There's not much disagreement among motion control companies about what changes in technology have the biggest impact on the use of motors/drives in machine building and performance.
"The advent of distributed control platforms via fieldbuses vs. localized control had the biggest impact on the use of motors/drives in machine building," argues Warren Osak, president of Servo2go.com (www.servo2go.com).
Modern, high-performance fieldbus networks eliminated the bottleneck in communication between drives and the motion control system, adds Joey Stubbs, PE, PMP, North American representative of EtherCat Technology Group (www.ethercat.org).
"It has to be the evolution of the communications interface—allowing drives to become much more flexible and controllable," agrees David Greensmith of Baldor Electric's motion control business unit (www.baldor.com).
"Drives and controllers have enhanced the performance and versatility of motors," concurs Max Wietharn, vice president of sales and marketing for IMS Schneider Electric Motion (www.schneider-electric-motion.us).
It's customization, believes Jay Schultz, product manager, Parker Hannifin (www.parker.com). "Product differentiation is becoming more difficult at the component level and the machine level," he says.
"With the rising cost of energy, variable frequency drive (VFD) use has risen," offers Adam Willwerth, sales and marketing manager at Electro Static Technology (www.est-static.com).
"Cost and ease of use have had huge impacts on the use of motors and drives in machines," adds Joe Kimbrell, motors and drives product manager, AutomationDirect (www.automationdirect.com).
The power of microprocessors and DSPs have been the driver, adds Atef Massoud, motion and drives engineer, Automation Technologies Group, Omron (www.omron247.com).
"The ever-decreasing cost of brushless motors and servo amplifiers allows machine builders to use brushless motors where they would not have been able to afford to in the past," concludes John Walker, vice president of customer service and marketing at Exlar (www.exlar.com).
e100 drive is compatible with EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP, Powerlink, standard TCP/IP networks and the Mint system-building environment. The three-phase drives have a dc bus system to share regenerated power with other axes. With local I/O and CANopen expansion, many drives have option card slots, and include universal encoder feedback input, programmable notch filters to eliminate mechanical resonance effects.
Baldor Electric
479/646-4711
www.baldormotion.com
Direct-drive SGMCS servo motors include six frame sizes in 17 models, ranging from 15 in.-lb peak in a 135 mm diameter package to 5,310 in.-lb peak in 360 mm diameter, up to 500 rpm, 20-bit resolution per rotation and integrated bearings that allow 16,000 lb of axial thrust load and 350 Nm of radial moment load.
Yaskawa
800/yaskawa
www.yaskawa.com
ASRT IP66-rated, direct-drive, sealed rotary stage provides precise angular positioning in hostile environments. Dual large-diameter bearings control tilt-error motion (3 arc sec), moment stiffness, and repeatability (1 arc sec). Maximum rotary speeds are 100–200 rpm, and the unit uses a brushless, slotless motor, so there are no brushes to wear, no gear trains to maintain and high acceleration and high speeds.
Aerotech
412/963-7470
www.aerotech.com
RDD-Series direct-drive, rotary servo motors minimize the need for power transmission devices and can reduce machine complexity, system compliance and energy consumption, while delivering high dynamic performance, fast settling times and better overall load control.
Rockwell Automation
414/328-2000
www.ab.com/motion/servomotors
120 kW module for Acopos mult-servo drives provides inverters and power supply modules with maximum rated values to 165 A. Startup currents are reduced up to 60%, minimizing wire size and fuse/circuit breaker size. Stabilized dc bus means motors have identical characteristics globally, and it eliminates upstream transformers.
B&R Industrial Automation
770/772-0400
www.br-automation.com
IndraDrive Cs Economy low-power servo drive has a compact design and supports SERCOS III. It has a multi-encoder interface, supporting Hiperface, EnDat 2.1 and 2.2, 1Vss, 5 V TTL, and MSM and MSK servo motors, and can be equipped with Safety-On-Board features such as Safe Torque Off and Safe Brake Control
Bosch Rexroth
630/654-0170
www.boschrexroth-us.com/brc
WX gearhead motors with all-steel helical gear trains use synthetic lubricants to produce more torque and operate in a wide temperature range. Forty-eight models provide 12 gear ratios, ranging 4:1 to 312:1, and rated output speeds 658 to 8 rpm used with type 34B, TENV, 1/5 hp (149 W) brushless dc motors.
Bodine Electric
773/478-3515
www.bodine-electric.com
EP7041 Motion Box IP 67-rated module enables EtherCAT motion applications to be implemented directly in the field without a protective control cabinet with its stepper motors up to 50 Vdc and 5 A. An integrated incremental encoder connection permits the implementation of a single servo axis.
Beckhoff Automation
952/890-0000
www.beckhoff.com/EP7041
Self-cooled, high-interia 1FK7 servo motor provides stall torque in the 3–20 Nm range in IP64 or IP65 with IP67 flange protection, with options for plain or keyed shaft, holding brake and 22-bit incremental or absolute encoders. They are configured to interface with Sinumerik CNC and Simotion motion controller for general motion control.
Siemens Industry
800/879 8079
www.usa.siemens.com
VLT low-harmonic drives perform real-time analysis and actively impose currents to ensure the high quality sine waves from the power supply grid. The drives are individually configured according to the customer needs and are available 132–630 kW high overload, 160–710 kW normal overload and 380–480 Vac, 50–60 Hz.
Danfoss Drives
800/432-6367
www.danfossdrives.com
SD17040, SD31045 and SD17060 series stepper drives are certified as UL-listed products, rated for operation in ambient range of 0–50 °C, and are self-contained with their own power supplies, and range 4.0–9.8 Arms of output current. A 230 Vac version is available from AMCI to meet European standards.
AMCI
860/585-1254
www.amci.com
MDrive linear actuators integrate step motor and driver technology in three motor sizes and two shaft styles. They have 12–75 Vdc inputs, nominal load limits to 200 lb, and full (256 x 200) microstepping. Options include a motion control version with integrated programmable controller with RS-485 or CANopen.
Intelligent Motion Systems
860/295-6102
www.imshome.com
IronHorse permanent magnet 56C-frame TENV and TEFC dc motors, available 0.33–2 hp with a base 1800 rpm, are for unfiltered SCR (thyristor)-type 115 or 230 V rectified ac inputs, when used with an appropriate SCR drive, or with PWM, dc drives. They have linear speed/torque characteristics over the entire speed range, high starting torques, reversible rotation and dynamic braking.
AutomationDirect
770/889-2858
www.automationdirect.com/dc-motors
Safety certification for 3G3MX2 ac, open-loop drives allows integration into new or existing safety systems with less hardware and simpler wiring. The drives have 200% at 0.5 Hz, positioning control and built-in Modbus communications. Safety features eliminate need for a redundant dual-contactor setup at the drive output. The built-in safety function is certified to EN60204-1 Stop Category 0.
Omron Industrial Automation
866/88-omron
www.omron247.com
Line of 34 frame integrated brushless servo motors with rated torques to 195 in.-oz has a closed-loop with built-in driver, controller, feedback device and 110/220 Vac universal power supply. Up to 32 index motion profiles in velocity or positioning are integrated with QuickLaunch software. There are five standard models, both high speed (6,900 rpm) and high torque (3,600 rpm).
Bison Gear & Engineering
800/at-bison
www.bisongear.com
KBM frameless, brushless motors come in 14 sizes ranging 60–825 mm in diameter for 240 or 480 Vac operation. On request, windings can be offered for 12 or 24 Vdc. Each frame size has three or four stack lengths. They have encapsulated stator windings for thermal and environmental performance and internal windings are rated for continuous duty operation to 311 °F. Maximum speeds at rated power range of 105–18,600 rpm.
Kollmorgen
540/633-3545
www.kollmorgen.com
ACS355 general machinery drive offers four degrees of environmental protection, control of standard ac induction motors and permanent magnet motors, so up to eight sequences can be created, reducing the need for external logic components. The Safe Torque Off (STO) safety function keeps the drive energized when the motor has been stopped and ensures no torque on the machine.
ABB
262/785-3502
www.abb.com
MoviIMot motor-integrated variable-frequency drive provides vector-oriented motor control and four-quadrant operation to 5 hp. D series includes DR high and premium-efficient motors, bus communications, PC connection for diagnostics and configurable parameters.
SEW Eurodrive
864/439-7537
www.seweurodrive.com
OME series industrial-duty ac motors are three-phase, 208-230/460 V motors available with 1-5 hp and speeds of 3,600, 1,800 and 900 rpm. TEFC T-frame motors have cast-iron frames with a ribbed design and class F insulation. They are inverter-duty capable with a 5:1 speed turndown for variable torque applications and a 2:1 speed turndown for constant torque use.
Omega Engineering
203/359-1660
www.omega.com
D700 compact variable-frequency drive replaces S500E with 150% more motor torque at 1 Hz using general-purpose, magnetic-flux-vector control with an open-loop speed range of 60:1. Communications include Modbus RTU and Mitsubishi's RS-485 programming protocol as standard.
Mitsubishi Electric Automation
847/478-2100
us.mitsubishielectric.com
NEMA-rated, C-Face Motors for Class 1 Group C and D, Class 2 Group F and G locations are UL-listed EPNV (explosion-proof, non-ventilated) motors and have an explosion-proof conduit box and automatic overload protection.
Davis Instrument
800/358-5525
www.davis.com/8002
Intelligent servo module combines motor and amplifier in one package. Cabling system reduces cabinet space requirements and cabling for servos. Motor info is stored on the encoder and automatically communicated to the drive. When a motor is added to the system a fully populated data object is created for use by certified and tested templates.
Elau
847/490 4270
www.elau.com
Athlonix high power-density brush dc motors in a lighter package (15-53 g depending on frame size) with output power up to 9 W have a coreless design with an optimized self-supporting coil and magnetic circuit, and are available in 12, 16 and 22 mm frame sizes.
Portescap
610/235-5499
www.portescap.com
Model 56-2 single-phase ac motor with optional fan cooling is UL-listed, has a NEMA 56 Frame and is for applications to 2 hp and 800–4800 rpm. It integrates a variable-speed drive with an ac induction motor by embedding solid-state switches in the motor armature for built-in speed control and high torque at low speed. The interface accepts 0-10v, serial, or other control signals.
DynaMotors
216/292-7278
www.dynamotors.com
RH radiation-hardened brushless servo motors for rapid acceleration and deceleration in radiation-intensive applications have four standard frame sizes, with continuous output torque ranging 15-400 in.-lb or momentary peak torque of 30-1,000 in.-lb and with rotor inertia of 0.17-36.7 oz-in.2 and continuous output power of 700-7,800 W.
Empire Magnetics
707/584-2801
www.empiremagnetics.com
Tritex II electric actuators have a built-in mechanical converter, eliminating ball screws or gear reducers. With absolute feedback, they eliminate home cycling. They provide 1500 W, ac-powered operation and digital position control, pairing a brushless servo motor with rotary or linear actuation. Software provides 16 programmable indexes and linked moves.
Exlar
952/368-3434
www.exlar.com
Saia Compact Driver is a fully integrated step driver/motor and provides 3-wire operation of 28 mm Saia motors, including linear and rotary step motors. The driver provides 0.1–50 N with a step resolution to 0.021 mm and distances to 150 mm. The device combined with a Saia gearbox provides higher torque and RPM outputs, and increased step resolution from the same driver board.
Johnson Electric
937/454-2345
www.saia-motor-usa.com
XD Indexer Servo Drives can program 32 individual motion profiles, mappable to I/O points, 1 or 2 functions per point, via Modbus/TCP, and can be chained or looped together. Adaptable I/O with 14 inputs and eight outputs can change from position, velocity or torque modes during program execution. Motion can be synchronized with supported machine I/O, allowing for start, stop or trigger speed changes, and user-defined units for axis position speed and acceleration
Ormec
800/656-7632
www.ormec.com
TMdrive-10e2 low-voltage, IGBT-based drives offer higher power in a smaller footprint, and uses heat pipe cooling technology to reduce cooling air-flow and noise. LAN options include TC-net I/O, Profibus-DP, DeviceNet, Modbus RTU, Ethernet Global Data (EGD), and ControlNet. Safety features are per ISO 13849 (Category 3) and IEC 61800-5-2 (SIL 2) standards.
TMEIC GE
540/283-2000
www.tmeicge.com
Quattro line-start, hybrid, permanent-magnet motor has a three-phase distributed stator winding and is more efficient than NEMA Premium induction motors. It operates at synchronous speed regardless of load, providing no I2R losses. It has same frame size as an induction motor, needs no feedback device for speed control, needs no special protection relays, and provides synchronized inverter-driven multi-motor operation.Â
WEG Electric
800/ASK-4WEG
www.weg.net/us
Adjustable-speed drives with Micro Dial provide accurate, repeatable speed settings without ac/dc drives or variable-pitch belt drives. Accepting 0–2000 rpm inputs, output speed is set via hand-wheel adjustment. The drives provide speed control for ¼ to 1-½ hp applications with output torque ratings 12–200 in.-lb, and handle chain, belt and couplings inputs.
Zero-Max
800/533-1731
www.zero-max.com
Alpha i series ac servo motor offers regenerative braking with an input voltage of 400 V. It has a small pulse encoder with 1M pulses/revolution standard, 16M optional. Maximum torque ranges 1-500 Nm and can extend to 3,000 Nm at 400 V with speeds to 6,000 rpm.
GE Intelligent Platforms
800/433-2682
www.ge-ip.com
Altivar 12 variable-speed ac drive for harsh environments has an intuitive user interface, an integrated communications port, user-friendly wheel on the faceplate and optional multi-loader for programming and setup before installation with no special training.
Schneider Electric
888/778-2733
www.us.schneider-electric.com
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