Thinking Outside the Cabinet: Rockwell Introduces Direct-Mount Servo Drives

Direct-Mount Servo Drives

Servo motors are a great way to add motion to your automated application. Servo motors are accurate and fast but require a servo drive to provide the correct voltage at the correct frequency. 

 

New servo drives from Allen-Bradly have been right-sized for direct mounting to machines and servo motors. Image used courtesy of Rockwell Automation 

 

Typically servo drives are installed inside a control cabinet. The drives require a specific ventilation space and good electrical grounding. Some drives can accept two, and as many as four motors per drive. However, most of the time each motor will be connected to a single drive. As generally configured, servo drives can take up a lot of space within a typical control cabinet. Offering a compact solution to overcome these issues, Rockwell Automation recently released its new line of Allen-Bradley ArmorKinetix servo drives, designed to be attached directly to the servo motor or installed on the machine.

 

ArmorKinetix: Designed For the Field

For years the Kinetix 5700 servo drive has been a staple in the automation industry for controlling Allen-Bradley servo motors. They integrate into Rockwell Automation’s studio 5000 logix designer and are capable of built-in Clean-In-Place (CIP) safety with a SIL 3 rating. What’s new is Rockwell Automation and Allen-Bradley have taken this platform to a whole new space –- outside the cabinet.

The ArmorKinetix drives are designed and certified to be installed in the field, on machines, as well as the motor itself. There are two models: One that connects directly to the motor and the other capable of being mounted on a wall or panel. Both versions are available in 200 or 400 V and IP 66/67 rated. 

The ArmorKinetix line supports Device Level Ring which allows for connecting multiple drives and drive/motor combinations in series. The servo motor and drive combination comes with a standard encoder with the option of adding a SIL 2-rated encode and a holding brake. The devices also support motor frame sizes from 75mm to 130mm. The stand-alone version has an advanced integrated SIL 3 encoder and both units support CIP safety signals. The unit's rear panel has LED status lights to provide quick, visual servo-drive updates. 

 

Compact and ready to mount, ArmorKinetix servo drives are perfect for those thinking outside the cabinet.  Image used courtesy of Rockwell Automation

 

Servo Motor Drive Applications

As the value of factory floor space continues to rise, so does the necessity to use it efficiently and glean the most productivity out of it per square foot. Equipment manufacturers are constantly being pushed to reduce the size of machine footprints. Servo drives have a reputation for “hogging” space inside an electrical cabinet. Allen-Bradley’s ArmorKinetix line allows system engineers more mounting options and fewer spacing issues. 

A great application for this drive is on equipment that is very long and narrow. Equipment that cannot afford a wide footprint needs to maximize the length as much as possible. Typically this means multiple electrical cabinets with drives in each cabinet. This style of design can take up quite a bit of space. By using a compact drive and motor combination, designers can easily reduce the size and (potentially) the number of cabinets on the line. 

Although this concept is not new, Rockwell’s innovation is. Based on the popular Kinetix platform, ArmorKinetix servo drives keep existing code structures and design practices in place while providing a smart, compact servo motor control solution.