Economy drive system closes the drive gap in the entry-level segment
Global cost pressure in machine building is forcing many designers to readjust the balance between performance and affordability. This applies in particular to standard applications in series machines and exports to price-sensitive markets. Solutions are called for that reduce investment costs but do not require significant compromises to be made in terms of functionality and quality. Beckhoff is responding to these circumstances with the economy drive system: the coordinated platform of servomotors, servo drives, and variable frequency drives enables compact, cost-efficient machine concepts offering full integration into the world of PC-based control.
Diversity in industrial production is constantly increasing. While high-end applications still require the highest possible cycle times and extremely accurate synchronization, the need for solid automation solutions that are particularly attractive from a cost perspective is growing at the same time. Until now, designers have often been faced with a dilemma here: Either they use oversized drives in order to remain within the familiar system environment. Or they switch to cheaper alternatives, but this increases system complexity and engineering costs. It is for these reasons that Beckhoff has launched its economy drive system. It offers an answer to the question of how functionality, reliability, and a universal system can be combined with an optimized price/performance ratio.
A technological balancing act
The challenge when developing the economy drive system was to retain the key features of advanced servo technology while significantly reducing complexity and hardware costs. The result follows a platform strategy in which servo drives and variable frequency drives are closely related in terms of technology and share housing concepts and power electronics.
The central element of the new topology is the AX1000 servo drive. It covers the rated current range from 1.65 A to 12 A and is available for both single-phase (1 x 230 V AC) and three-phase networks (3 x 400 V AC). One notable aspect is the high packing density: The power supply, DC link capacitors, and braking circuit are fully integrated, despite their extremely compact dimensions. The housing is made of robust plastic, which reduces weight and material costs. The devices can be installed next to each other in the control cabinet without minimum distances having to be maintained between the drives.
Servo technology for the global market
The AX1000 is a perfect match for the newly developed AM1000 synchronous servomotor. Featuring an extremely compact design and available in the common international flange dimensions of 40, 60, and 80 mm (I1, I2, I3), the motor covers a power range up to 1,000 W (at 230 V) or 1,700 W (at 400 V).
For machine builders it is essential that – even if the drives are positioned in the economy segment – established features are still available. The AM1000 supports One Cable Technology (OCT), where power and feedback signals are transmitted via one motor cable. This dramatically reduces cabling effort and risk of errors during installation. The motor is characterized by low to medium inertia, which makes it ideal for dynamic positioning tasks in packaging machines or handling systems. With battery-free encoders (single or multi-turn), the system also eliminates the need for maintenance-intensive battery changes in the field.
Variable frequency drive with dual-axis topology
The AF1000 variable frequency drive that forms part of the economy drive system is an exceptional innovation. While dual-axis modules are already established in servo technology, their availability with variable frequency drives is entirely new. As the AF1000 uses the same hardware platform as the AX1000, Beckhoff also offers it in a dual-axis version. The benefits of this architecture are obvious:
- Essential components such as the EtherCAT interface, the housing, the microcontroller, and the power supply are shared by both axes, significantly reducing the costs per axis.
- Both axes operate on a common DC link. Generative energy from a braking axis can be reused directly, improving the energy efficiency of the overall system.
- The integration of two variable frequency drives in a housing just 50 mm wide (or 60 mm for 3-phase) enables control cabinet designs with extremely high power density to be achieved.
The AF1000 covers a power range from 370 W to 5.5 kW and is suitable for synchronous, asynchronous, and reluctance motors in sensorless operation (V/f or vector control). This makes it a suitable drive for conveyor belts, pumps, or fans within a more complex machine.
A reduction in hidden costs
The economic leverage of the economy drive system lies not only in the component price, but also in the reduction of peripheral costs and installation times. One special feature is the internal generation of the 24 V control voltage directly from the DC link. This means that no separate 24 V power supply is required to supply the drive electronics and the motor brake. The 24 V generation permanently draws energy from the DC link, which increases the voltage reserves for dynamic braking processes and delays the activation of the internal braking resistor. This lowers the heat generation in the control cabinet, and cabling requirements are also reduced.
In addition, all connections (except optional safety inputs) are accessible from the front, improving ergonomics during installation. In combination with the OCT of the AM1000 and the partially shielded motor cable of the AX1000, which enables smaller bending radii and thinner cable diameters, significant amounts of space can be saved with respect to cable channels and drag chains.
One platform, one tool
The key difference to cost-optimized solutions from other suppliers is that this system is integrated completely into the Beckhoff motion platform. Both AX1000 and AF1000 are fully fledged EtherCAT devices. There is no break in communication and no need for gateways. Commissioning can be carried out via Drive Manager 2 in TwinCAT, which already supports all existing Beckhoff drives. This means that users do not need to gain additional knowledge of specific third-party tools. Proven features such as the electronic nameplate on the AM1000 enable plug-and-play commissioning. Diagnostic and tuning features such as Autotuning or Bode Plot are also available without restriction for the economy drive system.
No compromises are made in relation to functional safety either. The AX1000 economy servo drive supports TwinSAFE by default for the implementation of the drive-integrated safety functions STO/SS1 in accordance with IEC 61800-5-2. It is optionally available with many other TwinSAFE safety functions.
Conclusion and outlook
With the economy drive system, Beckhoff is underlining the fact that “Made in Germany” and cost efficiency are not contradictions in terms. The expansion of the drive portfolio enables modular scaling of applications without having to sacrifice the customary control quality: From high-performance axes with the AX8000 multi-axis system or the AX1000 stand-alone device to cost-efficient conveyor drives with AF1000 – all are based on one automation platform. This strengthens the competitiveness of users in the machine building sector who need to serve global markets with reliable yet economical technology.