B&R has developed an inverter that mounts directly on machinery. The IP65-protected Acoposmulti65 inverter module (shown below) can control various motor technologies including torque motors, linear motors and rotary servomotors. According to B&R, the modules will cut installation space, as well as reducing commissioning and delivery times.

When using the machine-mounted modules, the only drive-related components that need to be accommodated in the switching cabinet are power supply modules and electromechanical components, making it easy to implement modular machine architectures.

The modules can be connected rapidly using hybrid cables that combine a 24V DC power supply, DC bus and Ethernet Powerlink communications. They can be daisy-chained together, reducing wiring by up to 70%, and resulting in a clear, flexible machine architecture with energy is passed from one drive module to the next.

The modules support the STO (Safe Torque Off) and SS1 (Safe Operational Stop 1 time-monitored) safety functions. Network-based versions, based on openSafety, will be available later, allowing users to access extra safety functions including SBC, SOS, SS2, SLS, SMS, SLI, SDI and SLP.