Elmo's new Titanium servo drives pack 256-axis control

Key Takeaways

• Elmo's Titanium Maestro motion controller handles up to 256 axes at 100µs EtherCAT cycle times
• New drives integrate up to 17 functional safety features, potentially eliminating safety cages in automation
• Dual-axis Titanium Castanet replaces two previous-gen drives at half the footprint

Elmo Motion Control launched two new product lines yesterday: the Titanium series of servo drives and motion controllers, and expanded Platinum drives. The headline spec is the Titanium Maestro, a motion controller that handles up to 256 axes with EtherCAT cycle times of 100 microseconds. Elmo will demo the lineup at Automate 2026 in Chicago next week.

The Israeli company's pitch centers on integrated functional safety. Instead of wrapping robots in protective cages or bolting on external safety hardware, Elmo builds the safety logic directly into its drives. Elizabeth Victor, Elmo's U.S. sales director, put it plainly: "Functional safety is critical for many automation systems and can reduce or even eliminate the need for safety cages."

What's in the new Titanium line?

Elmo announced five products across Titanium and Platinum. The Titanium series targets OEMs who need multi-axis control in tight spaces.

• Titanium Castanet: A dual-axis servo drive the size of a matchbox with built-in functional safety. Elmo claims it replaces two of its previous Twitter drives at roughly half the combined volume.
• Titanium Harmonica: Another dual-axis drive, rated for 50A/100V or 35A/200V, with functional safety included.
• Titanium Maestro: The flagship motion controller supporting up to 256 axes at 100µs EtherCAT speeds.

The Platinum line got two additions. The Platinum Jori drives (30A and 60A variants) deliver 20 to 40 kW continuous power and introduce silicon carbide (SiC) power stage technology. The Platinum Cymbal packs up to 17 kW into a ruggedized housing built for harsh environments.

Why does integrated safety matter?

Traditional industrial robots sit inside metal cages that keep humans out of the danger zone. Cobots and mobile robots can't work that way. They share space with people, so safety has to live in the control system itself.

Elmo's approach embeds up to 17 certified functional safety features at the drive level. That means fewer external relays, less safety cabling, and a smaller certification burden for machine builders. Victor noted that this "helps simplify the design and certification of systems that must meet strict functional safety standards."

Where do these drives fit in robotics?

Elmo explicitly targets AGVs, AMRs, cobots, and exoskeletons. These systems often need many servo drives running different motor sizes, from large motors moving an entire cobot arm to small motors actuating a robotic hand. The company's portfolio spans that range, and the new multi-axis drives reduce the number of components engineers have to integrate.

The Titanium Castanet illustrates the benefit. A dual-axis drive synchronizes two motors over a single EtherCAT bus. With two separate drives, engineers must synchronize two buses. That's extra code, extra cabling, and extra failure points.

GaN and SiC: what's under the hood

Both new lines use wide-bandgap semiconductors. The Titanium drives feature gallium nitride (GaN) power stages. GaN switches faster than silicon with lower losses, which is how Elmo crams more power into smaller packages. The Platinum Jori introduces silicon carbide (SiC), which handles higher voltages and temperatures. These materials have become standard in EV inverters and are now filtering into industrial motion control.

Software support

Hardware specs matter, but tuning a servo loop badly will waste all that power density. Elmo ships its drives with EASIII (Elmo Application Studio III) and Composer2, tools that let machine designers develop and test custom control algorithms. The company positions this as an advantage over drives that require proprietary tuning services.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Elmo Titanium Maestro motion controller?

A multi-axis motion controller that supports up to 256 axes with EtherCAT cycle times as fast as 100 microseconds. It's designed for coordinated robotic systems requiring precise synchronization.

How does integrated functional safety eliminate safety cages?

By building safety monitoring directly into the servo drive, the system can detect faults and halt motion without relying on external safety hardware or physical barriers.

What's the difference between GaN and SiC in servo drives?

Gallium nitride (GaN) switches faster with lower losses, improving power density. Silicon carbide (SiC) handles higher voltages and temperatures, making it suited for high-power drives like the Platinum Jori.

Where can I see Elmo's new servo drives in person?

Elmo will demonstrate the Titanium and Platinum lines at Automate 2026 in Chicago, Booth S-3601.

Source: The Robot Report / The Robot Report Staff