Baldor Enhanced Drive Connectivity

Baldor Electric Company has upgraded its range of smart drives with HMS. This range is now able to communicate with a PLC. Baldor's e100 AC drives, suitable for use in standalone motion control systems or networked systems, are now compatible with the Ethernet/IP, Modbus TCP and Powerlink industrial standards. Offering economic and space-saving solutions for many common single-axis automation requirements, the drives also feature an Ethernet interface compatible with the deterministic Ethernet-compatible motion control standard, Powerlink. The versatile drives may be used to control rotary and linear servo motors, linear motors, closed-loop vector motors, and in V/Hz control modes.

”We wanted to develop enhanced versions of our MotiFlex e100 three-phase drive ranges, able to communicate with any PLC and to comply more easily with industry Fieldbus systems. To do this, our strategy was to use a standardised solution rather than develop these interfaces in-house We decided to do this because time to market was critical and because it is not our core competence to do that. But, we found a higher added value than expected in the HMS solutions”, explains David Greensmith, Product manager at Baldor´s UK motion control centre.

”This system is one of the very first of its kind: it integrates CANopen, it offers Real time Ethernet and it is highly adaptable to communication standards. Now, our new range provides system builders with a universal drive platform that can be used in many different ways to suit different customers and applications, from standalone motion control systems to networked systems hosted by PLCs or other devices. This solution simplifies automation for food, labelling, packaging, electronics, printing wood/metalworking and more”, adds David Greensmith.

The embedded Mint Lite capability is now being fitted without charge on all of Baldor's MicroFlex e100 and MotiFlex e100s. It supports a range of basic motion programming requirements including performing relative and absolute moves, S-ramp profiles, jog and homing movements, changing target positions on the fly, registration moves, and reacting to real-time trigger events.