Since switching to Beckhoff's servo drive technology, the Belgian company Nedschroef Machinery has significantly reduced the adjustment and setup time required for metal forming machines that produce high-precision fasteners, enabling them to produce 240 screws per minute. However, this also places considerable demands on the dynamics and performance of the servo drives and motors.
EtherCAT servo drive technology can provide precise synchronous motion control.
Nedschroef's metal forming machines were previously powered by a single motor. A complex mechanical system with gearboxes and camshafts enables all machine functions, including the grippers that transport products between processing steps for synchronized operation. "The gripper carriage is the first component equipped with an independent servo drive," explains Ivo Van Gorp, coordinator/developer in Nedschroef's automation department. "In the past, whenever we changed product specifications, these cams had to be changed accordingly, which was time-consuming and limited. With each gripper and carriage equipped with its own servo motor, all positional limitations have disappeared."
“Now, Beckhoff’s TwinCAT software can perform motion synchronization,” said Tom VanWeert, a programmer at Nedschroef. “We use an EtherCAT network with a cycle time of 500 μs. This allows us to precisely synchronize various machine movements with the die.” TwinCATNCCamming completely replaces the mechanical cam controller, enabling faster, safer, and error-free transitions while providing more setting options. Parameters for each product are stored in the controller and can be adjusted or retrieved through a graphical user interface, helping even less experienced machine operators to successfully perform rapid switchovers.
