Engineering selection and product sourcing
Kollmorgen
Kollmorgen is a US motion control manufacturer, founded in 1916 and now a brand of Regal Rexnord Corporation. Kollmorgen Corporation lists 203A West Rock Road, Radford, VA 24141, telephone +1 833 565 5667, and its European company is Kollmorgen Europe GmbH in Ratingen, Germany.
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| Legal name | Kollmorgen Corporation |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1916 |
| Founder | Dr. Friedrich Kollmorgen |
| Owner / parent | Regal Rexnord Corporation (NYSE: RRX) |
| Headquarters | Radford, VA 24141, United States |
| Website | kollmorgen.com |
Manufacturer information and published contact details
Kollmorgen contact details
Kollmorgen Corporation
203A West Rock RoadRadford, VA 24141
United States
Telephone +1 833 565 5667
Website kollmorgen.com
Contact details as published by Regal Rexnord Corporation, checked 2026-10-30. Specify Motion is not affiliated with Regal Rexnord Corporation.
Kollmorgen product lines
| AKM and AKM2G | Brushless AC servo motors, the second generation with more torque per frame |
|---|---|
| KBM and TBM2G | Frameless rotor-and-stator motor kits, including low-voltage kits for robot joints |
| Cartridge DDR | Housed direct-drive rotary motors that use the machine's bearings |
| IC/ICD and IL | Iron-core and ironless direct-drive linear motors |
| AKD and AKD2G | Single- and dual-axis servo drives with broad feedback and fieldbus support |
| PCMM and PCMM2G | EtherCAT motion and machine controllers programmed in Kollmorgen Automation Suite |
Who Kollmorgen is
Kollmorgen is a US manufacturer of motion control components: servo motors, frameless and direct-drive motors, linear motors, servo drives and machine controllers. Engineers know it best for the AKM servo motor and AKD servo drive families and for its frameless motor kits, which are built straight into robot joints, gimbals and other embedded axes. Kollmorgen is a brand of Regal Rexnord Corporation, and the product names used here are trademarks of their owner.
History and ownership
The company began with optics. Dr. Friedrich Kollmorgen patented a two-telescope design in 1911, and the company was incorporated in New York on 22 March 1916. Its own history describes it becoming the leading designer and maker of submarine periscopes for the US Navy.
The motor business came from Inland Motor, which Hugo Unruh started in 1948. Unruh designed frameless torquers for the gimbal drives of early inertial guidance systems, and these became Inland’s fastest-growing product. Inland merged with Kollmorgen Optical in 1960, which is the root of Kollmorgen’s long association with frameless and direct-drive motors.
Ownership has changed several times since. On 1 October 2018 Kollmorgen joined Altra Industrial Motion Corp., together with Thomson, Portescap and Jacobs Vehicle Systems, in a combination with four operating companies from Fortive’s Automation & Specialty platform. On 27 March 2023 Regal Rexnord Corporation, of Beloit, Wisconsin, completed its acquisition of Altra. Kollmorgen now operates as a Regal Rexnord brand, and Regal Rexnord is listed on the New York Stock Exchange as RRX.
Product portfolio
Servo motors
The AKM is the long-running brushless servo motor range, in eight frame sizes from 40 mm to 260 mm, with a wide choice of feedback devices and washdown and food-grade options. The AKM2G is the second generation, giving more torque per frame in six IEC flange sizes, with low-voltage windings and single-cable digital feedback.
Frameless and direct-drive motors
KBM and KBMS frameless kits supply a rotor and stator for building the motor directly into the machine, with large through-bores. The TBM2G range is a compact low-voltage frameless kit sized for collaborative robot joints, in seven diameters. The Cartridge DDR is a housed direct-drive rotary motor without its own bearings that mounts like a conventional motor. Linear axes are served by IC/ICD iron-core linear motors for high force and IL ironless linear motors for zero-cogging scanning. Our frameless torque motor hub and frameless motor sizing guide explain how to specify these.
Drives and controllers
The AKD single-axis servo drive covers 120/240 V and 240/480 V supplies with broad feedback compatibility and a choice of industrial Ethernet and CAN fieldbuses. The AKD2G adds dual-axis versions, on-board functional safety, a graphical display and SD-card backup. Machine control is handled by the PCMM2G EtherCAT controller, programmed through Kollmorgen Automation Suite, which succeeds the first-generation PCMM, now closed to new applications.
Discontinued products
Kollmorgen lists the EC Series electric cylinders and the N2 Series among its discontinued products, which matters for anyone maintaining machines built with them.
Technologies and standards
Kollmorgen’s motors are designed to work across many feedback types, and the AKD family is known for accepting a wide range of encoders and resolvers. Its controllers use EtherCAT as the motion network and support IEC 61131-3 programming with PLCopen motion blocks. Frameless motors are a particular strength: designing the motor into the axis removes the coupling and housing, saving length and weight, but the machine builder then takes on bearing, feedback and thermal design.
Industries served
The history explains the brand’s footing in defence and aerospace, from periscopes to gimbal torquers. Today its frameless kits target robot joints and other embedded axes, and its servo motors and drives are used across general machine building, including food-grade applications that need washdown motors.
Global and UK presence
Kollmorgen’s worldwide locations page lists Kollmorgen Corporation in Radford, Virginia, and European companies in Ratingen (Germany), Brno (Czech Republic) and Nova Milanese (Italy), together with Kollmorgen Automation AB in Mölndal, Sweden, for AGV controls. It lists sites in China, Japan, South Korea, India and Brazil. No UK office is listed, so UK engineers normally deal with the European office in Ratingen.
What to have ready for a Kollmorgen enquiry
Quote the full model number from the motor or drive label, since AKM and AKM2G part numbers encode frame, stack, winding, feedback, brake and connector options. For frameless kits, give the kit part number and the housing, bearing and encoder arrangement it sits in. For drives, note the supply voltage, fieldbus, feedback type and any safety wiring. On discontinued EC or N2 cylinders, add stroke, lead, motor mount and the load being moved.
Sourcing Kollmorgen parts through Specify Motion
Specify Motion is independent of Kollmorgen and Regal Rexnord and is not affiliated with either. We can help source Kollmorgen parts, including discontinued series, or propose motors, frameless kits and drives from our supply network that meet the same published figures. See the Kollmorgen alternatives page or send a part number through find a replacement.
Kollmorgen history: key dates
- 1911Dr. Friedrich Kollmorgen patents a two-telescope design
- 1916Company incorporated in New York on 22 March
- 1948Hugo Unruh's Inland Motor begins operations
- 1960Inland Motor merges with Kollmorgen Optical
- 2018Kollmorgen joins Altra Industrial Motion on 1 October with Thomson, Portescap and Jacobs Vehicle Systems, from Fortive's Automation & Specialty platform
- 2023Regal Rexnord completes its acquisition of Altra Industrial Motion on 27 March
- 2023AKD2G servo drive range expanded
- 2024PCMM2G next-generation controller announced
Kollmorgen servo motors
AKM
Kollmorgen's long-running brushless AC servo motor range, spanning eight frame sizes from tiny 40 mm units to 260 mm high-torque motors, with a wide menu of feedback devices and washdown/food-grade options.
AKM2G
Second-generation AKM servo motor offering more torque per frame than the original AKM, in six IEC flange sizes, with standard and low-voltage windings and single-cable digital feedback options.
Kollmorgen direct-drive and torque motors
KBM / KBMS
Frameless brushless rotor-and-stator kits for building the motor directly into a machine axis, with large through-bores and optional factory-fitted Hall sensors (KBMS).
TBM2G
Compact low-voltage frameless motor kits sized for collaborative robot joints and other embedded axes, in seven diameters with three stack lengths each.
Cartridge DDR
Direct-drive rotary motor supplied in a housing but without its own bearings: it uses the machine's bearings and mounts on a pilot and bolt circle like a conventional motor, coupling to the load with a compression coupling.
Kollmorgen servo drives
AKD
Single-axis servo drive family covering 120/240 V and 240/480 V supplies, with broad feedback compatibility and a choice of industrial Ethernet and CAN fieldbuses.
AKD2G
Second-generation AKD offered in single- and dual-axis versions, adding on-board functional safety, a graphical display and SD-card backup, aimed at single-cable motor connection with AKM2G.
Kollmorgen linear motors
IC / ICD Ironcore DDL
Iron-core direct-drive linear motors with natural or water cooling, built from coil assemblies and modular magnet ways for long-stroke, high-force axes.
IL Ironless DDL
Ironless (coreless) U-channel linear motors with zero cogging and no attraction force, for smooth, precise scanning and positioning.
Kollmorgen linear actuators
EC Series electric cylinders (EC1-EC5)
Rod-style ball/lead-screw electric cylinders in five sizes that Kollmorgen now lists among its discontinued products.
N2 Series electric cylinders
Compact rod-type electric cylinder line that Kollmorgen lists as discontinued.
Kollmorgen controllers, plcs and hmis
PCMM2G
Quad-core EtherCAT motion and machine controller programmed through Kollmorgen Automation Suite, with an 8-axis 'Essentials' version for simpler machines.
PCMM
First-generation EtherCAT multi-axis master controller supporting all five IEC 61131-3 languages plus PLCopen motion, now closed to new applications.
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