Application Cases of Integrated Servo Motors in AGV Carts - Solutions - NiMotion

AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles) play a core role in automated material handling in logistics, warehousing, and production workshops. The demand for AGV miniaturization, high precision, and flexibility is increasingly prominent, especially within space-constrained AGV interiors. The traditional separate "motor + driver + encoder" solution has become a technical bottleneck due to its size and wiring complexity. By adopting integrated servo motors for AGV steering wheel control, high-precision steering control in confined spaces has been successfully achieved, effectively improving AGV motion flexibility and system integration.

1. Application Solution

The AGV steering wheel control solution is based on the PMM60 series integrated servo motors:

(1) Mechanical Structure
The motor and reducer are combined, directly driving the steering wheel via a synchronous belt pulley, eliminating complex transmission mechanisms and adapting to the limited internal space of AGVs.

(2) Control Process

Origin Calibration: Uses the motor's stall detection function to achieve homing without additional limit switches, further saving space.
Steering Control: Real-time steering angle control is performed in Cyclic Synchronous Position (CSP) mode via CANopen communication, ensuring precise and synchronized steering response.

(3) System Integration
The motor directly collaborates with the AGV main controller (e.g., the EtherCAT-supported NIMC2000N motion controller) to achieve seamless integration of path planning and motion scheduling.

2. Application Products

Core Motor: PMM6020B-CANopen-0FS Integrated Servo Motor
Control Support: CANopen communication protocol, compatible with CSP mode and homing function
Related Equipment: High-precision LiDAR (e.g., LR-1F series) and fanless industrial PCs (e.g., DTB-3094-H610E) can be expanded as needed to enhance navigation and obstacle avoidance capabilities

3. Problems and Solutions

ProblemSolution1. AGV internal space is extremely limited, making traditional servo systems difficult to installSelected the highly integrated PMM6020B all-in-one motor, reducing size and wiring space requirements2. Need to save hardware cost and space for steering origin calibrationUsed the motor's stall function to achieve software-based homing without physical limit switches3. Steering control requires high real-time performance and synchronization accuracyAdopted CSP mode under CANopen to ensure strict synchronization between steering commands and system cycles4. Long-term operation requires high reliabilityThe motor integrates multiple protection mechanisms, including overvoltage and overheat protection, reducing failure rates

4. Summary and Conclusion

In this case study, the PMM6020B all-in-one integrated servo motor successfully addressed the core challenges of space constraints, precision, and real-time performance in AGV steering wheel control, providing a reliable drive solution for logistics automation and smart manufacturing scenarios.