The new actuator control solution (ACS) from Tolomatic is an easy-to-use, low-cost servo or stepper drive and controller developed specifically for use with electric actuators, providing infinite positioning, precise control and longer life. Originally offered as a stepper system, the newly released ACS with servo drive and control provides over 10 times the power of a stepper system, with the same easy-to-use operating modes.

With built-in configurations for all of Tolomatic’s electric actuators, linear motion is quickly and easily created in the desired linear units (mm or inch). The ACS in combination with Tolomatic electric actuators creates a complete, low-cost linear motion system ideal for replacing pneumatic cylinders and for automating manual processes. Applications in food and beverage processing and packaging include volumetric filling, pumping and dispensing. Material handling solutions include gating, sorting, aligning, while applications in general manufacturing processes include cutting, chopping, pick-and-place, press fittings and more.

The ACS Stepper drive and controller was designed specifically for creating single-axis actuator solutions,€ said Aaron Dietrich, director of marketing, Tolomatic. €œCombined with any of Tolomatic’€™s electric actuator products, the entire axis of motion is available from one supplier.

ACS capabilities

The ACS servo and stepper drives are intended to be controlled from a PLC or master controller via 24 Vdc digital I/O, 0-10 Vdc or 4-20ma analog I/O, Ethernet or Modbus RTU over RS-485 (Ethernet/IP or Modbus TCP protocols).

The ACS servo or stepper drives are capable of infinite position capability through a variety of operating modes. In Ethernet mode, daisy chaining or star topology support Ethernet/IP or Modbus TCP. With these two Ethernet protocols, the ACS drive can be driven by just about any PLC in the world.

Additional modes include Pneumatic Mode, which allows the system to replace pneumatic logic without re-programming the PLC by simply configuring position and velocity for 2 or 3 positions. The Index Move mode allows the user to configure 16 moves as absolute, incremental, jog, force, or home moves for maximum flexibility. The Analog Position mode is controlled by a 0-10Vdc or 4-20ma analog input, and has an option to mirror the position via 0-10Vdc or 4-20ma analog output.

Every operating mode offers adjustable motion profile parameters (position, velocity, acceleration/deceleration, force) that are independently configurable for each move. The ACS servo drive/controller operates on 10-60 Vdc bus and is offered with a wide variety of Nema 23- or 34-frame servo motors. The ACS stepper drive/controller operates on 24Vdc and is offered with a wide variety of Nema 11, 17 and 23 frame stepper motors. The digital I/O is configurable in either 24 VDC Opto-Isolated, NPN or PNP.

The Tolomatic Motion Interface User Guide is a 53-page manual describing functionality and features of the Tolomatic Interface software for use with the ACS Stepper Drive/Controller.

Tolomatic
www.tolomatic.com