Intelligent and High-performance Positioning Unit

DRIVECOD series positioning units

  • Intelligent and High-performance Positioning Unit
    Intelligent and High-performance Positioning Unit

More and more increasingly modern industries demand
automated production processes with little downtimes to
ensure optimum efficiency, raise productivity and attain
improvements in product quality.

This is at odds with small-batch productionneeds that often drive the market. DRIVECODseries positioning units from Lika Electronicare the complete solution to solve this task,speeding up changeover times, in particularin multi-axis systems and avoiding operators'errors that not seldom afflict the manual positioningoperations. They make it possibleto dramatically reduce the production costsensuring maximum efficiency and speed inpositioning along with the highest precision.DRIVECOD series rotary actuators are designedto integrate into one system a BLDCbrushless motor with an absolute multiturnencoder and a position controller and are offeredwith a variety offieldbus interfaces.

Thus they can be used in a wide range ofapplications in any industrial sector and aresuitable to drive positioning and auxiliaryaxes such as in mold changers, mobile stops,tools changers, filling machines, suction cupsmotion units, conveyor and spindle positioningdevices, applications in packaging &woodworking machineries, among others.

The compact and versatile positioning unit encompassesa 31 W BLDC brushless motor fittedwith planetary gears (T48, T24 and T12 gearratios available) which is capable of providinga nominal torque of up to 5 Nm and a startingtorque of up to 12 Nm. A real 20-bit multiturnabsolute encoder is installed in the output axisand therefore is not affected by the backlasherrors of the gears. It fulfils the double task ofproviding feedback to the drive and measuringinformation to the position controller. It featuresa resolution of 1024 singleturn x 1024multiturn as well as a position accuracyof up to ±0,9° and is able tooutput the absoluteposition informationeven when the shaft is moved after the poweris turned off. It needs no battery.

The controller further integrates many stateof-the-art features for command and controloperational functions. Control operation isachieved through two cascading control loopcycles, the position loop cycle performed at every1 ms and the current loop cycle performedat every 200 μs. The internal trajectory generator(boasting a 64-bit double precision) allowsthe operator to set a new target position valueeven whilst the unit is still reaching the previouslyset one. Finally the following internalcontrol functions are implemented: overtemperature,overcurrent, undervoltage and buscommunication failure (because of a broken ordisconnected cable or a faulty wiring).

RD1xA positioning unit can be easily integratedinto fieldbus networks in any kindof industrial automation system thanks tothe wide range of fieldbus protocols implemented:Profibus-DP, CANopen DS301 andModbus RTU. Profibus and CANopen modelsare further equipped with a Modbus RS-232service serial port. Using a program expresslydeveloped and released by Lika Electronicthe operator can set the working parametersof the device; control manually some movementsand functions; and monitor the workcycles of the unit. The program is supplied forfree and can be installed in any PC fitted witha Windows operating system (Windows XP orlater). In this way you can easily and quicklyprogramme, set up and start the actuator

Graduated in political sciences and international relations in Paris, Anis joined the team in early 2019. Editor for IEN Europe and the new digital magazine AI IEN, he is a new tech enthusiast. Also passionate about sports, music, cultures and languages. 

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