Technical information

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230V FX Series Positioning Drive Reference Manual
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)
This code assigns a number to each numeral and letter of the alphabet. In this manner, information can be
transmitted between machines as a series of binary numbers.
Bandwidth
The frequency range in which the magnitude of the system gain is no lower than 3 dB (1/2 the output RMS
voltage) below the highest gain point.
Back EMF (BEMF - Back Electro Motive Force)
The voltage generated when a permanent magnet motor is rotated. This voltage is proportional to motor
speed and is present regardless of whether the motor winding(s) are energized or un-energized.
Ball Screw
A lead screw which has its threads formed as a ball bearing race. The carriage contains a circulating supply
of ball bearings for increased efficiency, as much as 90 percent.
Baud Rate
The number of binary bits transmitted per second on a serial communications link such as RS-232C. (1
character is usually 10 bits.)
BCD
Binary Coded Decimal is an encoding technique used to describe the numbers 0 through 9 with four digital
(on or off) signal lines. Popular in machine tool equipment, BCD interfaces are now giving way to
interfaces requiring fewer wires - such as RS-232C.
Bit (Binary Digit)
A unit of information equal to 1 binary decision having a value of 0 or 1.
Bridge
The high power electronic control section of an amplifier or drive which gates the power from the power
bus to the motor.
Brush
Conducting material which passes current from the DC motor terminals to the rotating commutator.
Bus (signal or communication)
A group of parallel connections carrying pre-assigned digital signals. Busses usually consist of address and
data information and miscellaneous control signals for the interconnection of microprocessors, memories
and other computing elements.
Bus, Power
The high voltage and current source which supplies the power used to drive the motor via the output bridge,
usually 30 VDC to 700 VDC.
Byte
A group of eight bits treated as a whole, with 256 possible combinations of one’s and zero’s, each
combination representing a unique piece of information.
Cam Profiling
A technique used to perform nonlinear motions electronically similar to that achieved with mechanical
cams.