Servo Drive

A servo drive becomes important once the positioning precision of the equipment begins to have an impact on production output. We first check the motion profile of the application, the load inertia of the application and the required response time in order to select a servo drive. The selection of the servo drive is not solely based upon the motor rating. The acceleration pattern, braking method and communication protocol are the factors that determine the servo drive model. Standalone units can be used for small machines. For synchronized lines, the drives must exchange data with the PLC with no delay.

The servo drives that we stock include Schneider Lexium series devices LXM23, LXM26 and Lexium 32 servo drives that are used for the indexing of tables, the production of packaging and the creation of cut to length applications. The installation of the servo drives should be carried out with consideration of the heat flow in the control panel as opposed to just available space on the DIN rail. This is done to provide proper clearance for airflow for servo drives in continuous positioning applications, as they generate heat at a faster rate than traditional VFD applications. Power cabling and feedback cabling to the Servo Drive must be routed in such a way that the encoder is not disturbed by the power cables.

Setting the parameters of a servo drive is considered an activity associated with commissioning and instantaneous. Examples include Tuning the Motor, Electronic Gearing, Homing Sequence, and Torque Limit – all of which require testing under actual movement as part of the commissioning process. We will also check for fault history, Wiring the External Safety Cut-off, and checking the braking resistor connections for rapid-deceleration operations.

Servo drives operate successfully within the controls of manufacturing/automation functions in the US, including: Maintaining Repeat Positioning; Smooth Transition between Speed; and Maintaining Stable Communications with PLC Panels while Rapidly Changing Cycle Times and Operating under Variable Loads.