TCP/IP-compatible servo drives from Baldor have simplified the construction of an innovative automotive component tester.
The tester, developed by Dynamic Testing & Equipment (DTE), automates the accelerated life testing of the flexible boot seals used to protect ball joints in automobile steering assemblies.
Designed primarily for automotive component manufacturers, it can be used to influence component design, or to demonstrate conformance with end customers' performance standards.
The use of programmable AC servos instead of conventional hydraulic actuators provides a level of control, enables test parameters such as joint articulation angles to be varied on the fly.
Capable of testing up to six boot seals simultaneously, testing regimes can include continuous articulation of the ball joints, hot and cold brine sprays, elevated humidity levels, and air temperature cycling from -25 to +80 degrees Celsius.
DTE's boot seal testing machine employs two motorised movement axes -- one vertical and one horizontal -- each driven by a Baldor MotiFlex e100 3-phase servo drive and servomotor fitted with a multi-turn absolute encoder.
The precise feedback signals enable both axes to be programmed to absolute zero, facilitating optimal positioning of the machine's tooling for parts loading and unloading, as well as ensuring ease of start-up.
The servo drives are connected via industry-standard Ethernet to the test machine's host computer, which runs National Instruments' LabVIEW software, and are controlled via TCP/IP using the built-in ActiveX commands in Baldor's Mint programming language.
"We were looking for servo manufacturers who could support ActiveX. Baldor was also able to supply 3D CAD files for the motors,” said DTE machine designer Glenn Siddens.
“As we use SolidWorks' 3D CAD software for much of our design work, the availability of these files was a major time-saving advantage.”
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