Kollmorgen

Kollmorgen is an American-German motion control and drives brand, one of the classic suppliers of servo motors for machines. The datasheets show that the company designs and builds servo motors, direct-drive motors, stepper motors, amplifiers and gearing, and among its customer sectors it names robotics, warehouse automation, laboratories and surgical robots. Different catalogue editions name different parent groups; the newest KBM guide names Regal Rexnord.

The first line is the AKM servo motors. They come in eight frame sizes from 40 to 260 mm, 28 frame-stack combinations and more than 120 standard windings. Continuous stall torque runs from 0.16 to 180 Nm, speeds reach 8000 rpm, and windings are matched to supplies from 75 V DC up to 480 V AC. There are washdown and food-grade versions and a stainless-steel hygienic AKMH, and the maker advertises a single-cable connection with digital feedback. AKD amplifiers complete the system.

More interesting for robotics are frameless motors, meaning just a stator and a rotor with no housing, which the designer builds into a joint. The KBM series has 14 frame sizes with several stack lengths, Hall sensors, a 155°C winding rating and low cogging. The newer TBM series has three sizes from 60 to 129 mm, and its guide lists robotic joints among applications, next to sensor gimbals and UAV drives. Such a motor paired with a strain wave gear, as offered by Harmonic Drive, makes the actuator described in “Actuators in Humanoid Robots”.

In which robots? We have no robot in our catalog with a named Kollmorgen motor, so we will not point to a model. Makers of industrial arms, such as FANUC or Yaskawa Electric, usually do not disclose their drive suppliers. Kollmorgen goes rather into special machines, specialist robots, AGVs and workstations for factories and warehouses. In humanoid robots the motor decision is made in the joint design, and a component of this class is rather a choice for an integrator or prototype builder than for a cheap service robot.

For cost and performance, a motor from the AKM guides is an expensive element: it pays off when high torque and guaranteed availability are needed, and not necessarily when the robot is meant to be cheap. Frameless motors save mass and space, but need their own bearing and cooling design. For the overall calculation, see “Humanoid Robot TCO: How to Calculate Total Cost”. Competitors such as Faulhaber and Elmo Motion Control aim rather at lighter joints and grippers.

For Poland and Europe, the guides state local presence: direct sales, engineering support and distributors across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, but without a list naming Polish firms. A specific Polish partner therefore has to be established by asking the manufacturer. The basics of sizing a drive for your own machine will also help beginners reading “How to Start Learning Robotics in Poland”.