A new compact servo drive, for next generation airborne targeting technology, is being previewed at this year’s Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI), London Excel, 10-13 September.

Elmo Motion Control’s Platinum Bee single axis servo drive ensures high precision and high-reliability motion for the imagery components of targeting equipment. This enables targeting units to measure command and feedback signals at a high resolution, ensuring that actual movement of the optical head exactly matches commanded movements from the pilot.

With a volume ten times smaller than previous Elmo servo drives and the ability to provide 5.5kW at 90 A, the Platinum Bee has a high power to weight ratio, enabling the power use of the equipment to be increased as required.

The small size of Platinum Bee also means it can be sited much closer to the motor, reducing the need for cabling and cutting electrical noise that could interfere with the signals between the servo drive and the motor.

Platinum Bee offers flexible networking, ranging from official motion fieldbus like EtherCAT and CanOpen to serial communications protocols such as RS232 and RS422. Serial communications, preferred by many companies in the defence sector for their robustness, have been increased in speed in the Platinum Bee from 150 kB to 4 MB per second.

Platinum Bee is part of Elmo’s harsh environment range of servo drives. Ideal for operations with high performance combat aircraft, the unit offers vibration resistance up to 2000 Hz, a service ceiling above 39,000 feet, an operational ambient temperature range of -40°C to +70°C and a mechanical shock resistance of up to 20G.

The Platinum Bee servo drive was developed in partnership with Rafael Defense Systems. Rafael has used several generations of Elmo servo technology in its airborne targeting systems over the years. Together the two technologies have logged over two million hours of flight time, flying with 27 air forces and on 25 types of aircraft.

To find out more, visit the Elmo Motion Control stand at DSEI (SIBAT Pavilion, Booth S6-120).

 

About Elmo Motion Control

Elmo, a leading provider of cutting-edge motion solutions for more than 30 years, offers intelligent, easy to implement, ultra-small and rugged servo drives and motion controllers for various harsh environment applications such as drones, UAV, missile guidance, turrets, and naval applications.

Elmo’s harsh environment products can operate in extreme environmental conditions with temperatures ranging from -40°C to +70°C, altitudes of up to 40,000 feet, and high mechanical shocks or intense vibrations up to 14 Grms. All products have consistently experienced no failures during the HALT test for accelerated temperatures, electrical cycles and thermal shocks, and vibrations.

The company is headquartered in Israel, employs more than 350 staff worldwide, and has a dedicated presence in the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, China, Korea and Singapore. For more information visit: www.elmomc.com.

 

About Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd.

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is one of Israel’s largest defense companies with 2018 annual revenues of over $2.5 billion. The 8,000 employee work force of Rafael develops and manufactures advanced defense systems for the Israeli Defense Forces and the defense establishment, as well as for foreign customers around the world. The company offers its customers a diversified array of innovative solutions at the leading edge of global technology.