Servo controller/driver module for robotics and automation equipment

TRINAMIC Motion Control GmbH & Co. KG, now part of Maxim Integrated Products, has launched the smallest and lowest-power single-axis servo controller/driver module which includes integrated motion control. The new TMCM-1321 servo controller/driver module facilitates two-phase bipolar stepper motors in robotics and automation equipment to optimise speed and synchronisation of axes for quicker throughput while also reducing power loss by 75%. It provides an onboard magnetic encoder and digital inputs for an optical encoder to simplify servo control for advanced feedback and diagnostics and is over three times smaller in comparison with similar stepper motor solutions.

The module provides linear ramping, Trinamic SixPoint ramping, and advanced S-shaped ramping to speed effective transfer time. The closed-loop technology uses direct feedback to automatically decrease power loss by 75%. With an RS-485 interface and the company's integrated development environment, the module simplifies design and reduces stepper motor size by more than three times.

“When selecting an energy-efficient drive, engineers tend to look at servo drives. However, stepper motors have a considerably higher torque than servo motors of comparable size at low speeds,” said Jonas Proeger, director of Business Management at Trinamic. “This makes stepper motors well-suited to get rid of a costly and inefficient gearbox without losing positioning accuracy when you combine them with closed-loop control: you get the efficiency of a servo motor at the cost of a stepper motor.”