Industries & Applications

Servo Systems products have traditionally been widely used primarily in manufacturing applications and have been optimally customized for each customer. To deliver optimal customization, it is vital to know our customers well and deeply understand the problems they have and the solutions they seek, and share a clear image of their ideal goal. In recent years, our products have been used in applications besides manufacturing equipment, and our application range has been expanded.

This article first introduces two examples of customized products for manufacturing applications that were realized through a deep knowledge of the customer. One is high-speed motors for machine tool spindles and the other is a servo product for spring forming machines, which were the cases we solved their issues together with a great understanding of our customers.

Next, we will introduce two non-manufacturing applications in welfare and medical equipment. Powered wheelchairs and radiation therapy equipment are the two examples of using Servo Systems products, which we worked on designing mechanisms and performance from the perspective of wheelchair users and radiotherapy patients from the beginning of the development stage with our Customer.

Custom Products for Manufacturing Applications Realized by Gaining a Deep Knowledge of the Customer

This chapter introduces two examples in which we solved problems together with the customer by gaining a deep understanding of their problems with machine tools for manufacturing use. The first one is the development of a servo motor for driving machining center spindles, and the second one is the customization technology to incorporate some of the functions of the customer’s spring forming machines into our servo amplifier.

High-speed technology for machine tools Servo motor for driving machining center spindles

Motors for driving machining center spindles must be capable of variable speed operation up to the high-speed range and deliver high-torque performance to handle various machining processes. Also, it is important to improve acceleration and deceleration performance to reduce spindle start and stop time. In addition, spindle motors are required to deliver high efficiency with low loss for energy-saving processing.

To meet those requirements, we developed a high-torque, low-inertia servo motor specialized in driving machine tool spindles. Figure 1 shows the appearance of the motor. This servo motor is an interior permanent magnet (IPM) synchronous servo motor (IPM motor), and the permanent magnet is embedded into the rotor. This servo motor contains relatively little magnet material and is capable of delivering high torque up to the high-speed range, as well as high efficiency with little power loss. The rotor moment of inertia is also low, ensuring outstanding acceleration and deceleration characteristics(1). This greatly contributes to improved machine tool performance and energy savings.