E
lectric motors have kept up the pace when it comes to state of the art innovation: increasingly powerful, connected and, most of all, featuring smart technology that makes them less reliant on PLC. Numerous industries are turning towards these motors, whether it be to improve an existing installation or to create new ones from scratch.
Camille Machet, Offer Creation Motion, and Benoit Rey, Key Accounts Manager and International Segment Leader – Access Control at Crouzet explain more about their latest product, the SQ75 DCmind Brushless motor.
What trends have you observed in the electric motor market?
Camille Machet:
“Nowadays every sector needs a certain level of automation and/or the robotisation of its operations. Industrialists are continually looking for ways to mechanise workforce tasks that are considered menial, complicated and/or dangerous. This is why we’ve seen the arrival of collaborative robots on assembly lines, or autonomous conveyors that deliver the right parts to the right place at the right time. Whereas this type of technology is now the norm in industrial circles, it represents a revolutionary advance for sectors such as agriculture or defense.”
Benoit Rey:
“Some technologies that were previously chosen for their reliability and simplicity – for example hydraulics and pneumatics – are now being replaced by more efficient, functional electric motors. This is the case for access control (retractable bollards) and automatic doors (trains, gates…). Another major trend is the replacement of complex, low efficiency assemblies that are bulky, noisy and energy-consuming (power supply + PLC + servomotor + encoder + drive + brake…) with all-in-one motors like the SQ75.”
What technical innovations have allowed these motors to become more advanced?
Benoit Rey:
“First of all, electronics have progressed. The SQ75’s embedded intelligence makes it autonomous, which relieves the PLC used in the application. The motor can be easily configured and controlled and also interact with its environment thanks to its double CANopen and USB communication protocols. Secondly, the 4096-point integrated magnetic encoder provides an angular precision of less than one tenth of a degree!”
Camille Machet:
“At Crouzet, listening and adapting to new needs are at the heart of our concerns. The SQ75 is water- and dustproof*, making it ideal for agriculture (outdoor operations, cleaning) or any motorisation in extreme environments (defense…). We also pay peculiar attention to how we integrate our motors into the customer’s operating environment. This starts in the installation phases, with our reverse polarity protection function, for example, designed to prevent damage to the motor due to incorrect wiring. Besides, our free online configuration software (Editor’s note: DCmind soft + CANopen) allows for easier set-up. Finally, maintenance is essential today for our customers: their business model can rely on it! We always try to simplify service technicians’ tasks as much as possible, for example by adding an operating status LED, or a USB port on each motor for a quick real-time diagnosis on a simple PC, even if it’s on CANopen network mode.”
Which markets are you targetting?
Benoit Rey:
“These new features are of critical importance for user safety (autonomy, automatic motor release…). When combined with the SQ75’s high speed and torque performance, they make access control an ideal market: automatic gates in public transport systems, parking and motorway gates, retractable bollards in towns, retractable walls…”
Camille Machet:
“Sticking to the SQ75’s objective features, it has a wide input voltage range (which allows its use with batteries). Water- and dustproof, it benefits from embedded intelligence, making it ideal for service robotics in areas such as logistics, industrial cleaning, agriculture, defense…”
Thanks a lot for your answers.
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* Protection levels IP67 (dust-proof, immersion up to 1m deep) and IP69 (dust-proof, resistant to high pressure cleaning and high temperatures that come from several directions) except from front face and shaft.
