Electronic Gearing or Master-Follower is a built-in function of Servosila SC-series servo drives. The function tightly controls motion of two or more axes making it look like the axes are interconnected by an invisible belt. The motion of a "follower" axis is electronically synchronized with a "master" axis in both velocity and position. The gearing ratios (e g. 1:1 or 1:10) are software-controlled, including possibility of on-the-fly real-time ratio changes.

The master axis needs to be equipped with a pulse output sensor such as a Hall sensor or an optical tachometer sensor. An SC-series controller then takes in the pulse as an input and controls the "follower" motor in such a way that the traveled distance and velocity match those of the master axis. This creates a virtual gearing connection between the axes.

The feature is used in textile machines, Wire #EDM machines, CNC #skiving machines, conveyors, gantry machines and in agricultural equipment.

A Servosila "Engineer" robot fetches a coffee at a research lab. The robot is a 9 years old machine and is still in an active use.

A basic onboard setup consists of an internal combustion engine, a brushless electric motor attached to the engine, an onboard battery with a BMS and a Servosila SC-series controller acting as both the electric motor's driver and an electric power converter. The electric motor needs to be equipped with either Hall Sensors or an encoder.

Upon receiving a command from a control computer/autopilot, the Servosila controller drives the electric motor to start up the internal combustion engine. Once the engine is started, the electric motor becomes a three-phase power generator driven by the engine. The Servosila controller then turns itself into an inverter that converts the three-phase AC power into a regulated DC power for onboard payloads, while also charging the battery.

Servosila SC-series controllers receive commands and return telemetry via a CAN/CANopen network interface. A USB interface is also available for ease of configuration on the ground.

Servoscope, a software tool that accompanies all SC-series motor controllers, has been improved with simulation capabilities related to the starter-generator application. The tool helps select an electric motor that matches performance profile of the internal combustion engine as well as onboard payloads.

Furthermore, if an encoder is available in the setup, a range of advanced applications becomes available. For example, in a hybrid power application, an electric motor could be used to assist a piston engine during fuel-mixture compression strokes, while extracting the power during fuel burning strokes. It becomes possible to rotate the propeller into a safer position for engine-off landings.

Robotic Medical Rehabilitation Kit
A partner of Servosila in the medical domain has developed a rehabilitation technology that helps patients who suffer from arm motion disorders caused by a stroke.

The kit consists of a electroencephalograph (EEG), a device that reads brain waves, connected to a pair of servo-actuated exoskeleton-like gloves.

Whenever the patient "thinks" about moving their arm, the kit picks up the patient's brain waves and applies a torque via a servo motor to actually move one of the patient's arms. The device automatically determines which arm, left of right, the patient is trying to move. Over time, this exercise causes the brain to re-grow the neural connections damaged by the stroke.

The medical research kit is now available for purchase by universities or corporate research labs.
#AT

The medical research kit makes use of Servosila SC25 servo drives to control servo actuators connected to the #exoskeleton gloves.