• #Motors

Intelligent drives by Technosoft

What does Technosoft do?

Being a leader  in the motion control field - Technosoft develops, designs, and manufactures motion control products that we at OEM distribute to our customers.

Intelligent Drives – what are they?

Intelligent drives are compact, high-power-density devices that provide stand-alone programmable motion control and can sit outside of the main PLC to provide ‘distributed intelligence’ to a control system.

The latest intelligent drives offer precise control for the position, speed, and torque control and can used with all main motor technologies. Technosoft high-performance drives can be found in DC brushed and brushless applications, all the way to large AC induction motors.

Let's explore Technosoft's intelligent drive concept and their iPOS drive range. We will also discuss the three extensions to the range, including a super-compact motion controller - the size of a coin.

Technosoft's Motion Technology

The motion technology that Technosoft has created is based on delivering a compact, feature-rich, and cost-effective motion control solution, this thinking forms the basis to most of Technosoft’s products.

Here are a few key facts about Technosoft's motion technology:

• Drives embedded with DSP motion controller for digital motor control
• Single or multi-axis operation – drives facilitate distributed intelligence
• Powerful trajectory generator with profiles such as jogging and contouring
• Flexible and versatile motion control with high-level motion language
• Easy integration with C and LabVIEW libraries
• System is quick and easy to set up and diagnostics have dedicated software

THE iPOS RANGE of intelligent drives by Technosoft

Technosoft's intelligent drives offer a range of mounting solutions to suit the application with several modular options, from fully enclosed units, to vertically or horizontally pluggable cards, as well as open-frame PCB's can be integrated onto the users' motherboard or protected by metal casings provided with push-on connectors. They are all small in size and offer a fully programmable stand-alone motion control solution to precisely control position, speed, and motor torque.

To summarise, the iPOS range offers you high power density and increased performance for your motion control application, they are proven cost-effective in both low-volume and high-volume applications.

iPOS System Architecture

Using a multi-axis master controller, such as the iPOS 360x SX - the master supervises the motion application and commands up to 6 on board iPOS drives, as slave controllers using Technosoft's own MotionChip™ DSP technology; Technosoft Motion Language (TML) and PVT profiles form the basis of these programmable servo-drives. Using these elements together with extensive I/O offers users advanced motion control capabilities.

CANopen and EtherCAT (CoE) protocols are supported by default for distributed control architectures. Installation and programming are simple due to the use of Technosoft Easymotion Studio. Various motion control libraries for PC and PLC are available, which allow full integration into the application.

The drives also include s-curves, electronic gearing, camming, and 3D motion commands.

The 3 products within the iPOS range

See the new extensions to the iPOS range listed below. These extensions enhance the Technosoft range, offering additional options with respect to physical size, power handling and form factor/physical connections. 

These drives, like all units in the iPOS range, are well suited  to applications where movements with extreme dynamics are required (robotic, semiconductor).

1. Super compact micro-sized motor controller - the size of a coin! (iPOS4803)

• Available in both plug-in and stand-alone form factors
• Only 8 grams in weight
• 7-48V  3A continuous, 14A peak - 150W nominal output
• Dual loop capability
• RS232, EtherCAT and CANopen options
• Ideal for machine builders where space and performance are critical factors

2. 1000W intelligent compact and freely programmable motor controller (iPOS4815)

• Available in both plug-in and stand-alone form factors
• 11-50V 15A continuous, 28A peak
• Dual loop capability
• High-power-density
• RS232, EtherCAT and CANopen options

3. 700W intelligent, compact, and freely programmable motor controller (iPOS4810)

• Available in both plug-in and stand-alone form factors
• 1-50V 10A continuous, 40A peak
• Dual loop capability
• High-power-density
• RS232, EtherCAT and CANopen options

The above motor controllers are suitable for brushless DC motors (BLDC), AC permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM), brushed DC motors, stepper motors, voice coil actuators and linear motors.

Applications for intelligent drives and the iPOS range include:

• Medical
• Robotics
• Semiconductors
• Factory Automation
• AGV

Features and Benefits of the iPOS range

Here are some key features and benefits of the iPOS range:

We hope that this article gave insight into Technosoft and their intelligent drive concept, and an overview of the ranges available.

To enquire or request more information about the iPOS range or any of Technosoft's products, please email [email protected].