ClearPath limits not just jerk, but jerk-derivative in its motion profiles; actively cancels cogging torque; and uses advanced vector torque control to provide the smoothest motion available.
Teknic’s proprietary Inertia Matching Technology (IMT) allows the ClearPath motors to easily handle load inertias up to 100x the motor’s inertia, compared to the industry standard of 10:1.
Instead of using traditional PID servo control, ClearPath utilized PIV-fff (PI with embedded velocity loop, triple-derivative feedforward, and non-linear augmentations) which offers superior position and velocity tracking response and higher bandwidth disturbance rejection.
Take full advantage of ClearPath's powerful diagnostic features to evaluate your motion performance and debug your machine. The software scope offers a real-time view of up to 13 different variable including tracking error, command profiles, torque usage, and voltage usage.
If you have a PLC, indexer, or a CNC controller with step & direction (or quadrature A/B) outputs, you can use ClearPath-SD to get servo-controlled performance in a compact, low-cost package.
ClearPath-SD is also an easy upgrade over stepper motors giving you smoother, quieter, and more precise closed-loop motion.
The MC-series is the easiest way to get high-performance motion control. Select one of thirteen operation modes, and control position, velocity, or torque with just simple digital signals.
Control with simple switches, sensors, or programmable devices like microcontrollers or PLCs.
Get full software control of ClearPath with the SC-series. Change motion parameters, capture encoder position, get diagnostic data, and more.
Rich, intuitive C++ library makes programming easy and efficient. Download for free.
Try ClearPath risk-free for 3 months.
Full refund if you're not 100% impressed!
Adaptive Position Error Compensation:
Unlike servos using common control strategies like PID in which the response to position error is in simple proportion to the error, ClearPath uses a non-linear, adaptive control algorithm that automatically and dynamically adjusts its response to current performance in real time.
Automatic High Inertia Compensation:
Most servo manufacturers recommend load inertias of no more than 10 to 20 times the motor's inertia to avoid servo ringing, instability, and low stiffness. ClearPath's IMT (Inertia Matching Technology) automatically compensates for the effects of large inertial mismatch allowing you to use smaller motors and less gearing. Our customers regularly build systems with inertial mismatches of more than 100 to 1 using Teknic products with the IMT feature.
Automatic Sensor Calibration:
Servo systems can exhibit erratic performance when critical current feedback sensors drift over time and temperature. If you can't measure the controlled variable accurately, you can't control it very well. ClearPath uses proprietary circuitry and firmware to continuously minimize the effects of sensor inaccuracies.
Automatic Anti-hunting Protection:
This feature allows ClearPath to have high stiffness and disturbance rejection yet minimal hunting (i.e., the tendency for servos to constantly dither 1 or 2 encoder counts when they should be sitting still).
Automatic Resonance Detection/Avoidance:
All mechanical systems have resonant frequencies. If there are any significant resonances within the bandwidth of a typical servo system connected to the mechanics, the servo may become unstable (or, at a minimum, make loud, unpleasant sounds much like what happens when you put a microphone too close to its loudspeaker). ClearPath automatically detects and compensates for low, medium and high frequency system resonances.
Automatic Input Voltage Regulation:
ClearPath's vector torque compensator automatically compensates for fluctuations in your DC bus power supply. This means you can use an inexpensive unregulated power supply to power ClearPath, and you don't have to worry about typical AC line fluctuations causing performance problems.
It's probably obvious that the fully integrated design of ClearPath, by its very nature, will increase the ruggedness and reliability of your system. The most failure-prone element in all motion systems—the cabling—has been greatly reduced. In fact, the motor-drive cable, the most complex and troublesome cable, is altogether eliminated. But ClearPath has numerous design features, beyond the integration of the motor, encoder, drive and controller, that further enhance reliability. Read on to see how quality and reliability has been designed into every aspect of ClearPath, and you'll see why we're able to provide the longest warranty in the industry.
Motor Design and Construction Features
Every component in the construction of ClearPath motors has been carefully engineered using the highest quality materials, design, and manufacturing processes.
The rare-earth magnets are fully sintered, not bonded together with plastic; the wire insulation exceeds Class H temperature specs; the finish is anodized, not painted or raw; the extra-large bearings are permanently sealed; and more. Browse through the photos below which show the internal construction, and see for yourself.
ClearPath stator laminations (left) are aligned in a partial helix rather than straight up and down to reduce torque ripple and cogging. This results in better velocity regulation, less vibration, better dynamic servo control, and less servo hunting.
Winding end-turns are pressed tightly together and laced to form a nearly solid mass of copper for better thermal performance. Tightly packed wires vibrate less as current flow changes, so they are audibly quieter and their insulation doesn't abrade and fail over time.
"Bonded" neodymium ring magnets (right) are made by mixing NdFeB powder with a plastic resin. ClearPath uses magnets made of virtually pure NdFeB that has been "sintered" into solid bricks (left). These sintered magnets are extremely powerful compared to the plastic bonded magnets. AC induction motors, which use electromagnets rather than permanent magnets, only have about 25% as much power as ClearPath for the same size motor.
The sapphire-hard, anodized finish on ClearPath motors (left) resists scratches much better than paint or epoxy (right), and won't ever peel, flake or chip. The heat-stable, inorganic black dye is integral to the finish, and gives ClearPath a rich, metallic look that will not fade or discolor over time.
The shaft diameter transition in all ClearPath motors is smoothly radiused. Motor shafts with abrupt diameter transitions (right) have severe internal stress concentrations that can cause their shafts to break when side-loaded.
Feather keys are fully contained in the shaft so they can't come loose, they don't rock and get jammed like Woodruff keys or shift axially like square and flat keys, and their curved ends guide the key into the keyway for easy assembly.
Compared to the common and simple one-coil-per-tooth stators (right), ClearPath stators (left) use an overlapping, alternate-slot fill pattern with two coil sections per slot. This reduces torque ripple, cogging, and detent torque, improves electrical responsiveness, and increases power output.
ClearPath has a compression fit, aluminum housing surrounding the stator that provides a low-resistance path to conduct heat out of the motor and into the mounting suface (which typically acts as a big heat sink). This increases continuous power output and improves reliability. Many motors have no housing (exposed laminations) and so have a poor heat path to the mounting surface.
ClearPath's custom-made, brass balancing weights (left) are more precise and secure than common balancing putty (right). The weight is held captive by the shaft (under the bearing) so that it can not come loose like balancing putty often does.
For extra protection beyond ClearPath's close-tolerance, closed mechanical design, an optional dynamic shaft seal is available. ClearPath's high quality shaft seal is spring tensioned, has a Viton® lip for minimal compression set and excellent high temperature properties, and a PTFE coating for low friction and wear. It also has a metal outer case for greater structural rigidity, and a Viton® outer coating for a better OD seal and more tolerance to thermal expansion differentials.
Drive and Motor Protection Features: Rugged design and construction is great for long life under tough conditions, but ClearPath also has many features that protect it from mishaps that might cause immediate death for other motors—reversed wiring, shorted inputs or outputs, voltage overloads, mechanical jams, etc. Here are some of the protection features built into every ClearPath motor:
In all these shutdown situations, ClearPath will dynamically brake the moving load. Other motors just freewheel when they shut down, allowing your mechanics to crash.
Production Quality and Warranty
Every single ClearPath motor receives a full suite of in-line and post-production tests to assure you of the highest incoming quality. This includes testing for:
Unsurpassed Warranty
ClearPath is warranted to be free from defects in material and workmanship for a full three years. These systems are built to last.
...how we're able to offer an industrial-quality, state-of-the-art, complete servo system at prices that compete with DC brush and AC induction motor systems. Well, frankly, one of the ways we achieved ClearPath’s low price was by simply leaving out certain features. To help us decide what to leave out, we consulted a large number of our most experienced users, and asked them which features they'd miss the least. If the features were costly, we just left them out. Doing this, we may have made ClearPath a little less attractive for some applications, but it means now you can use a servo system where you could never afford to before.
Read what we left out.
General purpose I/O. ClearPath’s I/O is dedicated to control its own functions. If you need I/O for other machine functions, you’ll need to use the I/O from another source (e.g., your PLC or a GPIO card).
Encoder output connector. Being a servo, ClearPath uses an integrated 12,800 count per revolution encoder to maintain accurate position and velocity, but we reduced cost and space (and got rid of potential noise problems) by not running the encoder signals to the outside world. ClearPath does have a digital status output, however, to tell you when moves are done or target speeds are reached. And you can query ClearPath-SC’s encoder position via software or capture position (with the advanced firmware option) on the fly.
Memory for downloaded programs To use ClearPath, you configure it to your desired mode of operation and then control it with: (1) digital I/O or switches and buttons (ClearPath-MC), (2) step & direction signals (ClearPath-SD), or (3) software commands from an external Windows or Linux CPU (ClearPath-SC). There’s enough built-in control capability to do some pretty sophisticated tasks (see the overview video), and with ClearPath-SC and C++, you can get virtually unlimited flexibility, but there’s no built-in memory to run stand-alone programs. But, at least you won’t have to learn a new programming language.
Of course, we did a lot more to reduce cost than just leave out a few features.
Here are the biggest reasons that ClearPath can offer high quality and high performance at such a low price: