Software simplifies drive design and commissioning.
Designing a positioning drive system from scratch and successfully commissioning it is an involved and time-consuming process which poses challenges for many engineers.
Appropriate drive technologies and components must be selected from toothed belt drives, spindle drives, servo motors, stepper motors, ball bearing guides and plain-bearing guides. Components need to be sized correctly and their mechanical interfaces need to be compatible.
Once the system has been successfully assembled it must be programmed or configured, documented, and safely and speedily commissioned.
Industrial applications increasingly require drive solutions offering high-speed and accuracy
Positioning Drives software
To simplify the selection of the best possible solution and associated components, mechatronics specialist, Festo, has developed the Positioning Drives software program that reliably and conveniently calculates the optimum electric drive system for an application.
The program quickly and accurately calculates the characteristic load values for the selected drive in just four work steps. Users input the application parameters such as mass, stroke, precision and required cycle times, edit the positioning cycles and select the required solution package. The software then outputs the detailed results such as motion profiles, characteristic load values, system and product data and a parts list. Users can use these details for their orders and machine documentation.
Commissioning software
Once the design has been completed and the components are mounted – both in the field and in the selected test arrangement – the commissioning work step is carried out. This can be a real problem in many automation units, particularly with a mixture of components. For Festo electric drives, however, there is the user-friendly Festo Configuration Tool (FCT) software solution. This provides a simple, integrated solution for commissioning electric drives, including documentation and archiving. As the drive functionality is implemented through the function chain from the controller to the motor to the axis, this software systematically synchronises these components, including automatic transfer of all physical characteristics of the electric drive.
Smarter motor technology for high-performance industrial automation Adroit Technologies
Motion Control & Drives
Adroit Technologies is bringing Mitsubishi Electric’s EM-A series permanent magnet motors to Africa, offering servo-like speed and position control at a lower cost by combining patented sensorless control with the FR-E800 inverter to eliminate encoders while achieving IE5 efficiency.
Read more...A smarter approach to simplifying motion architecture
Motion Control & Drives
n motion system design, the wiring and drive placement between motor and drive are often decided by default, yet they shape a machine’s cost, footprint and adaptability. Kollmorgen sets out how single-cable and decentralised architectures simplify the cabinet.
Read more...Robotic case packer achieves 99% uptime Rockwell Automation
Motion Control & Drives
DCC Automation designed a new robotic case packer for a nutrition supplement manufacturer using delta robots and a unified Rockwell Automation control platform, cutting changeover time from 45 minutes to 5 minutes, and achieving 99 to 99,5% uptime against the previous 10% per-shift downtime.
Read more...igus puts 3D-printed wear materials to the test igus
Motion Control & Drives
A new igus white paper compares its tribological iglidur 3D-printing materials directly with conventional POM, reporting lower wear, more stable friction and up to ten times longer service life in gear testing for customised, low-volume and replacement components.
Read more...SEW-EURODRIVE’s expanded local engineering capability SEW-EURODRIVE
Editor's Choice Motion Control & Drives
At Electra Mining Africa, SEW-EURODRIVE demonstrated how its expanded local engineering capability, digital technologies and lifecycle support strategy help customers improve reliability, energy efficiency and total cost of ownership across the full life of their drive assets.
Read more...Latest Danfoss automation drive Bearing Man Group t/a BMG
Motion Control & Drives
BMG has launched the Danfoss iC7-Automation enclosed variable speed drive range in South Africa, backed by significant local stockholding of 400 V models up to 710 kW, approved warranty workshops, and DrivePro digital asset management support.
Read more...Severe-duty workhorses powering mining
Motion Control & Drives
Mining machines such as rock crushers, pumps and conveyors need motors that combine high torque with robust enclosures, seals and cooling. WEG Africa explains how severe-duty motors deliver more than a decade of reliable performance in harsh conditions while meeting modern energy-efficiency standards.
Read more...Looking beyond the spec sheet when choosing motion architecture
Motion Control & Drives
When machine builders focus only on torque, speed and price, engineering time, integration effort and long-term maintainability get overlooked. Kollmorgen explains how thinking at the system level, not the component level, leads to better motion architecture choices.
Read more...Economy drive system closes the drive gap in the entry-level segment Beckhoff Automation
Editor's Choice Motion Control & Drives
Beckhoff has launched an economy drive system pairing its new AX1000 servo drive and AM1000 servomotor with the AF1000 dual-axis variable frequency drive on a shared EtherCAT platform, targeting series machines and price-sensitive markets without sacrificing TwinCAT integration or functional safety.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.
printer friendly version