AT Equipment

AT Equipment faced a common challenge in industrial machinery: aging motor control infrastructure that was no longer suited for modern permanent magnet (PM) motor applications. Legacy motor control systems, designed for older induction motor technology, lack the precise variable-frequency drive capabilities and closed-loop feedback that PM motors require for optimal torque and speed performance. Without modernization, equipment operators contend with higher energy consumption, increased mechanical wear, and limited integration with current automation platforms. For industrial machinery manufacturers and OEMs, this gap translates directly into reduced equipment competitiveness, higher operating costs for end customers, and growing maintenance burden as replacement parts for obsolete systems become scarce.

AT Equipment partnered with Rockwell Automation to implement a PM motor control modernization solution built on Allen-Bradley drive and control technology. Rockwell Automation's motor control portfolio — including variable frequency drives with integrated PM motor support — provided the hardware foundation, while the FactoryTalk software ecosystem enabled configuration, commissioning, and ongoing monitoring. The modernization approach replaced outdated motor control hardware with drives capable of field-oriented control (FOC) and sensorless vector algorithms specifically optimized for permanent magnet motor topologies. Integration with AT Equipment's existing machine architecture was managed through Rockwell's Studio 5000 programming environment, allowing the upgraded control logic to slot into established automation workflows without requiring a full machine redesign. Rockwell Automation's application engineering team supported the deployment to ensure correct drive parameterization and commissioning for the PM motor specifications.

The modernization delivered measurable improvements in both energy efficiency and machine performance. PM motors operating under properly tuned vector control draw significantly less energy than induction motors running on legacy drives — a recognized advantage of the PM topology when paired with matched control hardware. Key outcomes included:

• Improved energy efficiency through optimized PM motor control, reducing unnecessary electrical losses at partial loads
• Enhanced torque response and speed regulation, improving the precision and consistency of equipment operation
• Reduced mechanical stress on drivetrain components due to smoother acceleration and deceleration profiles
• Extended equipment service life by eliminating the maintenance overhead associated with the obsolete control platform

The modernized control architecture also positions AT Equipment to integrate future digital monitoring capabilities through Rockwell's connected ecosystem.

• PM motor modernization requires drive hardware specifically rated for PM/synchronous motor topologies — retrofitting standard AC drives is not a direct substitute.
• Engaging the automation vendor (Rockwell Automation) at the engineering stage, not just procurement, reduces commissioning time and ensures correct motor-drive pairing.
• Legacy motor control replacement is most cost-effective when treated as a platform upgrade rather than a one-for-one hardware swap — new control architecture opens doors to IIoT connectivity and predictive maintenance.
• Energy efficiency gains from PM motor systems are load-profile dependent; realistic savings projections should be validated against the actual duty cycle of the target application.
• OEMs modernizing machine designs should verify that updated drive firmware supports the specific PM motor sensorless algorithms required to avoid performance gaps at low-speed operation.