Single-axis PWM digital drive is compact for motion control
Aerotech has produced its third PWM digital drive controller this year, the XC2 PWM. This single-axis motor drive has a narrow compact housing for motion control applications.
The XC2 is compatible with the Automation 3200 motion platform, which uses the HyperWire motion bus (fibre optic interface), and controls brushless and brushed DC motors, voice coil or stepper motors with an operating voltage of up to 100V DC and peak current capacity of 10A.
Digitally closed current and servo control loops provide positioning accuracy and speed stability. Control bandwidths of up to 20kHz are possible with simultaneous control of digital and analogue inputs and outputs, parallel data acquisition, process control and encoder interpolation. This is all in real time, says Aerotech.
The XC2 features safe torque off (STO), as standard, which means the drive torque is switched off during maintenance work. Other features include a data array with over four million 32-bit elements, dedicated inputs for reference and limit switch signals, and improved power monitoring. Square-wave, sinusoidal and absolute encoders are supported. The drive controller accepts square-wave encoder signals with up to 40 million pulses per second. Sinusoidal encoder signals can be interpolated with a factor of up to 16,384 (14 bits) for high resolution position feedback.
Optionally, each single-axis XC2 PWM digital drive can be upgraded with an I/O extension board, significantly increasing the number of I/Os. This add-on board also has a dedicated, position-locked PSO output.
Aerotech is headquartered in Pittsburgh, USA. The private, family-owned, mid-sized company was founded in 1970 by Stephen J. Botos. Aerotech designs and manufactures powerful motion control and positioning systems for industrial, scientific and research customers.
In Germany, the medium-sized company is represented by its own subsidiary, Aerotech GmbH, headquartered in Fürth near Nuremberg, Franconia. In addition to sales and service activities, the Fürth office is also responsible for the customised assembly of positioning systems for the European market.
The high-precision motion solutions are used wherever high throughput is required, e.g. with medical devices and life science applications, in semiconductor and flat screen production, in photonics, automotive, data storage, laser processing, aerospace, electronics manufacturing, as well as in testing and inspection through to assembly.
Aerotech provides technical support and service with its advanced analysis and diagnostic capabilities. If a standard product is not suitable for an individual application, Aerotech’s many years of expertise and experience enable the manufacturer to supply special motion components and systems. The manufacturing capacity for custom applications is complemented by experience in supplying systems for vacuum and clean room operation
