ABB (www.abb.com) has released its latest range of servomotor drive that features a universal encoder interfacing capability, integrated functional safety capability and local motion control programming. Compatible with various Ethernet protocols, the MicroFlex e150 Ethernet servo drive series comes with single phase options providing up to 9A output power.

The feature-rich MicroFlex e150 drive is expected to be popular among OEM machine builders as it offers a remarkably flexible platform for making new machinery designs.

“Machinery OEMs need versatile products, and these new drives have versatility in abundance – without needing to add hardware or choose configuration options,” said David Greensmith of ABB.

“The multi-protocol Ethernet capability and local intelligence mean that the applications potential is truly broad. And the processing performance is spectacular too – offering some 20 times the speed of one of our popular existing generations of smart drives – making it ideal for performance intensive applications such as high-speed labeling.”

ABB said that the new MicroFlex e150 drives are ideally suited for numerous machine automation applications, such as grinding or glue laying, metal cutting machinery (plasma/waterjet) and various common packaging automations that include form/fill/seal. The drives also feature multi-tasking programmability and two high speed registration inputs, making it suitable for speed-intensive applications like labeling.

In addition, the drives can also be fitted with a scalable PLC platform for automation applications, the AC500 PLC. The PLC communicates using a wide range of standard fieldbuses such as EtherCAT, which is an Ethernet based protocol.