April 11, 2016- Gleason Corporation offers a very wide range of machines for gear production, finishing and testing, as well as cutting tools, workholding and many other gear solutions.
Recently, Gleason Metrology Systems designed their next-generation gear-inspection machine for gears of up to 3 meters in diameter. Seeking a cost-effective motion solution with proven multi-axis compensation capabilities that could meet the demanding performance requirements of such large, precise machines and that would integrate quickly with their software architecture, Gleason turned to its long-term partner, Servotronix.
“Our GMS series provides our customers with fast, highly accurate and very productive systems,” stated Gleason’s Michael Tanner, Senior Systems Engineer. “We needed a motion-control solution that could live up to very demanding requirements.”
Servotronix’s comprehensive motion-control system for Gleason includes the softMC motion controller and four CDHD drives, running over an EtherCAT bus and controlling three linear axes and one rotary axis. The system achieves very demanding accuracy requirements: the linear axes require accuracy of less than one micron in the position window while the rotary axis requires accuracy of less than 75 micro degrees. The CDHD drives also support Gleason’s custom motors, saving significant integration and development time associated with replacing motors.
Servotronix's motion-control system is flexible and can support multiple configurations. Since the controller architecture is open, modular and accessible, Gleason can perform software adaptations in-house and easily get the controller to communicate with new hardware devices in diverse applications.
