Single Connector Serves Servo Motor

Design consolidates two cables into one connector

By Design News Staff -- Design News, October 23, 2006

Two separate cables, one for power and one for feedback signals, and two connectors have been the accepted norm for servo motor connections. As servo motors have shrunk in size, the connector situation has stayed essentially the same. “In some cases, you would have stepper motors with circular connectors that were much too large,” says Olivier Miller, marketing manager responsible for the strategy and business development of the industrial market segment at ITT Cannon. “The cost was proportionately getting larger and larger.”

Two years ago, ITT asked its customers to define the ideal connector solution for servo motors. Taking the customers' input, the company created a connector that merges both cables into a single housing. As a result, the Cm3 connector matches the shrinking that has been occurring for the rest of the motor.

Measuring 99 (0.39) × 41 (1.6) × 21 (0.8) mm (inches), the Cm3 targets stepper motors below 100 mm with flange sizes of 60 × 60 mm or smaller. The connector has variable shielding from a movable metal wall that separates the signal and power portions. The housing contains one power and three feedback insulators separated by the metal shielding wall. If more power contacts are required for brake operation, the wall can be moved.

Packaged in a die cast zinc shell, Fluor rubber seals provide IP67 sealing. Units are shock-resistant with a first-make/last-break power ground contact electrically connected to the shell. Smaller than conventional circular connectors, the single Cm3 weighs 50 percent less and provides simpler connecting and disconnecting for faster installation and less maintenance. The connector targets servo motor applications in factory automation, material handling, industrial motion control and robotics.

CONTACT: Olivier Miller, ITT Cannon E-mail: Olivier.Miller@itt.com

For more information on the Cm3 Connector, vist ITT Industries.




	The sealed Cm3 connector has seperate, isolated chambers for a servo motor's power and signal contacts.

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