FEATURE Robotics


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Next-generation servo technology for robotics


Dean Crumlish, Product and Applications Manager at Copley Controls, explores compact, efficient and powerful nano-type servo drives for robotic and embedded motion applications


T


o meet the needs of today’s advanced motion control applications, servo drives are getting smaller. However, the


power requirements are not exactly close behind. Applications like robotics and embedded motion require powerful, embedded drives that must operate in constrained spaces such as the ever- shrinking sizes of modern machines. To this end, many miniature servo drives can be mounted within robotic joints or onto the motor itself.


Compact, powerful and embedded servo drives play a particularly important role when it comes to robots, which are increasingly taking centre stage across many industries. In healthcare they enable new, state-of-the-art surgical and diagnostic practices. They also play an important role in semiconductor manufacturing, since they handle small, delicate parts and complex assemblies with high levels of precision and cleanliness. And in logistics, mobile robots autonomously navigate warehouses and distribution centres, streamlining operations and accelerating order fulfi llment.


Other important industries for embedded servo drives include aerospace, lab automation and biomedical equipment, which often involve automated guided vehicles (AGV), autonomous mobile robots (AMR) and other complex systems that handle and transport objects, and navigate the environment to fulfi l various tasks. Yet for all the innovations in the world of automation, the compact servo drives behind these sophisticated systems must meet a combination of requirements relating to motion control, size and power, including: • Providing high positional accuracy and


repeatability; • Achieving excellent dynamic performance, including smooth motion profi les, fast response times and precise speed and torque control; • Supporting real-time communication


14 September 2023 | Automation


protocols, such as EtherCAT, to ensure reliable communication between the drives and control system;


• Featuring a compact size for mounting onto the motor itself or within a robotic joint;


• Packing enough power, despite their small size, to move a robotic arm, AGV or AMR with utmost reliability and effi ciency. Meeting all these requirements is easier said than done, however. Designing powerful, miniaturised servo drives that can perform within the tight confi nes of robotic joints, AGV chassis and other embedded motion control applications presents several design challenges, not the least of which is thermal management.


Copley Controls’s Nano Series of miniature servo drivers with suitable thermal management


Staying cool


As servo drives shrink, their surface area for heat dissipation shrinks too, making their thermal management progressively challenging. Fortunately, there are design principles that can maximise the effi ciency of even the smallest embedded drives. Our Nano embedded servo drives exemplify these principles, to deliver industry-leading power density and effi ciency (> 99%), which manages heat and electromagnetic interference (EMI), and supports size reductions.


Our Nano servo drives focus on the following:


Circuit materials: The fi rst and most obvious heat dissipation solution involves an upgrade to the drive’s circuit board materials. The Nano drive, which consists of a four-board PCB stack, uses a single- sided board with a copper-alloy substrate (TClad). This board, which handles power for the device, would traditionally have had an aluminum substrate, but the switch to the proprietary TClad copper alloy resulted in a threefold improvement in thermal conductivity.


Custom components: Another solution involves custom-designed components for increased heat dissipation. For example, the Nano features custom-designed pins to carry current out of the drive. Not only


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