When it came down to cost and performance, ac geared motors controlled by
small inverter drives had the edge on dc servos, especially when the time
came to replace the 'higher' technology dc system. That was Cosworth
Technology's maintenance manager, Joe Reeves' experience when he had to
revamp a 'pick-and-place' crucible gantry at his company's Worcester
casting plant. The working environment at this facility - which produces
aluminium alloy cylinder block castings for the new Aston Martin V12
engine, among other things - is pretty tough, with ambient temperatures
hovering around 50oC. Clearly, the replacement system had to cope with
these conditions.
Advances in power handling and a reduction in size meant that four 2.2kW
inverters would fit comfortably into the existing control cabinet. The
Lenze SMD units chosen for this application offer levels of accuracy and
reliability that were not easily achieved with ac control when the
original system was specified. Moreover, the cost differential between a
new replacement servo system and the ac solution using standard Lenze
geared motors, de-rated to handle the high ambient temperatures, was an
order of magnitude lower.
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