n TECHNOLOGY January 2024 www.drivesncontrols.com 16 HEPCOMOTION HAS DEVELOPED a new guidance system for Beckhoff Automation’s XTS smart conveyor technology, which moves items along rectangular paths. By removing the XTS system’s curved segments, the new GFX-r system can handle payloads of up to 40kg. The absence of the curved motor sections allows the movers to be more powerful and to have larger mounting platforms, while maintaining their accuracy, durability and agility. Mover speeds of 4m/s and press loads of up to 1.5kN are possible. The new system also offers a repeatability of 10µm, even when moving 30kg payloads at 3m/s. With its high load-bearing capacity, the new system is expected to have a significant impact in many sectors including automotive, aerospace and logistics. It is also suitable for machine cells incorporating robots, power tools and sensors, as well as for automated assembly and inspection systems. The new system builds on a decade of cooperation between Hepco and Beckhoff on smart linear conveyors in the form of the GFX/XTS combination. In that time, there has been a major uptake of SCT (smart conveyor technology), with benefits in terms of performance, service lives and flexibility. There are already thousands of metres of GFX/XTS in use in industries including pharmaceuticals, food processing, packaging, and battery assembly. XTS uses linear motors to drive and control movers independently around a track, enabling work processes of varying durations to be combined, products to be changed on the fly, and workstations to be added or removed. Hepco's GFX guidance system provides the transport path, guiding the movers mechanically along the motor modules. It can absorb substantial forces acting on the movers, ensuring precise alignment and resistance to deflection. The new system combines Beckhoff and Hepco’s TMS (Track Management System) with the increased drive capacity of sevenand ten-pole magnet arrays from Beckhoff. By removing the curved sections, larger movers with longer magnet arrays can be used, reducing heating losses by up to 60%. TMS completes the rectangular path, transitioning movers between tracks. The GFX-r system is available in four- or six-bearing versions offering high strength and stability. It uses existing GFX/XTS parts including GFX-PRT2 straight slide hardware, base plates and motor brackets, as well as Beckhoff’s XTS motors and its TwinCat control system. www.hepcomotion.com www.beckhoff.com/en-gb Rectangular smart conveyor track can handle loads of up to 40kg WEG HAS LAUNCHED a series of AC/DC converters that support a wide range of supply voltages and current ratings, catering for both two- and four-quadrant applications. The TPD32-EV-FC converters “oer a versatile solution for motor control to meet the technological demands of a vast range of sectors, for improved e¡ciency and exceptional performance,” says WEG Automation Europe product manager, Karim Boudaoud. Originally developed for DC motor control, the converters can also be used for applications involving highly inductive loads, such as electromagnets, chokes, synchronous motor excitation circuits, and electrolysis. For example, they can be used in hydrogen production plants which use electrolysers to separate hydrogen and oxygen molecules from water by passing a current between two electrodes immersed in the water. The thyristor-based converters ensure precise control of the DC current or voltage supplies, enhancing the system’s e¡ciency and reliability. The converters can also provide harmonic mitigation. By con¤guring the system in a 12-pulse parallel or series setup with dual controls (master and slave) and double thyristor bridges, total harmonic distortion (THDi) can be reduced from 35% to 11%. The converters oer precise DC current or voltage control for smooth, e¡cient operation. They have adjustable output currents and are available in a variety of motor ratings and power settings, with a wide range of DC output voltages and currents. The TPD32-EV can be controlled and programmed from a PC using the WEG_eXpress con¤gurator, and monitored using the WEG_Softscope tool. These intuitive tools allow remote operation and performance optimisation. https://www.weg.net The new smart conveyor technology moves production items between workstations along rectangular paths WEG’s AC/DC converters have a variety of applications including DC motor control Versatile AC/DC converters provide DC motor control and more
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