The right drive – applications for servo drives
Why the decision matters
The choice of drive principle and architecture influences performance, costs, life cycle expenses, and sustainability. Depending on the application – from pick-and-place to conveying to winding – there are different ways to achieve the desired result.
Servo drives such as the i750, i950 single, and i950 multi drive are characterized by particularly high control quality and dynamics, making them ideal for precise positioning and path movements. One Cable Technology (OCT) significantly reduces the amount of wiring required, thus simplifying commissioning. In addition, integrated safety functions from STO, FSOE, PROFISafe, and many others – depending on the respective variant – are available and enable use in applications with safety-related requirements. Servo drives with a DC link system offer advantages especially in multi-axis setups, as the architecture becomes more compact and fewer supply lines are required. This results in a leaner and more efficient design. Our servo drives can be flexibly integrated into modular machine solutions and are based on the principle of "parameterization instead of programming". They offer OCT, autotuning, and comprehensive safety functions up to SIL 3/PL e Cat. 4 and cover a power range up to 110 kW.
Form-fill-seal machine
A typical application for the i750 servo drive is primary packaging with high cycle rates. In a form-fill-seal machine, the infeed conveyor, longitudinal and transverse sealers, and feed and discharge axes must work together within a tight time frame. The motion profile often includes smooth acceleration/deceleration curves, electronic cam behavior, and the precise "convergence" of several axes when product lengths change. In such cases, the i750 is used as a centrally controlled multi-axis drive to ensure the synchronism of the axes and to keep wiring costs low via DC compound and OCT. This is particularly relevant when format changes are frequent and short cycle times are still required.
Pick-and-place application
The i750 servo drive is also widely used in robotics and pick-and-place cells. A typical cell picks up products from a moving conveyor belt and places them precisely in trays or secondary packaging. The requirements here are fast path movements with repeatable positioning on changing trajectories. Central timing and the tight coupling of several axes (e.g. three or four axes of a delta robot plus conveyor belt synchronization) allow the quality of placement to be kept stable, even if the belt speed varies or workpieces arrive at short intervals.
Rotary table
The i950 servo drive comes into play especially when versatile positioning and synchronization tasks need to be solved in different machine architectures. A common application is the indexing rotary table at assembly or testing stations. Here, defined angular positions are approached in a recurring grid, often with absolute reference and freely adjustable profiles (e.g. for gentle approach to sensitive products). The i950 provides the necessary positioning functions for this and can be integrated centrally, decentrally, or in a hybrid topology, depending on the machine design. In practice, this allows flexible expansion with additional stations or cycle stations without changing the basic concept.
Winding machine
A second field for the i950 is winding applications in web processes such as film, paper, or textiles. The diameter of the reel changes during the process, while the web tension must remain constant. Dancer or tension control systems in combination with speed and torque specifications are therefore common. The servo drive supports these control structures so that the material is wound with reproducible tension, regardless of whether it is an unwinder or rewinder or whether the system is running in line or master-follower mode
Retrofit
Another practical application is the modernization of existing systems (retrofit). Many machines still use older servo controllers, which can be costly to replace if control programs need to be adapted. The i950 servo drive offers the possibility of replicating the behavior of replaced device families (e.g., via a suitable communication module) and continuing to use the existing PLC architecture. In practice, this means that the application is transferred to the i950 and parametrically adapted to the target hardware; the fieldbus connection is made in such a way that the existing control program can remain unchanged. This reduces downtime and lowers project risks – an important point when modernizing during ongoing operations.
Finally, the i750, like the i950, is often encountered in constellations with third-party controllers. OEMs integrate the axes into existing PLC environments via standardized drive profiles (e.g. CiA-402) and real-time fieldbuses (e.g. EtherCAT). A typical example is a special-purpose machine in which the machine manufacturer's control system is already specified and the drive technology must be seamlessly integrated. The servo axes take over the controlled movements – from simple speed control and positioning tasks to the synchronization of multiple drives – while the sequence control remains in the OEM's familiar PLC toolchain.