November 1, 2006

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Prepackaged Motion Control System Could Speed up Time-to-Market


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Prepackaged Motion Control System Could Speed up Time-to-Market

Shana Leonard

amc_lg.jpgDecreasing a product's time-to-market can save a company valuable time, money, and resources. Taking this into consideration, Advanced Motion Controls (Camarillo, CA) has introduced a prepackaged motion control system as an aid to OEMs trying to expedite a product's prototype-to-production phase.

The complete QuickStart system consists of a digital servo drive, brushless NEMA 34 motor with encoder, screw terminal board, documentation, and a feedback and commutation, motor power, drive, and RS232 communication cable. Once assembled, potential medical applications for the motion control system include patient beds, radio surgery, ventilation, and diagnostic imaging treatments such as MRI, CT, and X-ray.

"QuickStart was a concept-turned-reality by Advanced Motion Controls in an effort to shorten OEM development cycles," says the company's marketing manager, Karl Meier. "Where motion control is needed, it is our strong desire to assist the design engineering team's efforts. With the push to develop machine solutions faster, and with a wide array of choices and greater flexibility available today, it can be difficult for engineers to know where to start."

Preparation of a product for prototyping is accelerated since the QuickStart parts will all plug in and operate within five minutes out of the box, according to the firm. In addition, the drive and motor are compatible, cables are custom-made, and an interface board eases integration with a customer's controller. Beyond the supplied components, the only requirements for operation are a power supply, controller, and Windows-based PC.

"Speeding up the motion control conceptual phase [using QuickStart] will help OEMs achieve their goals," says Meier. "We want to ensure our drives are easily integrated into the system with motor, cables, and interfacing all preconfigured. Not only that, but also be readily available and functioning right out of the box."

Six systems are offered, with such options as analog or digital servo drives paired with brushed or brushless motors. Systems are configured in velocity or voltage mode to turn the motor shaft at 30±20 rpm and torque ranges from 0.35 to 4.0 N·m, with speeds up to 6000 rpm.

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