Plug-and-Play Motion Control Solution
Published on : Tuesday 09-03-2021
Trio Motion Technology, a member of the Estun Group, has expanded on its motion controller range with the launch of a servo drive and motor package.
Trio Motion Technology, an Estun Group company specialising in motion control, has expanded its range of motion controllers with the launch of a servo drive and motor package. This will benefit OEMs with a complete plug-and-play solution, enabling faster machine development and optimum cost effectiveness. The new DX4 servo drive and MX servo motor series makes it faster and easier for OEMs to utilise the high performance motion control available from the Trio Motion range of Motion Coordinators. The DX4 servo drive has plug-and-play compatibility with Trio's controllers and slice I/O systems, all programmed within a single software, Motion Perfect 5. This increases the speed of application development and commissioning for OEMs in industries including packaging, medical, metal, CNC, robotics and 3C. The DX4 servo drive operates at 200V AC and power extends from 50W to 3kW.
Trio's specialisation in high performance motion control enables machine builders to achieve optimum productivity. Utilising high speed EtherCAT communications, the Motion Coordinator range can control up to 128 axes with precision accuracy. Developed over more than 30 years of motion control expertise, Trio's Motion-iX technology core encapsulates a motion-first approach, capable of complex kinematics within a powerful application programming interface (API). Trio's open communications mean that the performance of its controllers can connect to factory automation across the primary Ethernet-based protocols.
The new DX4 servo drive extends high control performance to the motor shaft, achieving fast and accurate positioning with the matched MXL low inertia and MXM medium inertia servo motors. The drive features EtherCAT update rates down to 125μs and 350% overload for high dynamic applications, as well as functional safety dual STO (SIL3, PLe). The motors host 23-bit absolute multi-turn capability for increased positioning accuracy.
High performance motion control as well as servo drive and motor precision are rapidly achieved through the Motion Perfect 5 software. Plug-and-play functionality instantly identifies the drive and motor for easy configuration, and accurate motor performance is quickly achieved using tools including adaptive autotuning and anti-resonance features.
For motion programming, Motion Perfect 5 flexibly supports IEC 61131-3 languages and PLCopen to enable development to suit all programming backgrounds. The Windows-based software includes an oscilloscope for up to 8 channels as well as a digital twin visualisation tool. The 3D offline simulation speeds up development by validating motion control before it is physically deployed. This technology is particularly useful for complex control such as robotics, and Motion Perfect 5 can be used to program robots with up to six axes.
The new DX4 servo drive is highly compact. It has amongst the lowest footprint available across each of its three versions, which span 50W – 400W, 750W – 1.5kW and 2kW – 3kW. With a slim frontal area and zero stacking gap, space saving advantages are further emphasised for higher axis counts. Reduced dimensions are also achieved by retaining additional control functionality within the Motion Coordinator and I/O slices, instead of including it within a more sizable, complex drive. Compact footprint is an established benefit of Trio's Motion Coordinator range, for example the Flex-6 Nano, which controls up to 64 axes, is literally pocket-sized.
Trio's motion control solution is also scalable and additional functionality can be quickly added when required. Flexslice I/O modules covering a broad range of control functionality are easily clicked into place and programmed through Motion Perfect 5.
Scalable functionality has also been designed for cost effectiveness and the OEM only pays for the capabilities they need, according to Trio's design principle of 'everything you need and nothing more'. As a result, the DX4 servo drive doesn't require additional functionality onboard which significantly reduces cost and even greater savings are evident as axis count increases. The Motion Perfect 5 software is available free of charge and the competitively priced Motion Coordinators mean that Trio offers the lowest cost-per-axis motion control at 64 axes.
Trio Motion Technology was founded in the UK in 1987 as a manufacturer of motion controllers. Today the range, branded Motion Coordinators, can control up to 128 axes of servo, stepper and piezo motors as well as hydraulic systems. Trio's expertise in motion programming is based within its Motion-iX technology. Launch of the new servo drive and motor package now develops Trio's offering into a motion solution in addition to providing motion controllers for automation vendors and system integrators.
In 2017 Trio Motion was acquired by the Estun Group, which is supporting Trio in its growth with assistance through shared facilities and R&D as well as financial backing. Trio has exceeded 15% growth year on year since the acquisition. The launch of the DX4 is symbolic of the collaboration between Trio's engineers and the wider Estun Group. Led by Trio's domain expertise in motion control, the launch has delivered a jointly developed servo system, specifically optimised for superior performance in motion applications.
Trio Motion India was established in Pune in 2010 to introduce high performance motion control to OEMs in India. Today, Trio India focuses on industries including packaging machinery, machine tools and textiles. Within the packaging sector, Trio is India's market leader for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) food packaging machines, and expertise also includes pharmaceutical industry packaging.
With its headquarters in Pune, Trio Motion India has a 7,000 sq.ft state-of-the-art facility that includes a training suite as well as a robotics and machinery lab. Trio has coverage across India with offices in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai and customer support is also available 24-hours a day. Trio India has 24 employees including application engineers, maintenance engineers, sales, accounts, administration and logistics. The company has delivered solutions to almost 8,000+ machines for end users through its network of OEMs.
