Rapid-aiR coRpoRation
4601 KishwauKee st. RocKfoRd, iL 61109-2925
phone: (815) 397-2578 fax: (815) 398-3887 web site: www.rapidair.com
smart mini servo GaG feed
oPeratinG instrUCtions 
INTRODUCTION, INSTALLATION AND SET-UP ..................................................................................... pg. 3
ADJUSTMENT, CABLING AND INTERFACING ...................................................................................... pg. 4
PRETEST wIThOUT MATERIAL AND LOADING MATERIAL ................................................................ pg. 5
TROUBLEShOOTING .................................................................................................................................. pg. 6-7
MAINTENANCE PROCEDURES, PRECAUTIONS AND SAFETY ........................................................... pg. 7
PROGRAMMING PROCEDURE ................................................................................................................. pg. 8-10
TROUBLEShOOTING .................................................................................................................................. pg. 11-12
LED STATUS SYMBOLS ............................................................................................................................. pg. 13-15
SMS CONTROL PANEL ASSEMBLY ......................................................................................................... pg. 16
SMS wIRING SChEMATIC ........................................................................................................................ pg. 17
wARRANTY ................................................................................................................................................. pg. 18
table of Contents 
The Rapid-Air Servo Feed system
carries with it the quality and reliabil-
ity you have grown to expect from a
Rapid-Air product. The motion control
system is a programmable indus-
trial computer and this advanced
technology, combined with a highly
engineered precision roll feed, is
an unchallenged combination in the
press industry.
The compact mechanical package,
direct coupled with a brushless servo
drive motor, offers response and feed
speed accuracy unparalleled in any
other powered roll feed. Operator
interface is so simplified, a typical
setup person can have the servo
feed programmed and running in a
matter of minutes. A step by step
prompt appears on a four line
80-character display, which asks
simple questions of the operator.
introdUCtion, installation and set-UP
Smart Mini Servo Gag Feed Introduction
tinuous to aid in threading up mate-
rial. Each job allows the operator to
program up to 10 different feed lengths
in one job.
The Rapid-Air Servo Roll Feed has
been designed to mount on a
free-standing table as close as
possible to the cutter.
The precision mechanical roll
feed unit has been designed for
compactness, ease of setup and in-
stallation. Two cables with twist lock
connectors for the servo and one air
line (if air pilot release is used) are
the only external connections re-
quired. The electrical controls are
housed in a small cabinet which
should be mounted close to the press
working area. The operator keypad
and display are mounted on top of
the control cabinet.
Entry of feed length, cutter dwell time,
and % maximum speed are all that is
required for a new setup. Routine jobs
can be stored, recalled, changed and
saved or run with a simple 2 digit job
number entry. Up to 99 jobs may be
stored and recalled at will.
A resolver, direct coupled to the
servo drive motor for precise digital
position feedback, enable roll
positioning accuracy to +/- .0025 for
any programmed feed length or speed.
Operator programmed feed length,
up to 99.999 inches and % max speed
selection along with full jog features
on a pendant unit, allow the operator
to thread the material and inch it into
position. The inch feature enables the
operator to jog the servo feed forward
or reverse at a slow rate. The operator
can select jog to length or jog con-
If you purchased the servo and are going
to mount it on a base at your facility, then
a base should be selected that will hold
the weight of the servo and also the cy-
cling shocks incurred during production.
Align feed and die.
Installation And Mechanical Setup Of Servo 
Every servo feed has an eccentric
adjustment screw to adjust the upper
roller to be in parallel to the lower
roller. The maximum adjustment is
.008 on the eccentric.
The adjustment screw is located
opposite the belt cover and is held
fast by a socket head cap screw.
The actual adjustment screw is an
eccentric sleeve which is turned
clockwise or counter-clockwise to
raise or lower one end of the upper roll.
The parallel adjustment is factory
set when the unit is manufactured
but if material tracking seems to be a
problem then this could be a way of
solving the problem. To test if the rolls
need adjustment, do the following.

1. Remove the front and rear roll

covers.

2. Shine a light from the rear

of the feed toward the

main rollers.

3. Inspect from the main rolls

side to see if the rollers are

parallel. If they are, then the

material could be the cause

of the material walking. If

they are not parallel then an

adjustment has to be made.

4. To make the adjustment:

a. Locate eccentric screw

and loosen socket head

lock screw.

b. Turn slotted eccentric

sleeve while viewing rolls

until the rolls are parallel.

c. Tighten 10-32 screw and

reassemble parts, then retry

running material.
adjUstment, CablinG and interfaCinG
For a more accurate adjustment use a
feeler gauge to check the parallelism.
This completes the eccentric adjust-
ment write-up, if there are further
questions, please call the factory.
* Before attempting to solve a
possible roll parallelism problem by
readjusting the rolls or calling the
factory, perform the following test.
Step 1) A 3 to 5 foot length of material
should be cut from the storage loop
preceding the servo feed.
Step 2) Lay the material next to a
straight line to see if the material
is cambered. If it is, then this could
be the reason that the material
is walking. If not, then turn the
material upside down from the way
it was being fed and insert into the
feed. If the material walks in the
opposite direction then the material
could be to blame.
120 vAC INPUT
The input voltage to the control is
120 Vac, 1 Ph, 60 Hz. The max
amperage needed is 7.5 amps and
the control has a circuit breaker
with a trip amperage of 10 amps.
The electrical control enclosure is
shipped completely ready to be
connected to the mechanical feed.
Connected to the enclosure are (2)
cables with keyed screw type
connectors for connection to
the motor.
Position the electrical enclosure
at a convenient location near the
mechanical feed and attach the
cables. The motor cables are easily
identifiable by the amount of pins in
the plugs. The solenoid cables, if
any, can now be attached and
checked for proper location when
the feed is up and running.
An air line must be connected
from the shop air to the air inlet
of the servo feed. The air should
be at least 80 PSI continuous and
should be dry filtered and lightly
lubricated for the best operation
of the servo feed. The air inlet
is NPT pipe tap. The minimum
air line size requirement is 3/8 ID
hose. - (2 CFM)
The Servo Drive unit is programmed
to feed each time a signal is received
from the press. The servo will feed
one progression and wait for the
next signal before it will feed again in
automatic mode.
The command is in the form of a
normally open contact from a switch,
located on the press and is activated
when the press is finished.
This completes the initial setup of the
servo feed to the press or other device.
The servo is now ready to run as intended.
Drive Roll Parallelism Adjustment
Electrical Cables And Air Line
Interfacing Servo Feed with A Press 
Now that your servo is in place, and
the cables have been attached, you
can proceed with testing the unit. The
first step is to turn on the main switch
on the electrical enclosure.
At this time the display should show
the Rapid-Air screen for 5 seconds
before starting the main setup pro-
gram. If you are comfortable with
programming a job then continue, if
not, please refer to the Operator Inter-
face Terminal located in this manual.
Follow the programming sequence
for the operators terminal to input
parameters into job storage. Your ser-
vo feed has been fully tested before it
was shipped to your facility and this
procedure is merely a test to insure
that all functions are still functional
and the cables are properly seated.
Once you have programmed the
required parameters, select the
manual mode of operation. If the
option of air regulated upper feed
roll was purchased, check that the
main air is at least 80 psi (if air pilot
release is used) and check that the
roll pressure is functional by adjust-
ing the pressure up and down, this is
accomplished by turning the pressure
adjusting knob. Check that you have
enough tension on the
material to avoid slipping during
feeding. Open and close the feed rolls
manually. Visually inspect that the
rolls open and close when using the
manual levers.
Select the inch function on the
manual mode screen. Visually check
that the rolls rotate both forward and
reverse with the corresponding key.
The speed is preset to creep the rolls
at a slow speed for manual position-
ing of the material.
CAUTION:
Do not attempt to place
your fingers or any foreign