We’ve been working with Rexroth electric motion control systems for decades, so we can vouch for the amazing level of quality and toughness Rexroth builds into their servo motors, drives, controls, and power supplies. With extreme weather hitting the headlines lately, you might be wondering whether your motion control system could be affected by low temperatures.
Heat and servos
Heat is more often the weather problem for servo motors, actually. Overheating motors cause lots of problems in factories. Ambient temperatures in many facilities go higher than the recommended temperature for servo motors. Many servos are kept in air conditioned cabinets to avoid high temperatures… but we’ve also seen them in cabinets with the door propped open and a fan blowing air (and debris) onto the motor.
Dust and debris along with heat are a recipe for problems in your motion control system.
Cold and servos
Even though heat is a more obvious problem, your servos and other units in your motion control system are designed to be used in a certain range of ambient temperatures. Most are not designed for use below freezing temperatures (0 degrees Celsius or 32 degrees Fahenheit).
When temperatures across the nation dip into single digits, cold is an issue. Especially in places which don’t usually see such cold temperatures, there may not be sufficient temperature control to keep operating conditions as they should be.
“MSK may not be used if they are subject to operating conditions that do not meet the above specified ambient conditions,” Rexroth materials say for their MSK motors, for example. “This includes, for example, operation under water, in the case of extreme temperature fluctuations or extremely high maximum temperatures.”
Similar words can be found in most of the Rexroth operating manuals. It might be a long time since you’ve checked the operating requirements for your Rexroth machinery. Check now and make sure that ambient temperatures are where they should be for your Rexroth motion control.
Not sure? Need a manual? Call us. We can help.