November/December 2019

VOLKSWAGEN HAS revealed details of the electric motor technology it has developed to drive its new generation of electric vehicles, starting with the ID.3 which has recently entered production. The EVs will be powered by permanent magnet brushless motors with the drive and gearbox in parallel with the axle. The compact machines – which are small enough (including their gearboxes) to fit in a sportsbag – will weigh around 90kg and can generate peak outputs of up to 150kW, and a maximum torque of 310Nm. A novel hairpin technology enables an innovative process for assembling the stator, in which spaces in the laminated core are filled with flat, preformed copper coils. This increases the torque density and sthe efficiency of the motor compared to those with wound copper wire coils. VW plans to make up to 500,000 of the integrated drives in Germany each year for the European and North American markets. They will also be produced in China and the two plants will together deliver up to 1.4 million electric drives each year from 2023 onwards. ROCKWELL AUTOMATION has announced a servodrive, motor and cable that can operate without needing a controller. The Allen- Bradley Kinetix 5100 servodrive has multiple control modes, supporting a wide range of high-speed, low-power motion control applications. It can be used by itself, or with a Micro800 or Logix controller, allowing OEMs to choose how to apply it in their systems. The new drive will supersede Rockwell’s existing Allen-Bradley Ultra 3000 digital servodrive, which will soon be phased out. There is an easy migration path between the old and new drives. “The Kinetix 5100 servo system works especially well for small- to mid-sized packaging machines that need cost-effective servo control,” says Rockwell product manager, Simon Wong. “Bundling the drive, motor and cable together creates more competitive system pricing. And the ability for OEMs to select the products based on a machine’s power ratings can save time and effort – and help them get to market faster. This approach and product portfolio positions Rockwell Automation to accelerate our growth in China and emerging markets.” The servo system can help OEMs to make their customers more productive. Manufacturers are increasingly facing multiple changeovers, which are often a manual process. Using the new servodrive, they can create motorised or automated systems that can help to speed up changeovers. Additionally, with the built-in STO (safe torque-off) function, users can remove motor torque without removing power from an entire machine, allowing a machine to restart faster after it has entered a safe state. Dual EtherNet/IP ports support device-level ring topologies. https://ab.rockwellautomation.com/ Motion-Control/Servo-Drives/Kinetix- Indexing-and-Stand-Alone/Kinetix-5100 TECHNOLOGY n Servodrive can run without a controller, cutting costs VW’s 150kW, 310Nm EV drive will ‘fit in a sportsbag’ Rockwell’s Kinetix 5100 servodrive system can operate without an external controller