Aerotech Adds New Servo Drives to XA4 PWM Series

Aerotech is a global supplier of motion control products, including servo drives designed to provide accuracy control of virtually any servo motor on the market. Recently, Aerotech expanded its existing Automation1 XA4 PWM servo drive series to include higher performance options. The new drives include single, dual, and even quad-axis control.

Aerotech’s expanded Automation1 XA4 series drives include enhanced in-position jitter, a more compact design, and up to 4-axis configuration. Image used courtesy of Aerotech

Automation1 XA4 PWM Servo Drives

Designed for machine builders, the newest additions to the XA4 series are compact servo drives capable of controlling up to four axes per drive, reducing required panel space. The XA4 series is available in a single, dual, and four-axes configuration. Because the XA4 series is part of the Automation1 product family, they include the same features as all the other Automation1 drives, including development software and a fiber-optic HyperWire communication bus.

The new XA4 drives come with some additional features found with legacy Automation1 drives, including improved in-position jitter, panel space savings, and I/O expansion.

When a servo motor has reached its commanded position, it will often hunt or jitter to keep its position. Some of this jitter can be turned out of the system by simply adjusting PID gains. The new XA4 drives use a 10 kHz position update loop, meaning the system updates its position so fast that the position jitter is virtually undetectable.

Control cabinets today are constantly being made smaller, and this has driven manufacturers such as Aerotech to develop compact drive systems like the XA4. Compared to Aerotech’s XC4, the XA4 drive uses up to 72% less panel space with its AC version and up to 27% less space with the DC version.

Being able to customize or expand your drive system is an important feature when choosing components for custom automation. The XA4 drive system has new I/O expansion options that allow the drives up to 32 digital inputs or output, 5V/GND pins, auxiliary encoder ports, and sync ports.

Coordinate motion is crucial in systems that require precise, synchronized motion, like in servo gantry systems. Image used courtesy of Festo

Multi-Axis Control

When connecting more than one axis to a drive, you can program coordinated motion paths. These paths give you smoother motions and make your automation equipment look more professional. Like Aerotech’s expanded XA4 drives, drive systems with this capability require advanced and powerful motion control software. Aerotech uses the Automation1 iSMC, which is a PC integration and programming software compatible with the Automation1 Motion Development Kit. With Automation1 iSMC, users can create and execute simple or complex motion programs within this software. End users can also use the Automation1 iSMC software to tune or monitor their servo motor axis system.

Automation1 MachineApps HMI builder. Image used courtesy of Aerotech

Future of Servo Drives

In applications, the equipment you provide to your user might need more customization. For example, you want to give your end user the ability to change motion paths without programming. The Automation1 Motion Development Kit includes the MachineApps HMI Builder, which allows users to develop inductive HMI applications that can be run on a stable Windows PC. The HMI application is stored within the drive, and the MachineApps software application is used on the PC to load the HMI application. This feature allows you to build a servo HMI application with your chosen brand and style without complex PC programming skills.