2nd Quarter 2015Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Tectra Automation recently supplied and integrated the drive components for bevel head servomotor-driven CNC plasma cutting tables manufactured by CNC Clear Cut in Pretoria. The Bosch Rexroth servo drive train, which interfaced with the CNC control through the Ethernet-based Sercos 3 communications protocol, provided enhanced cutting accuracy and throughput for superior three-dimensional metal profiles. Tectra Automation also integrated the drive train, including engineering, programming, coding and fine tuning. The servomotor requirements were sized according to the torque, speed and inertia specification of each machine cutting axis.
“The servo system with integrated Sercos 3 protocol improved machine output, by providing an instantaneous instruction relay between the CNC control and the servo system across Sercos 3,” explained Georg Venter, Tectra’s divisional manager, electric drives and controls. “Sercos 3 also provided a high immunity to electrical noise. Given the electrical nature of plasma generation, this was invaluable for attaining a more precise, higher quality plasma operation.”
CNC Clear Cut has now built two plasma tables utilising this servo system configuration. The first machine incorporated a sophisticated bevel cutting head, which allowed machinists to swivel the plasma arc for the cutting of precise three-dimensional cone profiles. This required two motors synchronised for the longitudinal axis; a single motor for the cross axis; a motor for the cutting torch height; and two motors for the control of the bevel action. Five planetary gearboxes were used with the servo motors. The second machine did not incorporate the bevel mechanism and was comprised of four servomotors requiring three planetary gearboxes.
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