Advanced servo drives feature EtherCAT networking

Elmo Motion Control’s Platinum series of advanced servo drives feature EtherCAT networking for what is said to deliver “ultra-fast machine synchronised single and multi-axis motion, and industry-leading levels of functional safety”.

With full support from Elmo’s UK distribution partner Heason Technology, the drives are now available with Elmo’s free-to-use Motion Composer2 tool, allowing machine designers to easily develop, test and implement user-specific motion and machine control algorithms as drive level SIL (Software in the Loop) commands.

Integrated as a module within MathWorks Simulink Real Time Workshop, Motion Composer2 features an assortment of servo performance, motion profiling, communications and robot kinematics-based library blocks that are assembled, cross-compiled and downloaded to the Platinum drive.

Performance-optimised algorithm development

Enabling rapid time to market with fast performance-optimised algorithm development, individual library blocks are easily modified, with comprehensive evaluation and system level simulation aided by ELMO’s EASII Application Studio.

The integration with the Real Time Workshop allows access to measurement devices such as inertial sensors, gyros and IMUs as well as a host of machine control I/O devices, hardware components, and sub-systems from a wide range of manufacturers. Users can develop their preferred communication protocols over serial links in real-time and kinematic transformations are easily designed and implemented.

Elmo Motion’s Platinum series covers four intelligent drive designs with single-axis as well as 4- axis servo capability. Through the range, typical continuous power levels to 2 kW and qualitative power levels to 5.0 kW are available (up to 22 kW coming soon). All Platinum series drives feature industry leading processing capability channelled through EtherCAT with cycling down to 100 microseconds.

Unparalleled motion synchronisation

“These impressive cycling rates provide the basis for unparalleled motion synchronisation and the potential for Software in the Loop processing provides a platform for extremely demanding high speed and high throughput motion-centric automation applications across industry, research, and defence,” it is stated. As well as their SIL capability, Platinum series drives also offer comprehensive functional Safety and FSoE certification.

For straightforward application development, ELMO’s EASII Application Studio software also manages EtherCAT configuration, motion configuration, drive tuning, parameter recording, monitoring, and much more.

With several years’ experience with Elmo Motion and supported by its own in-house design and build capability, Heason supplies and supports Elmo’s full range of servo drives and controls as separate motion components or as part of custom-designed motion systems complete with positioning and drive transmission mechanics.