As you invest in an automated system for high-speed, high-precision processes, it’s important to remember that your choice of drive technology for motorized components will go a long way in determining your system’s performance, efficiency and cost-effectiveness. While both cam-driven and direct drive technology are appropriate options for automated systems, direct drive automation offers integrators a long list of advantages, particularly when it comes to motion flexibility, configuration ease and total cost of ownership. This blog post will highlight these advantages and identify applications that are particularly well-suited for direct-driven automated systems.

Both the cam and direct drive approaches have clear distinctions. It’s important to understand their working principles and how they differ in order to properly evaluate them for your application:

Cam-Driven Automation
These systems use mechanical cams to set a motion profile while working in concert with a cam follower to convert a motor’s continuous rotary motion into linear, or reciprocating, motion. Cam-driven systems achieve high repeatability for fixed paths where predictable movements are essential. Their robust steel alloy construction gives them excellent durability and a long service life. Cam systems typically have low up-front costs. Because they are often designed for a specific task, however, cam systems have limited flexibility and scalability. They also tend to be bulky, and can wear over time due to components constantly making contact with each other. And, when requirements change, cam-driven systems are typically hard to program. Typical applications include bottle capping, packaging lines, stamping presses and fixed cycle assembly.

Direct Drive Automation
This approach leverages linear torque motors that couple directly to the source of the motion without requiring support from mechanical transmission components. That means there’s no need for mechanical gears or belts and their associated energy losses, backlash and maintenance needs. This results in precise, high-speed operation and smaller, cleaner systems. Disadvantages include susceptibility to harsh environments and the need for skilled technicians. Although the initial cost is higher than traditional motor-drive technologies for automation, direct drive automation is cost-effective in the long term. Here’s why:

  • High performance. Since a direct drive linear motor is connected with the load, there’s no need for mechanical gears or belts and their associated energy losses, backlash, downtime and maintenance needs. This gives direct drive systems greater reliability, high-speed capabilities, precise and repeatable positioning, greater yields and compact sizes. In fact, direct drive systems are capable of micron-level accuracy and fast cycle times, making them attractive for high-speed micro-assembly applications with delicate components.
  • Exceptional reconfigurability. Unlike cam-driven automation designs that are configured for a specific task, direct drive systems can be programmed to handle various sizes, positions, speeds or acceleration requirements as they change. This programmability, along with the absence of mechanical gears and belts, allows for quick and easy changeovers while giving implementers the flexibility to add future SKUs.
  • Total cost of ownership. Direct drive’s speed and precision along with the advantage of programmability versus manual calibration mean faster setup times and fewer reworks, and less changeover time, labor and maintenance needs. Taken together, they amount to an exceptional cost of ownership that surpasses that of cam-driven systems over time.

Thanks to these benefits, direct drive technology is well suited for a wide range of dynamic applications such as semiconductor tools, lab automation, precision pick and place and medical device assembly.

Application Example: Cardiac Stent Manufacturing
A recent Akribis customer manufactures cardiac stents. The process includes laser cutting, inspection and assembly. A cam-based automated system requires mechanical components to position the stents for laser cutting, and the manufacturer also must contend with hardware changes during reconfigurations, a limited accuracy of ±20µ, long changeovers and manual calibration and setup. In contrast, a direct drive system uses linear motors for sub-micron positioning accuracy, can be programmed for multiple stent sizes, and allows automated tuning and diagnostics. In addition, changeovers take less than an hour, with further time savings made possible by faster cycle times and fewer reworks. The result: higher productivity and a future-proof operation.

Make Akribis Your One-Stop Shop for Direct Drive Technology
Today’s automated operations demand precise positioning, speed, ease of integration and reliability. At Akribis, we’re a global leader in innovative direct drive motors and customizable high-speed automated assembly systems that leverage direct drive technology. With core technologies that include motion control and robotics, machine vision, measurement and calibration, software plus exceptional service and support, we’re your one-stop shop for direct drive automated systems that deliver high throughput, productivity and reliability.

For more information, please visit www.akribis-sys.com.