits transmitted per second in a serial communication system.

Breakaway Torque

Torque required to start an actuator in motion. In an electric actuator, this consists primarily of the torque to overcome the preload of the lead screw nut assembly and the static friction of the carrier bearings.

Brushless DC Servo

Motor/drive that generates trapezoidal motor currents and trapezoidal back EMF in a brushless motor.