MGL autopilot servo at Osh

We have a few of the first production MGL Autopilot servos for display at Osh at the MGL booth.



This professional level servo is machined from solid aluminium. It fully integrates all electronics. The servo is able to measure forces acting on the servo arm so it becomes simple to show out-of-trim forces on an EFIS display or use this information for automated trim systems.
Available in different force ranges, the standard offering does a useful 4.6Nm torque (including during arm positioning). Maximum torque is electronically adjustable over a wide range.

The servo is not limited to any particular movement range or angles and can be utilized even in applications requiring multiple turns. Threaded holes on the servo face can be used to fit mechanical stops as needed to prevent dead center positioning. The output shaft is supported by two ball bearings which allows full application of torque even at high axial load angles.

The servo features contactless, zero wear position feedback, is highly accurate and does not have a deadband. Fast arm movement allows use of the servo in full authority autopilot and flight stabilization systems.

Mechanically the servo follows the form factor of popular servos and thus is compatible with typical mounting brackets. However, the servo construction includes threaded mounting holes on the servo sides making it possible to omit any form of bracket in many installations. Easy and strong bulkhead or airframe member mounting is now possible.

The servo includes both a CAN interface as well as a multidrop RS232 interface (multiple servos on a single RS232 port). The servo protocol is to be released to the public.

Rainier
CEO MGL Avionics

Excellent Rainier! Can't wait to see this in person!

Are you in a position to confirm pricing yet?

Hi Rainier,

I remember that when first announced, you hoped your servos would be cheaper than the Trios. That seemed to change as your designs developed and functionality was added. Have you determined the final prices yet?

Also, what weight are they?

Loman said:

Hi Rainier,

I remember that when first announced, you hoped your servos would be cheaper than the Trios. That seemed to change as your designs developed and functionality was added. Have you determined the final prices yet?

Also, what weight are they?

Click to expand...

Well, I don't think I was aiming at cheaper than Trio's as those are pretty well priced.
We do have local pricing done, my best guess for U.S. pricing is around $1000, perhaps a tad more. Our biggest issue at the moment is shipping costs. due to the relatively high weight of a servo (most of the weight is in the stepper motor) the shipping costs are high. This can only change once we can ship greater quantities and use freight rather than courier.
So - price is stricktly preliminary but hopefully sub-$1000 in the not too distant future. It's not a bad price considering what you get with this servo.

We will continue to support the Trio servos fully. This way you have a choice between two technologies and can match to what you prefer.
The Trio servos are geared DC motor servos with an electric clutch, The MGL servos are stepper based. Either technology has advantages and disadvantages so it makes perfect sense to be able to choose for a particular project.

The MGL servos in particular are also intended for third-party applications and are to be made available to anybody that wants to roll their own AP or needs something like this for other purposes.
Anybody can use this servo, including our competition if they want...

Rainier
CEO MGL Avionics