AC servo motor example | 117 | The servo motor that has been used for many years has been discontinued... What is the customization proposal that realized retrofit?

assignment

The servo motor that I have been using for many years has been discontinued, but I cannot find a replacement.
Electronic components can be damaged by dust and mist. Environmental resistance measures are required.
We also want to reduce the cost of replacing motors.

effect

The shaft shape was customized to fit the new motor to existing equipment.
Special coating improves environmental resistance to dust and mist.
We succeeded in reducing costs by customizing the windings to reduce the amplifier capacity.

Retrofit is a method of extending the life of machinery that has deteriorated over time. Since production equipment can be used for decades, there are many cases where the production of parts has been discontinued, and when replacing parts, compatibility with existing equipment is required.

Problem

The servo motor that I have been using for many years has been discontinued, but I cannot find a replacement...

Company C, an automobile parts manufacturer, operates production equipment equipped with a large number of servo motors in its factory.
The company was considering replacing the DC servo motor that it had been using for many years with one that was to be discontinued. However, after looking at motors from several manufacturers, they found that there were no motors on the market that matched the size of their existing equipment. Mr. D from the Development Department at Company C said:
"The existing motor was an old design and had different dimensions from the current model, so in order to fit the new motor we needed to make significant modifications, including rebuilding the drive section. However, we had received instructions from higher-ups to keep the budget as low as possible, so we were in a situation where we couldn't make any major modifications," said D.

Electronic components can be damaged by dust or mist. Environmental resistance is required.

In addition, motors and electronic components are required to have high environmental resistance.
"At our factory, the dust and mist generated during the manufacturing process was causing early damage to electronic components, so we needed environmental resistance not only for the motors but also for the amplifiers," said D.

We also want to reduce the cost of replacing motors.

Furthermore, Company C operates its business not only domestically but also globally.
"This equipment is used in factories all over the world, so we had to replace a considerable number of pieces. We needed to keep the replacement cost per piece of equipment as low as possible," said D.

Solution

Customize the shaft shape to fit new motors to existing equipment

Mr. D, who was having trouble selecting a servo motor, was introduced to SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. by a trading company with which he had a track record of doing business. SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. 's staff listened to Mr. D's concerns and then proposed the AC servo motor "SANMOTION R" They also proposed customizing the motor shaft shape so that it could be used with Company C's existing equipment.
"We were told that retrofitting would be possible without changing the existing equipment, just by modifying the shaft. SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. was the only company that could offer such a custom-made solution." (Mr. D)

Special coating on electronic components to protect against dust and mist

SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. 's staff also considered measures to deal with the issues of dust and mist. They found that no measures were necessary because the motor has IP65 certification as standard. However, measures were necessary for the amplifier that sends power to the motor, and they learned that environmental resistance could be improved by applying a special coating to the multiple circuit boards mounted on the amplifier. Mr. D was hopeful that this proposal would be able to withstand the factory environment.

Succeeded in reducing costs by customizing the windings to reduce amplifier capacity

SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. continued to meet with Mr. D and made various proposals to address the issues.
"SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. 's technical support team calculated the necessary torque based on the operating conditions of the actual machine and selected a new motor. As a result, we found that by customizing the windings, we could reduce the amplifier capacity by one level. This was an important suggestion that led to reduced replacement costs.
Furthermore, SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. 's battery-less absolute sensor-embedded servo motors make it easier to restart in the event of a power outage, and by switching from DC servo motors, which require periodic brush replacement, to AC servo motors, there is no need for maintenance. This was a proposal that was expected to have secondary benefits." (Mr. D)

Having recognized these benefits, Mr. D decided to officially adopt SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. servo motor "SANMOTION R" and immediately replaced his equipment.
"In the end, we were able to replace the existing motor and amplifier with new ones without changing the operability or interface of the existing equipment. What's more, the amount of work required for the replacement was also significantly less than initially expected.
We plan to expand to factories around the world in the future, so we look forward to continued support from SANYO DENKI CO., LTD.." (Mr. D)

release date: 2021-06-18 00:00