The E-482 Power Amplifier / Controller Outputs 6 Ampere (A) Peak Current for High-Voltage Piezo Actuators

Physik Instrumente (PI): For applications, such as material testing for quality control purposes or highly dynamic control of valves in test stands, PI (Physik Instrumente) presents the E-482, a new high-power piezo amplifier / controller with 6 A peak current at 1050 V voltage swing.

The 19-inch bench-top amplifier is especially designed for the operation of piezo actuators with high electrical capacitance, such as the PICA piezo actuator series P-225 and P-235. This class D switching amplifier modulates the pulse width of the control signal and thus controls the piezo output voltage. When the piezo actuator is discharged, a patented circuitry for energy recovery stores the returning energy in a capacitor and makes it reusable for the next charging cycle. Thus, the E-482 achieves high efficiency with peak currents of up to 6 A and average currents of up to 2 A.

In comparison with analog amplifiers, this type of energy recovery allows energy savings of up to 80 %. Furthermore, the amplifier does not heat up as much and thus influences the actual application less. The output voltage range of 0 to 1050 V can be set to bipolar on request.

Upgrading to a Servo Controller
The power amplifier allows easy installation of the E-509 sensor- / servo-controller module for closed-loop operation. In addition, the E-517 digital control module for piezo controllers including with wave generator, data recorder, display and 24-bit interfaces is optionally available.

Well-known for the high quality of its products, PI (Physik Instrumente) has been one of the leading players in the global market for precision positioning technology for many years. PI has been developing and manufacturing standard and OEM products with piezo or motor drives for 40 years now. With four German factories and ten subsidiaries and sales offices abroad, the PI group is represented internationally.