Satek Engineered Components Industry News

Is your equipment's foundation a hidden bio-hazard?

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 14:50:28 GMT

When precision, durability, and customization matter, Martin Levelling Components delivers

When precision, durability, and customization matter, Martin Levelling Components delivers.

You’ve invested millions in high-speed packaging automation. But have you looked at what’s holding it up?

Standard leveling feet are often the most overlooked source of contamination in a facility. Exposed threads and pitted metals aren't just hard to clean—they’re breeding grounds for bacteria.

At Satek, we represent Martin Levelling Components, the world leader in 3-A and USDA-certified hardware. For over 30 years, we’ve been designing and manufacturing adjustable feet and levelling components that support industries ranging from food processing to advanced manufacturing.

Our product range includes:

Hygienic components for cleanroom and food-grade environments
Adjustable feet in stainless steel, galvanized steel, and reinforced polyamide
Anti-vibration solutions for machinery and sensitive equipment

Every product is made in Italy and backed by rigorous quality control and technical support. Our stainless steel range is engineered for the "360° Clean":

No Exposed Threads: Self-draining surfaces and sealed joints.

IP69K Rated: Built to withstand high-pressure, high-temperature washdowns.

Blue Silicone Gaskets: FDA-compliant seals that make inspection instant and easy.

You also get problem solving support for any application, locally. Whether you're designing new equipment or upgrading existing systems, Martin Levelling Components offers the reliability and flexibility you need.

If you have any questions or want to discuss anything, please feel free to schedule a consultation with Satek Engineered Components by clicking/tapping the button below.

K-TEK Capabilities

Mon, 20 May 2024 13:56:32 GMT

Introducing K-Tek manufacturing capabilities. A world class manufacturing plant for large production run stamping to smaller fabricated assemblies

K-TEK offers precision metal stamping, laser processing, bending, weldments, and mechanical assemblies, handling projects from small parts to large assemblies over 250 lbs. Our modern facilities and in-house tooling design ensure quick project launches. With over 50 years of top-quality, on-time delivery, K-TEK is dedicated to exceeding your expectations.

TIDC INDIA’s new state-of-the-art leaf chain manufacturing facility

Fri, 17 May 2024 16:14:50 GMT

This exclusive facility is the only one of its kind in the world.

Welcome to TIDC INDIA’s new state-of-the-art leaf chain manufacturing facility in Chennai, India. This exclusive facility is the only one of its kind globally, specializing in the production of high-quality leaf chains for material handling applications.

White Paper Explains What to Look for When Choosing a Planetary Gearbox for High-Performance Applications

Thu, 09 Nov 2023 14:14:25 GMT

White Paper Explains What to Look for When Choosing a Planetary Gearbox for High-Performance Applications

Planetary gearboxes are a cut above other gearbox types, thanks to a long list of advantages that includes exceptional power density, speed and space savings. But when it comes to high torque, precision, repeatability and backlash-free operation, not all planetary gearboxes are the same.

A new white paper, Planetary Gearbox Considerations for High-Performance Applications, explains why higher-quality planetary gearboxes are often necessary. It also provides an overview of the features that set a top-quality planetary gearbox apart, using Redex planetary gear reducers as examples. With the proper planetary gearbox, you can avoid lost motion or backlash issues in your gearing system.

New Video Shows Redex's Zero-backlash Drives in Action in an Automated Tape Laying Machine

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 18:37:50 GMT

New Video Shows Redex's Zero-backlash Drives in Action in an Automated Tape Laying Machine

This new video presents an automated tape laying (ATL) machine with zero-backlash linear and rotary axes drives for trouble-free direction reversals and excellent tension control.

Load Simulation For Test Bench

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 15:17:29 GMT

Load Simulation For Test Bench

When designing a test bench, Particle brakes made by Merobel™ provide an excellent solution, because of their ability to generate a torque load that is precise, variable and easy to control – at a reasonable cost.

Characterization, design validation, endurance, production, etc.

When designing a test bench, the Particle brake provides an excellent solution to simulate a variable load (resistance torque)

on the motor shaft.

With reproducible and accurate torque fast response time, easy remote control and with low power consumption, Merobel Particle brakes offer an up-to-date and cost effective solution.

Magnetic Particle Technology Principle

The Particle brake powder reacts to the variation of a magnetic field generated by an electromagnetic coil.

Varying the powder’s “viscosity” leads to the control of the torque transmission between the primary and the secondary rotors.

When the secondary r otor is fixed to the equipment frame, the device is acting as a brake, otherwise it’s acting as a clutch.

Merobel Particle brakes offer a compact design providing a large amount of torque relative to a small overall design. Little or no maintenance (by design), and very fast response times (10 to 50 ms). In conjunction with measurement and control systems (depending on the levels of precision required), Particle brakes can comprise the core element of test benches.

This technology is able to produce a reliable, reproducible torque load via a low power analog signal and can also be monitored and controlled via Modbus TCP/IP communication.

The very wide standard range of brakes enables a solution to be found for each requirement. Their design allows them to be linked together, if necessary, and for the addition of a torque sensor if needed.

There are several types of test benches:

The first type are ones used during product development phase. The objective here is to prove the components design by simulating the operating conditions in a laboratory with as much similarity, as possible, to the conditions set out in the design specifications.

The second type is an endurance test bench to prove the component design over time, while optimizing the final design during the manufacturing phase.

The results obtained during the course of these different tests are crucial for the development of preventative maintenance programs.

The third type are the test benches needed during the production phase. This is done to integrate test systems in the manufacturing lines. This is to ensure that the characteristics of the product manufactured meets the customer’s specifications prior to shipment.

For production of actuators and components in mechanical drive systems, the goal of the test bench is to simulate the system load cycles, with repeated cycles of variable torque levels that reproduce the stresses during system service life. In the automotive field, for example, tests can be made to simulate shock loads on steering column systems and drive components, to replicate a vehicle going over a pothole, hitting a curb, or undergoing emergency braking. Moving beyond vehicle drive systems, we can also highlight the elements used to control steering (steering columns and power steering units, etc.), and components such as starter motors, ventilation systems, and other electric motors (wind shield wipers, power windows, side view mirror adjustment, seat adjustment, etc.).

This means that the test benches used to carry out the simulation of operations have to feature a very wide torque levels from 0.05 to 1,000 Nm, and speeds ranging from 10 to 1,500 rpm.

Test Bench Proposed Solution:

Test bench designers, can also call on the expertise of the Redex USA technical team to improve the cost effectiveness of their equipment. Our engineering department uses the latest simulation software needed to evaluate the overall heat dissipation for our customers applications.

Each member of the Redex USA sales and engineering team offers our customers the technical expertise

required to meet their application requirements, custom designs, support and solutions to enhance productivity.

Get in touch with us to learn more about our comprehensive, low cost, viable solutions for test bench applications.

Click here to print the full article.

Redex Gearboxes Help Rotating Radar Systems Scan the Skies

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 17:56:23 GMT

Redex Gearboxes Help Rotating Radar Systems Scan the Skies

Rotating radar systems have proven effective on the battlefield and at sea, helping warfighters track incoming and outgoing missiles. Whether mounted aboard trucks or ships, the antennas used to track these targets revolve by means of a mechanically rotating ring gear and a planetary gearbox. Not only are the antennas heavy, they impose various forces and operate in harsh environments. Together, these factors place significant demands on the gearing components inside the supporting structure. This blog post will highlight the characteristics to look for in gearing components intended for truck-mounted and naval radar systems.

Typical Military Radar Requirements

When the antenna rotates, it sweeps the airspace with a narrow radio wave over a full 360 degrees. The parabolic antenna can transmit and receive linear and circular signals, and it can operate from masts, truck roofs and other portable structures. Some systems are required to reach speeds ranging from 15 to 44 rpm or more. With these challenging requirements, antenna accuracy can suffer without gearboxes that can minimize or eliminate backlash.

Redex planetary gearboxes are ideal for demanding rotating radar and other military applications. For example, our versatile SRP family features exceptional output torsional stiffness, ultra-high output radial stiffness and tilting moment, high input speeds, low inertia, minimal gear frequency noise, excellent acceleration and torque density, and a minimal backlash of one to three arc minutes. Another family — the KRP Series for rack & pinion applications — also offers minimal backlash of one to three arc minutes as a single unit, plus maximum stiffness on the ring gear. Each unit can also integrate with a DualDRIVE or TwinDRIVE Kit as a mechanical or electrically preloaded, respectively, zero-backlash system. Low- or zero-backlash ensures play-free motion for accurate radar tracking.

When you choose Redex planetary gearboxes and Redex USA know-how, you’ll gain the confidence of knowing your gearing components will meet the rigorous demands of rotating radar applications that can otherwise hinder other gear products. They include:

Precision and load support. Our ring gears are available with helical teeth for high accuracy, quiet operation and good load-handling capabilities.
Impacts and shock loads. Shock loading from vehicular operation or wind shear at sea can cause gear teeth to deform or pivot. Redex USA offers induction-hardened gear teeth that can resist deformations, and our engineers can help you select a gearbox size that accounts for the additional loading that comes from wind at sea.
Corrosion prevention. Special coatings — such as Armoloy® or nickel plating — on the ring gear and the pinion provide enhanced protection against corrosion at sea.
Temperature extremes. Redex planetary gearboxes offer a wide operating temperature range and are capable of operating anywhere from the Arctic Circle to the tropics.
Military specifications. We offer factory accessible testing (FAT) to ensure our components meet relevant MIL specifications and certificate of performance requirements.

Durable, Tested Gearing Components

When selecting gear systems for demanding rotating radar installations aboard ships and land-based vehicles, it pays to work with a manufacturer that can offer quality products and service. Redex planetary gearboxes deliver high performance and durability, and they are tested to ensure you meet stringent specifications. Our team stands ready to provide the technical support to help you select an ideal Redex planetary gearbox for your rotating radar application.

Pack Expo | Las Vegas | Neugart

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 22:09:46 GMT

Pack Expo | Las Vegas

Visit Neugart at Pack Expo: Booth SL-6265

Be sure to visit us in the South Hall at Booth #SL-6265 during PACK EXPO 2023, September 11 to 13, at Las Vegas Convention Center.

Our technical staff will be on hand to discuss their positive properties, compact design and their

potential uses in industrial applications.

Understand Key Requirements During Rack and Pinion Selection

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 13:09:01 GMT

Understand Key Requirements During Rack and Pinion Selection

Although rack and pinion is a very well-established technology with a longstanding design, there’s a wide range of differences among products. When implementing a rack and pinion component for your application, you must account for many factors before making your selection. Examples include size, quality number, materials used, the types of gears, contact ratio and pitch, just to name a few. This blog post will provide an overview of the different factors to consider when choosing your rack and pinion system. We’ll also explain why it pays to partner with a manufacturer with a broad selection of modular products to choose from.

Rack and Pinion Selection: Best Practices

In order to select the best rack and pinion drive, ask yourself the following questions about your application:

Will your rack and pinion drive the load in a horizontal or vertical axis?
How much is the mass of the load in kilograms?
What is the required tangential force to move the load?
What is the linear speed requirement in meters per second?
What is the acceleration rate of the mass from point A to point B in meters per second2?
Will the application involve any external forces, such as the cutting force of a machine tool, that must be added to the tangential force?
What is the coefficient of friction? This allows calculation of the friction force.

Also, calculate the sum of the inertial forces (M*A) + external forces, F + friction forces (Newton). This equals the tangential force, which is used to size the rack and pinion.

Be sure to have an understanding of basic rack and pinion concepts. Here are a few concepts to remember using examples from our comprehensive product line:

Straight versus helical racks. Straight racks have teeth parallel to the axis of pinion rotation, and less than two pinion teeth make contact with the rack (contact ratio). Helical racks have teeth that are at an angle to the axis of pinion rotation. They have a contact ratio of >2, which means that two pinion teeth are always in contact with the rack, giving them greater stiffness. They also make less noise at high speeds (>1 meter per second), but create an axial load that requires support from bearings and the machine frame.

Length. At Redex, we offer standard rack lengths up to two meters. Unlike ball screws, which are limited to three meters, our rack and pinion drives are modular. Any required axis length can be achieved by mounting the racks end to end.

Diametrical pitch (P) versus Module (M). In the imperial system, P is the number of teeth/pitch diameter, with units 1/inch. In the metric system, Module M is used and defined as M = pitch diameter in millimeters/number of teeth. The two values are related by P = 25.4/M. Redex specializes in metric module racks.

Quality number. The quality number defines a group of tolerances for all aspects of gear teeth quality including runout, pitch error, profile error, etc. Redex parts are made in accordance with German DIN standards where lower numbers indicate higher quality. We also compare these numbers to the American Gear Manufacturers Association’s (AGMA) quality numbers per standard 2000-A88 where higher numbers indicate higher quality. For example, induction hardened racks with ground teeth are quality DIN 6 corresponding to AGMA 12 and they provide exceptional strength and machine tool-level quality.

Speed. Ball screw linear speed is limited to just 1 meter per second, but a rack can achieve linear speeds up to five meters per second and higher depending on lubrication.

Customization. Not only can you achieve the length you need using modular rack and pinion drives, we can customize your metric rack with different materials, larger modules and special machining.

To learn more about these requirements and obtain answers to your questions, be sure to visit the REDEX FAQ page .

The Right Rack and Pinion Manufacturer Makes a Difference

When it’s time to choose a rack and pinion for your linear axis drive, it pays to work with a manufacturer that offers a wide range of products and customization capabilities. Our systems are available with a standard range of straight (spur), circumferential pitch and helical racks and pinions. The modular rack and pinion drives come in modules of one to 10 millimeters (diametral pitch, P, from 25.4 to 2.54 inches-1) with lengths up to three meters, allowing loads from one to 100,000 pounds to be moved at speeds up to 1,000 feet per second (five meters per second). Six quality levels are available, up to hardened and ground (DIN 5, AGMA 13). This wide range of products, plus customization capabilities, make Redex well-positioned to meet any size, power, speed, quality level and price requirement.

For more information about Redex rack and pinion drives and systems, visit our product page .

Pack Expo | Las Vegas | Redex

Mon, 04 Sep 2023 17:34:20 GMT

Pack Expo | Las Vegas

Visit Redex at Pack Expo: Booth SL-6758

Be sure to visit us in the South Hall at Booth #SL-6758 during PACK EXPO 2023, September 11 to 13, at Las Vegas Convention Center.

Our technical staff will be on hand to discuss your industrial machinery requirements and how our precision motion control components and systems can meet them.

Sizing a Right Angle Gearbox: Tips To Get Started

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 19:19:04 GMT

Sizing a Right Angle Gearbox:

Tips To Get Started

When your equipment calls for a right angle gearbox, proper sizing makes a difference. A wide range of application factors must be considered, or you will face problems down the road. This blog post will provide an overview of three important criteria to consider before sizing your gearbox: target speed, output torque and service factor.

Determine Your Target Speed and Output Torque
To begin sizing, determine the horsepower or torque that must be transmitted in the application. Next, consider how fast the output shaft will turn to meet your requirements. Also review both the axial and radial loads applied to the gearbox shafts.

As power and torque requirements increase, the gearset diameter will also increase to transmit the larger forces. As the gearset grows in diameter, the gearbox housing must grow to accommodate the larger gears. Knowing the power and speed, you can always calculate the torque. Or, by knowing the torque and speed, you can calculate the power.

The formulae for determining torque and horsepower are shown in Table 1 . The axial and radial load ratings can be found in Table 2 .

Table 2

When a right angle gearbox is subjected to a higher torque or horsepower load than its rating, the overload situation will eventually shorten its lifetime. If the overload is mild in severity, the gearbox may operate normally for some period of time before the increased wear makes replacement necessary. Severe overloading can result in damaged bearings, broken gear teeth or both. When the axial or radial load ratings are exceeded, it will shorten the life of the bearing thus reducing the between-gearbox replacement. This is why some gearbox specifiers may be tempted to size the gearbox to the drive motor, resulting in an oversized gearbox.

For example, if the application requires ¾ hp, a motor manufacturer may recommend a 1-hp motor. When it’s time to select the gearbox, the customer may in turn be inclined to select the appropriate gearbox for 1 hp, which may be a unit rated for 1 ½ hp. The gearbox will be capable of transmitting much greater torque than required, but it will come with a higher price tag, size and weight. That’s why it’s important to determine your gearbox’s service factor requirements.

Understand Service Factor
Gearbox manufacturers typically publish charts that account for the working conditions the gearbox is expected to withstand such as hours of service per day and the type of load — uniform and moderate shock. Note that high-shock or impact loads can prematurely damage gear teeth and bearings. If you expect the application to impose non-uniform loads on a gearbox, be sure to consult the manufacturer to determine the appropriate service factor that will account for those loads.

With this information, you can begin sizing a gearbox according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Redex provides step-by-step sizing instructions in the ANGLgear catalog and the new white paper, More Than Just Motor Size: Use Application Information to Size Your Gearbox Correctly .

For more information about sizing Redex ANGLgear right angle gearboxes, download the white paper .