Servo drives debut
Automation specialist ABB has launched its first range of servo drives
.
The company claims that the range will save money for OEMs, because of their “flexible construction”.
“They can control any motor, as long as it is AC, and interface to anybody’s control or Scada system,” says ABB Steve Ruddell.
This is possible because the drives are made up of power stages in four frame sizes, a separate control board, memory modules, feedback interfaces, extra I/O modules, and fieldbus modules – all of which plug together.
ABB has styled them ‘machinery drives’ and claims improvements in direct torque control and better selection of feedback devices. They cover the range 0.75 to 45kW.
Target applications include printing, rotary knives, paper and paperboard and film and foil converters – including winding under tension at speeds of up to 130km/h.
The drives are designed to go in control cabinets but there are no current plans to produce versions suitable for external mounting.
