When a linear or rotary axis must follow a predefined move profile to reach or maintain a precise position, speed, or torque, a closed-loop servo system is often the best choice. Feedback from an encoder — mounted on the motor or directly on the axis — provides information regarding the system’s actual state (position, speed, […]
Servo Drives
Video: Yaskawa GA800 ac drive for industrial applications
In a recent Design World video with my super-smooth colleague Mike Santora, I got the chance to play with a GA800 ac drive demo from Yaskawa America Inc. This VFD includes network communications, embedded functional safety, and easy-to-use tools (including a smartphone app) for configuration and remote access. Yaskawa sent us a sample of the […]
Oriental Motor AZ Series ac input drivers now available with EtherNet/IP
Oriental Motor now offers EtherNet/IP communications on the AZ Series ac input line of stored data network drivers. These AZ Series drivers maintain the features of other AZ Series drivers … and this new communications driver model is compatible with all AZ Series products. AlphaStep AZD (ac input) stepper motor drivers offer superior high-speed performance, […]
Rockwell expands Kinetix 5700 servo system offerings, featuring energy, downtime savings
Industrial companies can rein in energy costs and reduce downtime using two new additions to the Kinetix 5700 servo system from Rockwell Automation. The new Kinetix 5700 regenerative bus supply provides direct energy savings by regenerating excess energy and putting it back on the facility’s grid or making it available for plant-wide use. It also […]
Galil’s EDD EtherCAT slave drives now offers TwinCAT Support
The EDD-3701x EtherCAT slave drive (part of Galil’s EtherCAT Family of products) now communicates seamlessly with any TwinCAT EtherCAT master — as well as with Galil’s DMC-500×0 and DMC-52xx0 EtherCAT master drives. The EDD-3701x drives have the ability to control either brushed or brushless servo motors, steppers, and microstepping motors. The EDD-3701x is also equipped […]
Embedded motion and frameless motors in collaborative robots
Collaborative robots are seeing exponential rise in use. “This trend is a perfect example of the so-called fourth industrial revolution or Industry 4.0 … a term defined by chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab. It’s blurring lines between digital, physical, and biological spheres,” said Jonas Proeger of Trinamic Motion Control. Some of these […]
Selecting servomotors with integrated drives
Although new distributed servo drive systems promise incredible performance, engineers should consider cabling, form factor, and safety integration before standardizing on a platform. Servomotors with integrated drives were groundbreaking technology when they hit the market, but their full potential has rarely been reached. These servomotors are supposed to reduce footprint and commissioning time while increasing […]
Drives and controls for robotics: See them at the 2019 Robotics Summit
In a couple weeks, the 2019 Robotics Summit (focused on the design, development, manufacture, and delivery of commercial robotics) will take place in Boston. It will be co-located with the DeviceTalks event at the Seaport World Trade Center. One display will be an array of precision processing and powering technologies for robotics. Elmo Motion Control […]
ADVANCED Motion Controls debuts family of compact FlexPro digital servo drives
The FE060-25-EM is the first servo drive of the new FlexPro digital drive family from ADVANCED Motion Controls (AMC). Designed with compact form and power density in mind, the micro-sized FE060-25-EM can outperform larger-sized digital servo drives and still be integrated into tight spaces. At just 1.5 x 1 x 0.6 in. (38 x 25 […]
Automate 2019 April 8 through 11: See Elmo Motion Control + future of motion control
Elmo Motion Control a leading provider of motion control technology, will be showcasing its latest innovation during the 2019 Automate tradeshow from April 8-11, 2019 in Chicago … booth #7729. Amongst Elmo’s state-of-the-art products, visitors will find the award-winning Double Gold Twitter servo drive, the Platinum Maestro multi-axis motion controller, and for the first time […]