Festo unveils smart servo drives for faster, safer automation

Festo has introduced its new CMMT-AS-S3 servo drive series, enabling machine builders to achieve higher levels of functional safety while simplifying design, wiring, and certification. The CMMT-AS servo drives offer OEMs a choice between two safety levels: Basic (S1) and Advanced (S3), providing a flexible, cost-effective way to meet safety and performance requirements without added complexity. All CMMT-AS servo drives are multiprotocol and configurable to various communication protocols.

Festo, founded in 1925 and based in Esslingen, Germany, is a leading supplier of automation technology and technical education. The company has been supporting Canadian industry for 50 years. Festo Didactic provides training equipment and educational programs for industrial companies and educational institutions, serving about 56,000 customers worldwide. The company invests about 8.8% of its annual turnover in research and development.

The servo drives integrate key safety functions directly within the drive, minimizing external components and setup time. OEMs can implement safety via hard-wired digital I/O or over a PROFIsafe network for seamless integration with Siemens safety PLCs. Festo's intuitive Safety Configurator in the Festo Automation Suite commissioning software streamlines setup, with a forthcoming Validation Wizard expected in winter 2025 to automate documentation.

The Basic (S1) version provides standard safety functions and fast commissioning through simple hard-wired connections, while the Advanced (S3) model offers a fully integrated suite of safety functions for complex machines requiring greater safety functionality and configuration options.

"It's surprisingly easy to implement. With a few parameter settings in the configurator, the user can activate and validate advanced safety functions in minutes. And the upcoming Validation Wizard will automatically create the required documentation," Tom Worsnopp, product market manager for electric automation at Festo, stated.

To safeguard certified configurations, each safety setup is password-protected through a dedicated safety-engineer login, ensuring parameters remain locked and traceable after validation. This capability also supports Festo's compliance with the upcoming European Cyber Resilience Act (CRA). The CMMT-AS servo drive series expands Festo's comprehensive safety ecosystem, helping OEMs speed up machine certification, reduce wiring, and build safer, more productive systems.

More information is posted at www.Festo.com.