The Special Astrophysical Observatory is a research institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It is located in the northern part of the Caucasus and uses SEW-Eurodrive drives. This giant optical telescope was built more than 25 years ago, and until the early 1990s it was the world's largest reflecting telescope - with a 6 m diameter reflecting mirror.
Now several of its drive components have to be optimised to enable the telescope to meet the requirements for participation in an international research project. The SEW servomotors and controllers which have been installed to move the telescope are coupled to a heavy Russian precision gear unit weighing several tons.
The drives have to meet the exacting requirements for precise and smooth movement, regardless of their speed. The angular deviation of the telescope's motion must be less than 0,15 arc seconds. Such a tight tolerance is difficult to imagine, given an object with a height of 42 m.
The motion control system is equipped with a triple-loop configuration of high-precision absolute encoders (also made in Russia). These are connected to a powerful computer in the main control circuit. Both telescope axes (azimuth and elevation) have already been fitted with SEW drives. The technical data for the azimuth axis drives are well within the criteria specified by the customer. The drives have been operating without problems for more than a year now.
The drive for the elevation axis is currently undergoing trials. The first test results indicate that it too will meet the technical requirements. A special report submitted to the Russian Academy of Sciences praised the quality of the SEW components and recommended them for use in similar projects.
For more information contact Carrina Davies, SEW-Eurodrive, 011 248 7000.
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