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Drives are delivering on the promise of distributed control
Design News Staff -- Design News, November 3, 2008
Product design for new servo drives is focused on lowering costs, more compact footprints and options that combine flexibility with ways to implement distributed motion control solutions. By leveraging the processing technology available in new digital signal processors, ASICs and FPGAs, drives are more intelligent and are making distributed control architectures a reality.
Drives are much more than power amplifiers and the trends point toward an increasing role as position controllers and intelligent building blocks for distributed control. Configurable options are making it easier to flexibly control I/O, select modes of operation and specify feedback.
DIGITAX ST SERVO DRIVES
A new range of servo drives from Control Techniques provides connectivity, feedback options, intelligence and advanced functionality. The Digitax ST series offers four compact models and compatibility with a comprehensive range of click-in function and communication modules.
The drive's flat-sided construction allows high packing density for multiple axes. Other features such as the onboard motion and automation control, plus a “Safe Torque Off” input, reduce the need for external components.
The drive is optimized for servo applications requiring high peak torque and exceptional dynamic response. Four product variants make up the product range — Base, Indexer, EZ Motion and Plus.
SPACE-SAVING R7D-B SERIES SERVO DRIVES
New R7D-B servo drives from Omron Electronics reduce the complexity of applying servo drives, achieving faster start-up and more reliable operation. Real-time auto-tuning and adaptive vibration suppression shortens start-up times. The drives offer power up to 400W and can be matched to the company's R88M-G cylindrical and flat servomotors.
A small footprint reduces control panel space requirements and leaves room for other controls on the same rail. Adaptive vibration suppression reduces the amount of vibration as work travels between positions, shortening positioning time and improving accuracy.
A torque limiting function in the drives allows machine builders to set two torque limits and switch between them to handle applications such as part insertion and pressing for extrusion and embossing.
COMPLETE MACHINE CONTROL
SIMOTION D from Siemens Production Machines is a compact solution that combines drive control, motion control and PLC in a single drive. SIMOTION D allows a drive to provide a range of capabilities that allow it to be used to control an entire machine.
In addition to drive control (servo, vector and VHz), coordinated motion and logic control, SIMOTION D also handles other technology requirements like temperature, force and pressure control. The drives offer a flexible backplane, called DRIVE-CliQ, which allows drive components to be separated (rectifier, inverter and encoder) by up to 100 yards. Users also get the advantages of plug-and-play functionality with automatic component recognition.
PC-MOUNTED SERVO DRIVE UPGRADES MULTI-AXIS DESIGNS
Copley Controls' high power density Accelnet Micro servo drive mounts directly onto OEM circuit boards and delivers 6A peak at 90V for brushless and brush-type servo motors. Board mounting simplifies wiring and power distribution.
The drives work in a wide range of system architectures and are compatible with many kinds of feedback devices. Standard command interfaces are CANopen DSP-402, DeviceNet, ASCII, discrete I/O, stepper, ±10V analog and PWM. The drives offer built-in camming and electronic gearing capabilities.
Copley has developed extensive distributed control software libraries for fast development of multi-axis systems.
SERVO DRIVES TARGET STEPPER APPLICATIONS
SV Series servo drives from Applied Motion Products are compact programmable OEM servo drives designed to make servo systems an option in applications that have historically used steppers.
SV servo drives are available with three flexible control options and come standard with protection against over- and under-voltage, over-temp, motor shorts and motor open phase. The drives deliver up to 7.0A rms continuous or 14.0A rms peak output current from a 24-80V dc power supply. They provide eight digital inputs, four digital outputs and two analog inputs.
SV drives feature a digital PID loop with velocity and acceleration feedforward to maximize position accuracy. A digital DQ current loop with sine commutation delivers smooth, quiet motion while also widening system bandwidth for precise current control. A PID output filter and derivative filter eliminate system resonances; a jerk filter provides jerk-free “S curve” motion.
BASSOON SERVO DRIVE WITH ABSOLUTE ENCODER
Elmo Motion Control's Bassoon with absolute encoder is a servo drive/controller that delivers up to 1.9 KW of continuous power and 3.8 KW peak for ac, dc and linear motors. The Bassoon incorporates highly efficient and super-compact power density products.
Although extremely compact, the new drives offer the dynamics, precision and functionality of much larger servo drives. The new units feature a specification that integrates a position loop and both digital current and digital velocity loops, all with auto tuning adjustment capabilities. It is a smart digital servo drive that gives OEMs the flexibility of operating dc brushed, ac brushless and linear motors.
Fully programmable and flexible, the Bassoon is available as a fully digital position, velocity or current mode amplifier, as a network drive in distributed motion systems using CANopen or as a stand-alone motion controller for single-axis servo control. Using Elmo's software, users can easily perform drive setup, configuration, tuning, analysis and programming.
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