Performance doesn’t always have to be expensive

"With the new XA4 drive series, we are creating a small revolution in the market for PWM drives and motion controllers," says Simon Smith, European Director at Aerotech, confidently. "Never before has there been so much performance for a comparatively low price – we are opening up the market to other industries and showing how others can also benefit from high-precision automation solutions."

Lean PWM servomotor drives for maximum throughput

The new drives are available with one, two and soon also four axes versions. Aerotech is planning market launch prices of less than 2,000 euros for the two-axis XA4 and the single-axis iXA4. Both are part of the user-friendly Automation1 motion control platform. Automation1has many amplifier options that can be configured to suit the application and controller performance needed. The platform has its own software-based motion controller, which offer high levels of flexibility whilst making it easy to control the positioning solutions and other connected components. Areas of application include automation systems, precision laser processes and test and inspection processes.

"Our slimline single and dual-axis servomotor drives provide users with precise, powerful control for several motion axes in the same machine," says Simon Smith, explaining some of the benefits. "The iXA4 also reduces the space required on the machine and eliminates the need for an industrial PC."

Communication with Automation1, PC and drive-based control elements takes place via the patented HyperWire motion controller of the Automation1 platform. As a drive, the iXA4 supports several feedback device types and also has an on-board memory for high-speed data acquisition and process control. The integrated Automation1 controller can be used to control a total of twelve HyperWire motion axes and execute up to nine user tasks.

Simon Smith concludes: "In combination with our motion control platform Automation1, users achieve the highest level of precision and performance, whilst enjoying advanced setup tools and ease of use. For their products, this in turn means shorter development and build times as well as offering the ability to produce better quality parts at higher throughput."