Webcasts explain motion control concepts

An Aerotech product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Apr 3, 2007

New webcasts cover inertia matching for high load systems and an application for high-speed laser welding of fuel cells.

Aerotech has recently released two new webcasts covering inertia matching for high load systems and an application for high-speed laser welding of fuel cells.

The Design News E2E Webcast features a subject heading of "Inertia ratio analysis for coupled and direct-drive systems", addressing the implications on system performance for large inertial mismatches and how stiffness in combination with inertia dictates the resonant mode of a motion system.

Expelling the premise that a matched load and motor inertia of up to 10:1 was the ideal scenario, Ron Rekowski MSEE, Aerotech's Laser and Medical Systems Group Director, explains how systems should be analysed as a number of spring elements rather than a single inertial load.

The tutorial explains how Aerotech's own A3200 Automation Platform features a loop transmission analysis tool to analyse and calculate motion system resonance and provide filters that can dynamically improve performance for load to inertia mismatches of up to 30:1.

The complete presentation was originally broadcast as a live interactive seminar and is now available on-demand.

The second webcast is a fascinating insight into the development of laser welding systems for fuel cell components, typically made up of several layers of thin, stainless steel plates of 0.1 to 0.5mm thickness.

Each plate is welded using continuous fibre-laser technology that delivers 600W of power in a 9um beam with target welding speeds up to 50m/min.

Using brushless and cog-free direct drive linear motor based positioning systems to achieve the high-speeds and precision demanded by this challenging application, a typical fuel cell contains up to 400 plates, each requiring around 1m of extremely high quality welding.

The total future demand is estimated to be in excess of 400 million metres of weld per year - all this at aerospace quality but with automotive industry pricing.

Presented by Stan Ream, Fuel Cell Team Leader of The Edison Welding Institute in conjunction with Industrial Laser Solutions magazine, it includes a detailed technical and commercial perspective of this exciting technology which is shaping energy usage for the future generations.

For details of forthcoming webcasts and for information on all aspects motion systems theory and applications, users can subscribe to Aerotech's monthly "In-Motion" e-newsletter via the company's website.

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