Intelligent Digital Drives connect via FireWire®.
Press Release Summary:
NDrives are offered in 10, 20, and 30 A PWM and linear versions with integral digital and analog I/O, support for square-wave and sive-wave encoders, 100 BASE-T Ethernet interface for I/O expansion, and 400 Mbs FireWire® communication interface. Drives provide deterministic behavior and auto-identification. They are offered with up to 12 opto-isolated outputs and 12 opto-isolated inputs, two 16-bit A/D converters and two 18-bit D/A converters.Original Press Release:
Intelligent Digital Drives Connect Via FireWire®
Drawing upon 30 years of motion control and positioning system design, Aerotech introduces a series of intelligent digital drives with the highest level of integrated functionality available today. This new networked digital drive, the NDrive, is available in 10A, 20A and 30A, PWM and linear versions. The NDrive includes integral digital and analog I/O, support for square-wave and sine-wave encoders, a 100 BASE-T Ethernet interface for I/O expansion, and a 400 Mbs FireWire® communication interface.
NDrives provide deterministic behavior, auto-identification, and easy software setup from the NMotion software controller. Featuring an 80 MHz DSP, the drives have fully digital current, velocity, and position loops that provide higher servo loop bandwidth and improved diagnostics over traditional analog drives. The high-speed FireWire communication interface provides a low-cost networking medium that reduces wiring complexity and greatly simplifies startup and integration.
Support for analog sine-wave encoders is provided through optional onboard encoder multipliers. A hardware-based multiplier provides 2048X interpolation while a software-based multiplier provides up to 65536X interpolation. Both devices have an effective data rate in excess of 2 gigahertz allowing systems with resolutions in the nanometer range to operate at speeds on the order of meters per second.
A high-speed Position Synchronized Output (PSO) option can closely correlate an output signal to the vector displacement of up to three axes for applications such as laser firing or ultrasonic inspection. One to 8 outputs can be fired as a function of position with output latencies on the order of 50 nanoseconds.
The NDrive is available with up to 12 opto-isolated outputs and 12 opto-isolated inputs, two 16-bit A/D converters and two 18-bit D/A converters. An optional 10/100 twisted pair Ethernet port supports the direct connection of low cost, readily available Ethernet I/O modules providing up to an additional 256 I/O points per drive.
To learn more about the NDrive, please contact Ron Rekowski at Aerotech, Inc., 101 Zeta Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15238, (Phone) 412-963-7470, (Fax) 412-963-7459, sales@aerotech.com. An Automation 3200 brochure discussing the NDrive is available on the Aerotech website at www.aerotech.com.
