PI A-824.21 Series, User Manual, Page: 8 / 28

User Guide
Doc# A824D001 v2.0
15-Nov-2018
Page 8 of 28
PI (Physik Instrumente) L.P.
16 Albert Street, Auburn, MA 01501
Tel: 508-832-3456 Fax: 508-832-0506
Email: air@pi-usa.us
4. Product Overview
4.1. Model Overview and Part Numbering
The A-824 series offers various models, defined by the encoder type, communications protocol, and IO options.
Model Encoder Options
A-824.21
A = Incremental Sine (1 Vp-p)
Interpolation 4x to 16,384x
00 = Ethernet Communications
72 VDC Motor Bus
24V IO
B = Absolute BiSS-C
4.2. Product Description
The A-82x series of high-power motion controllers from PI offers a completely integrated electronics solution, with
controller, drives, and power supplies packaged together in a compact 4U, 19-inch rack-mount enclosure. These
controllers are designed and optimized to work with the PIglide line of air bearing stages which feature direct
drive linear and rotary servo motors and high resolution encoders. The A-824.21xxx series features the UDMnt
PWM servo drive from ACS, which offers the excellent performance at a reduced cost.
Standard options include inputs for incremental sine encoders and absolute encoders using the BiSS-C serial
data protocol. Sine encoder support includes integrated encoder multiplication up to 16,384x. All controllers
feature on-board flash memory for stored motion programs and parameters. The A-82x controllers can run in
standalone mode running stored programs, or controlled via an external PC. A PC is required for programming
and setup. All software is included with the controller.
4.3. Product Features
 ACS SPiiPlus EC Motion Controller and EtherCAT® master.
 ACS UDMnt PWM servo drives
 AC-to-DC power supplies to convert AC line voltage into the required DC voltages needed for the servo
motors and controller logic.
 Cooling Fan
 Circuit breakers built into on/off power switch
 Cabling to bring all necessary electrical signals to the rear panel, using industry-standard D-sub connectors
on the package exterior.

19” wide rack-mount chassis.
 Incremental SIN/COS Analog encoder inputs with 4096x Interpolation.
 Absolute BiSS-C encoder inputs.
(Note: The standard model configuration assumes that all axes of the A-8xx are configured for the same
encoder type. However, custom configurations can be offered that allow mixing of the encoder types
between axes).
 Universal AC Power Input. For maximum performance, the A-82x series should only be used with AC input
voltages of 200 - 265VAC (single phase) 50-60 Hz.)
 MPU cycle rate of 5 kHz.
 Can operate DC servo, voice-coil, and 3-phase brushless servo motors.
 Encoder-based sine commutation (no Hall Effect sensors needed) of 3-phase motors.
 16 buffers for stored motion programs.
 24VDC IO and limits.
 24VDC interlock input.

EtherCAT® output port for expansion to more axes, expanded IO , LCMv2 laser control module , and more.

Ethernet (TCP/IP) communications to host PC. Ethernet/IP also supported.