Mitsubishi Servo Drive Overview

Mitsubishi Electric servo amplifiers and servo motors (MELSERVO) are offered for modest to cutting-edge machine control applications. The products speak innovation and convenience and promise functionality and enhanced compatibility with unmatched performance and reliability for challenging applications.

1) MR-J5

Servo Amplifier 

A variety of servo amplifier series are presented in the MR-J5 family. General purpose amplifier series MR-J5-A further comprises two servo amplifier product lines; a 200 Vac power supply system for which the rated output ranges from 0.1 kW up to 7 kW, and a 400 Vac system, where output power ranges from 0.6 kW up to 3.5 kW. MR-J5-A support only pulse-train and analog voltage type interfaces.

There are three series of servo amplifiers available with CC-Link IE TSN communication interface. The MR-J5-G series offers two product lines that offer the same specifications as the MR-J5-A, the only difference being the communication interface. The MR-J5W2-G offers servo amplifiers with a 200 Vac power supply and a 2-axis control. Rated output power is supported from 0.2 kW to 1 kW. The MR-J5W3-G also offers servo amplifiers with a 200 Vac power supply and a 3-axis control. The rated output power can be 0.2 kW or 0.4 kW.

Rotary Servo Motor 

MR-J5 offers several servo motor choices for a variety of applications. The servo motors can be divided into two types based on the capacity. The HK-KT series is a small-capacity servo motor series. The rated output ranges from 0.05 kW to 2 kW for a 200 Vac and from 0.4 kW to 2 kW for a 400 Vac. The rated and maximum speed is 3000 and 6700 r/min. This product line offers a single connector connection. The flat-type servos are also available.

The HK-ST series is a medium-capacity servo motor series. The rated output ranges from 0.5 kW up to 7 kW for 200 Vac and 400 Vac categories. The rated and maximum speed is 2000 and 4000 r/min. This series is also suitable for material handling equipment. Both series support electromagnetic brake function, IP67 rating, battery-less 26-bit absolute and incremental position encoders (high resolution of 67,108,864 pulses/rev), functional safety features, and compatibility for HK-KT and HK-ST series geared servo motors. The common applications include belt drives, mounters, semiconductor manufacturing machines, robotic systems, and X-Y tables.

Other Features  

Other than servo amplifiers and rotary servo motors, MR-J5 also delivers compatibility with various motion modules, linear servo motors (LM-H3/F/K2/U2/AJ series), and direct drive motors. MR-J5 has some peripheral equipment that can be installed for added functionality if required. These optional units include junction terminal blocks for network amplifiers and motors with brakes, connection cables, power converter units, safety logic units, and different types of connectors. Because of a high-speed Ethernet network, MR-J5 leads the industry towards easy IoT adoption.

2) MR-JET

Servo Amplifier 

The power supply inputs a 1-phase or 3-phase 200 Vac 50/60 Hz, with a current that ranges from 0.9 A up to 14 A. The rated output is a 3-phase 0-240 Vac voltage and 1.3 up to 11 A current. The servo amplifiers adopt either a sinewave PWM or a current control method with possibilities to control position, velocity, and torque. The dynamic brake is a built-in feature. The communication options include CC-Link IE TSN, EtherCAT, and a USB with a communication cycle ranging from 125 µs up to 8ms.

The servo functions include vibration suppression, adaptive and robust filter, tuning functions (auto, quick, and one-touch), power monitoring, machine diagnostics, drive recorder, super trace, and lost motion compensation. There are many in-built protective functions like overheating, overvoltage and overcurrent protections, overload shut-off protections, and encoder and regenerative error protections.

Rotary Servo Motor

The HG servo motor series is compatible with MR-JET amplifiers. The HG-KNS series offers models with a rated output of 0.1 kW up to 0.75 kW power, 0.32 Nm up to 2.4 Nm of rated torque, and rated current ranging from 0.8 A to 4.8 A. The rated speed of motors in this series is 3000 r/min. The moment of inertia ranges up to 1.39x 10⁻⁴ kg m² with electromagnetic brake and up to 1.28 x 10⁻⁴ kg m² without it.

The MR-JET amplifiers are also compatible with the HG-HNS servo motor series, providing more inertia and capacity than the HG-KNS series. The HG-HNS series offers models with a rated output of 0.5 kW up to 3 kW power, 2.39 Nm up to 14.3 Nm of rated torque, and rated current ranging from 2.9 A to 11 A. The rated speed of motors in this series is 2000 r/min. The moment of inertia ranges up to 88.2 x 10⁻⁴ kg m² with electromagnetic brake and up to 78.6 x 10⁻⁴ kg m² without it. Both HG servo motor series utilize a 22-bit absolute or incremental encoder for position and speed detection.

Two series of linear servo motors are compatible with MR-JET products, which are LM-H3 and LM-AJ. Linear servo motors from these series can be used either with an A/b/Z-phase differential type or a serial linear encoder. These MR-JET servo amplifiers can be set up using MR-Configurator2, and servo motors can utilize Motorizer freeware, a servo drive sizing tool.

3) MR-J4

Servo Amplifier 

The MR-J4 series exhibits the highest flexibility, power, and performance in the MELSERVO lineup. The MR-J4 servo amplifier products can be categorized into four series based on communication interface. 

• CC-Link IE Field Interface is present in the MR-J4-GF-RJ series. This series supports single axis control and outputs rated power of 0.1 – 0.4 kW for 1-phase (100 Vac), 0.1 – 22 kW for 3-phase (200 Vac) and 0.6 – 22 kW for 3-phase (400 Vac) power supplies. 
• With the SSCNET-III/H-Interface in MR-J4-B, up to 3-axes can be controlled with a variety of power supplies ranging from 1-phase (100 Vac) to 3-phase (200 Vac and 400 Vac) and 24 V DC / 48 V DC. This series’s output power of servo amplifiers ranges from 0.1 kW to up to 55 kW.  
• The general-purpose interface is offered in two servo amplifier series, which are MR-J4-A and MR-J4-03A6-RJ. These series can be used for a single axis control with AC and DC power supplies and up to 55 kW of rated power. 
• The amplifier series MR-J4-TM comes with the multi-network interface and can handle a rated output power of up to 22 kW with AC power supplies available in single and three phases.  

The MR-J4 servo amplifiers offer various built-in functions, including advanced vibration suppression, adaptive filter, one-touch tuning, machine diagnosis, drive recorder, and lost motion compensation. Some of the protective features in the MR-J4 series include overcurrent shut-off, overheat protection, overload and overvoltage protections, power failure, over speed protection, magnetic pole detection, error excessive, servo control fault, and encoder error-related protections.  

Rotary Servo Motor 

• In the small capacity category, two servo motor series are compatible, HG-KR and HG-MR. The rated and maximum speeds are 3000 and 6000 r/min, with a rated output capacity of up to 0.75 kW. 
• The medium capacity series comprises of HG-SR series. The rated and maximum speeds are 1000 and 1500 r/min with up to 4.2 kW rated output power, and 2000 and 3000 r/min with up to 7 kW rated output capacity. Some variants use a power supply of 400 Vac.  
• The medium to large capacity rotary servo motors operate with 200 Vac and 400 Vac and reach up to 9 kW rated power for a rated speed of 3000 r/min and up to 55 kW rated power for a rated speed of 1500 r/min, and up to 37 kW rated power for rated speed of 1000 r/min. 
• Medium capacity flat type servo motor series HG-UR and ultra-small capacity servo motors HG-AK are also available, which have rated speeds of 2000 r/min and 6000 r/min with a rated output power of up to 5 kW and 0.03 kW, respectively.  

MR-J4 servos can be used in food processing machines, robots, semiconductor manufacturing, knitting machines, material handling, food packaging, and injection molding machines. The MR-J4 also supports a range of linear and direct drive servo motors. MR-4 offers an easy migration for MR-J3 amplifiers as it uses similar flange sizes and matching brake and power encoder cables.  

4) MR-JE

Servo Amplifier 

There are two series of servo amplifiers for the MR-JE family, categorized based on communication interface. Each of these series further comprises multiple variants. The MR-JE-BF servo amplifier series has a power supply of 1-phase or 3-phase 200-240 Vac 50/60 Hz, with current values ranging from 0.9 A up to 14 A. The rated output is a 3-phase 170 Vac voltage with 1.1 to 11 A current. The servo amplifiers can exploit a sinewave PWM or a current control method and can be used for position, velocity, and torque control. The dynamic brake is a built-in feature and the communication options include SSCNET-III and H command interface with communication cycles of 0.444 ms and 0.888 ms, respectively.

The MR-JE-C servo amplifiers are similar in input and output voltage and current ratings to the MR-JE-BF. The main difference is in communication functionality; the MR-JE-C offers Ethernet and RS-485 ports. A USB port is available in both series which can be used for connection with a personal computer to utilize amplifier configurations through MR-Configurator2. The encoder output pulse configuration is compatible with the A/B/Z-phase type. In addition to position, speed and torque control mode, profile, homing and positioning mode are also available in this servo amplifier series. The MR-JE series also offers the standard servo amplifier functions and protection features.

Rotary Servo Motor 

The HG-KN and HG-SN servo motor series are compatible with MR-JE servo amplifiers. These two series hold the same rated output power, current, and moment of inertia specifications as the HG-KNS and HG-SNS, which are compatible with MR-JET servo amplifiers. The main difference is that these two servo motor series use a 17-bit incremental encoder for speed and position detection.

5) MR-JN

Servo Amplifier 

The MR-JN presents servo amplifiers with the main power supply ranging from 200 Vac to 230 Vac for 3 models and from 100 Vac to 120 Vac for 2 models with a rated current of up to 5A. The rated output current varies from 1.1 A to 1.6 A with a 170 Vac 3-phase voltage. These servo amplifiers come with a dynamic brake option and standard protection functions. The position, speed, and torque control options are available. The positioning mode is further categorized as home return, operation, and command mode. Other features include overtravel prevention, backlash function, and software stroke limit.

Rotary Servo Motor 

The compatible servo motors with the MR-JN family belong to the HF-KN and HF-KP series of servo motors.  

6) Legacy Products

The following products are officially discontinued and customers are recommended to migrate to newer compatible hardware, which is cost-effective and highly efficient.

MR-J3

The MR-J3 servo system was introduced in 2003 with servo amplifiers and servo motors (HF, HA, and HC series). This series offered flexible solutions for a wide range of modern applications. The modern MR-J4 family of servo products is built on the core spirit of innovation, performance, and technology from the MR-J3. The series was discontinued in 2019, and its maintenance services are available until May 2026. The MR-J4 and HG servo motors are the most suitable upgradation options for this series.

MR-J2S / MR-J2M

Launched in 1999, MR-J2S and MR-J2M offered performance and flexibility and were a good match for a wide range of industrial applications. The MR-J4 family also praises the features and technology adopted by these servo products. The series was discontinued in 2015, and its official repair services are available until Aug 2022. The customers are recommended to migrate to MR-J4 servo amplifiers and HG servo motors.

MR-E

Introduced in 2009, the MR-E series servo system, including servo amplifiers and servo motors, proposed a highly reliable and cost-effective solution for basic applications and stepper replacement. This system was targeted for general machine operations and packaging machines. This servo series was discontinued in 2016, and its official maintenance services are available by the end of 2022. The customers can upgrade this servo system by migrating to the MR-JE servo amplifiers and HG-KN and HG-SN servo motor products.

MR-C

MR-C series was launched in 1999. The series comprised of servo amplifier and servo motors from the HC-PQ and HC-KQ series. This series served as a high-performance replacement of up to 400W stepper motors. The series was discontinued in April 2013, and its repair services lasted till 2019. The customers are recommended to migrate to MR-JN servo products with MR-JN servo amplifiers and HF-KN and HF-KP servo motors.

MR-J2

Back in 1993, the MR-J2 family of servo amplifiers and compatible servo motors was released. It offered high performance and flexibility with some unique and new features, including standard absolute encoders, automatic motor recognition, and torque mode switching. The series was discontinued in 2006, and its services were available till Nov 2012. An upgradation to MR-J4 servo amplifiers and HG servo motors is recommended for these products.

MR-H

This series was launched back in 1993 with a 32-bit RISC CPU and a frequency response of 200Hz. It was a robust single-axis amplifier system for applications that required high precision, short settling time, and stable control. The applications it served included machining tools, rotary tables, and roll feeders. The servo system was discontinued in 2005, and its official services ended in 2012. Customers should migrate to MR-J4 servo amplifier and HG servo motor products for a cost-effective, high-performance solution.

MR-J

MR-J series of servo amplifiers and motors, introduced in 1988, is marked as the earliest solution for the modern industry by Mitsubishi Electric. It was a flagship series of servo systems at that time. The product served the industry till 2000, and its repair services lasted till 2008. Customers using these products should migrate to the new MR-J4 series of servo amplifiers and HG servo motor products.

This entry was posted on August 2nd, 2022 and is filed under Hardware Comparison, Mitsubishi, Uncategorized. Both comments and pings are currently closed.