Tips For Using Decentralized Drives

2023 Author : Hannah Pearcy | [email protected] . Last modified: 2023-11-26 11:39

In decentralized drive concepts, power and control electronics are usually attached directly to the motor housing - the lossy part of the electronics therefore migrates from the control cabinet to the drive directly on the machine. This also means one of the great advantages of this concept: The relocation of the devices from the control cabinet to the field creates space in the cabinet, whose size can be reduced. In addition, the wiring effort is also reduced. But there are also disadvantages.

Decentralized drives build bigger

One of them: power and control electronics still need space , but now directly on the engine. Actually, the synchronous servomotors that are often used today are optimized for dynamic operation and are therefore often integrated into machines when there is little installation space available. "So it is problematic to enlarge the dimensions of the motors by adding the power electronics," explains Andreas Golf, Senior Product Manager Drive Technology at Beckhoff Automation GmbH & Co. KG.

"With system solutions that consist of decentralized or central drives or a mixture of both, all real machine types can be covered," explains Andreas Golf, Senior Product Manager Drive Technology at Beckhoff.

Another challenge is the development of the highly efficient power amplifier , which Andreas Golf considers to be essential for the compact design. "At the moment, the SIC modules are significantly more expensive than the widely used IGBT modules," says the drive specialist. Manufacturing processes that enable the production of SIC modules at low cost are currently still missing. However, this situation will improve in the future, so golf is confident.

Plan intelligent heat management for the drives

"An important task in the implementation of decentralized drive concepts is intelligent heat management that does not only work with simple I²t calculations", recommends Andreas Böhringer, Head of Product Management at AMK.

The heat development should also be considered. Andreas Böhringer, head of product management at AMK Arnold Müller GmbH & Co. KG, considers intelligent heat management of the drives, which works not only with simple I ² t calculations, an important task. It is not for nothing that design tools are required here that can be used to simulate the real application in advance, using thermal models, among other things, and thus make it possible to make statements about the heat balance.

Böhringer also points out that decentralized drives should also have multifunctional bus interfaces so that they can be used flexibly in the future. "In addition, basic devices are being used more and more, which can be flexibly expanded and scaled with option cards and interfaces," predicts the drive specialist. Last but not least, the integration of (integrated) sensors for predictive maintenance tasks will also play a role, Andreas Böhringer is certain - including a cloud connection and the use of artificial intelligence to be able to evaluate the data.

When it comes to cabling, Andreas Böhringer sees a trend towards hybrid cabling, in which power, fieldbus, 24 V voltage and STO are connected in a line as a daisy chain: "Here, cost-optimized and robust cabling technology is required".

Take advantage of both concepts

Another important point is the design of the motors, with attached electronics for decentralized or without for central use. "In the best case, if there is no or only a minimal derating between the two systems, the machine builder can also decide in retrospect for an optimal system for his planned machine," explains Andreas Golf the advantage. Otherwise, the decision would have to be made at a very early planning stage.

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To the archive

Andreas Böhringer recommends leaving enough reserve when designing the drives . In the case of convection-cooled products, special attention must be paid to the ambient conditions. A scalable cooling concept, for example with a fan option, can help to create reserves in the event of problems. The voltage drops in the cable should also be taken into account when designing the cabling with regard to the current carrying capacity. Depending on the application, the overload behavior of the motor must be included here. Intelligent daisy chain wiring technology and the use of hybrid cables minimize the wiring effort and simplify the expansion of the machine.

But system solutions consisting of decentralized or central drives or as a mixture of both are also possible. "It can cover all real machine types," emphasizes Andreas Golf. Basically, both drive concepts are justified: There will always be the ideal machine type for central or decentralized drive technology. The real world often happens in between. Both concepts should therefore work together.

User meeting mechatronic drive technology

The focus of the user meeting mechatronic drive technology is on the mechanical components of gears, clutches and brakes as well as their design, dimensioning and interaction in the overall mechatronic system.

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