A powertrain can be built up in many different configurations. In its simplest form it is just a motor contactor or motor starter and a motor (see Figure 8). Another configuration may be a variable speed drive driving two asynchronous motors simultaneously. The typical servo drive consists of inverter/drive and motor realizing closed loop position control by encoder feedback devices. An even more complex setup is to combine several motors to perform synchronized motion by means of a motion PLC or CNC and a fieldbus.
Figure 8 – Powertrain Structure Examples
The scope of this document focuses on the elements of a drive system. This includes drive component related products (e.g., brake resistor, DC bus module, safety module, input/output filter), drive related products (e.g., contactor, motor starter, drive types) and motor/motor component related products (e.g., motor, gearmotor, encoder, sensors). Out of scope are mains and components of the load side.
