Rockwell Automation (www.rockwellautomation.com) is proud to announce the release of its component servo drive that avoids the complexity of traditional servos. Capable of delivering an instantaneous torque of up to 12.55Nm and available from 50W to 1.5kW, the Allen-Bradley Kinetix 3 allows axes to be tailored to the actual power requirements of a machine, thus lowering costs and system size.

“Manufacturers are challenged by tougher economic conditions. There is less capital available for new equipment purchases and users expect solutions that are easier to use and also yield greater uptime and return on investment,” said Oliver Haya, product manager of Rockwell. “When combining the new Kinetix 3 servo drive with Allen-Bradley MicroLogix controllers, machine-builders can deliver a cost-effective motion control solution for low-axis count applications, that is simple to use and maintain.”

The servo drive is configured with the Allen-Bradley UltraWare software. Configuration can be made easy by using the automatic motor recognition facilities in Allen-Bradley linear and rotary servo motors. More features include advanced auto-tuning, online vibration suppression, as well as rapid settling time, which cut start-ups by eliminating many steps during the commissioning process. The drive can also index up to 64 points through its digital inputs or via Modbus.

Connected Component Building Blocks technology from Rockwell are used to provide CAD drawings, bills of materials, sample code, operator interface screens and electrical layouts for the drive. Indexing operations for three axes are performed on the Modbus network using Rockwell MicroLogix 1400 controller, TL-Series motors, and Allen-Bradley PanelView component operator interface.