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Multi-axis drive cuts the need for cabinet cooling

01 January, 2006

Multi-axis drive cuts the need for cabinet cooling

At the recent SPS/IPC/Drives show, B&R unveiled a new multi-axis servo drive system designed to minimise heat build-up in switching cabinets, and thus to eliminate the need for fans and climate control systems. The Acoposmulti system achieves this using a combination of techniques including: a high operating efficiency; the removal of heat from the cabinet using feed-through, IP65-rated heatsinks, or water- or oil-cooled cold-plates; and using regenerative feedback to inject braking energy back into the mains rather than dissipating it in braking resistors.

The regenerative power supplies also provide power factor correction which, according to B&R, halves the connected load and power consumption. The supplies can also power other items such as PLCs, PCs and peripherals, thus saving space and resulting in predictable behaviour if power is lost. Devices connected to the common DC bus are provided with open-circuit, short-circuit and overload protection.

The DC bus voltage is kept at a constant level, regardless of the mains supply. B&R says that that this means that machines will operate identically anywhere in the world, without needing extra transformers.

Another claimed attraction of the Acoposmulti is the ease with which connections are made. The drive is simply attached to a mounting plate and two screws are fastened. This forms connections with the power supply and establishes a protective conductor connection, avoiding the need for module-to-module earthing. The motor, encoder and network connections are made using plugs and prefabricated cables.

The drives use the Ethernet PowerLink Safety system to provide Category 3 safety performance including controlled, uncontrolled and secure stops.




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