by Gary Mintchell | Aug 4, 2015 | Automation, Motion Control, News
I’m digesting information to write on from the conference I’m at now. But first, an interlude.
News of an interesting acquisition further consolidating the motion control industry comes from a perhaps unlikely source. Omron Corp. has entered into a stock purchase agreement to acquire a 100% stake in Delta Tau Data Systems, Inc. of California. Delta Tau will become a member of the Omron Group. The acquisition is subject to customary conditions to closing. Omron expects the acquisition to close in early September, 2015.
The reason I categorize this as perhaps surprising is that there has been little news coming from Omron automation for a long time. Occasionally there will be some opportunities to meet and learn something. The last time for me was about two years ago.
Omron states the reason for the acquisition as part of a strategy to promote its development of factory automation technology and strengthen its sales capability in the control device business. Through the acquisition Omron aims to reinforce its technology development and engineering capabilities in the field of motion control designed to drive manufacturing equipment. Merging products and technologies of both companies will also enable delivery of optimized motion control solutions globally through combined distribution networks.
by Gary Mintchell | Dec 10, 2014 | Automation, Internet of Things, M2M, Manufacturing IT, Motion Control, Networking, News, Operations Management, Organizations, Technology
Here is announcement that foretells significant impact on industrial Ethernet and potentially all the suppliers. I bet it’s also an alliance that you’ve never heard of. Think audio-visual for AV. The AVnu Alliance has launched work on an open standard for deterministic Ethernet creating capability for standard Ethernet to meet the needs of industrial market while embracing the future promise of IoT. As I understand it, this work feeds back into the IEEE standards. Even more significant.
As I chatted with Todd Walter of National Instruments, Dan Sexton of GE, and Paul Didier of Cisco, I began to envision a standards-base, open technology that can be implemented in what will become standard Ethernet silicon. Let your imagination work for a minute. This could be a significant advance.
[Note: I’ve asked for feedback from a couple of suppliers. I’m sure that I’ll get some comments after the digest the information and construct a response.]
The group notes that standard Ethernet continues to expand its range, functionality and applications with the evolution of the Audio Video Bridging (AVB) standard into Time Sensitive Networking (TSN). The new capabilities of TSN provide the Industrial community with the ability to use standard Ethernet to support highly reliable and precise synchronized networking appropriate for industrial control.
New AVnu members
With the expansion into the Industrial Control market, AVnu Alliance announced three new members, Belden, with its Hirschmann, Tofino Security, GarrettCom and Lumberg Automation brands, is a global leader of mission-critical industrial network infrastructure; General Electric, global leaders in creating an electrical infrastructure with advanced technologies to safely and reliably distribute, protect and control electricity; and National Instruments, a leading test, measurement and embedded systems provider for engineers and scientists. These companies, as leaders in the industrial, automation and IT infrastructure space, are driving forces in the recent expansion, working within the Alliance to develop the foundational elements needed for industrial applications, based on the common elements of AVB/TSN. The industrial segment is also supported by existing AVnu Alliance members such as Broadcom, Cisco, Intel, Interval Zero, Marvell, Micrel, Vitesse, Xilinx and XMOS.
Supporting quotes
“It is incredibly important for GE to support and stay up to date on the evolving open standards in the industrial control market. Since AVnu Alliance is the only community consortium driving the expansion of AVB and TSN standards, we are excited to join and offer our expertise to the efforts,” said John Garrity, Product Line Leader for General Electric Intelligent Platforms. “AVnu certification will ensure interoperability across multi-vendor solutions and our continued contribution to the TSN standards will help us deliver the next generation of reliable networked products to our customers. We are excited to join AVnu Alliance and contribute to the workgroups as the Alliance expands into this new market and continues to build on the open standards that are currently evolving. Our work with TSN better enables our customers to easily and rapidly create innovative next generation control systems transmitting real time traffic.”
“IEEE and AVnu Alliance’s work to bring open standards to industrial applications provides a great venue to amplify Belden’s long history of standards work, and we recognize the immense value open standards offer to our customers,” said Andreas Dreher, Strategic Technology Manager at Belden. “TSN technology shows promise to be the core technology for high-end industrial Ethernet communications in the future, solving challenges faced by our customers in demanding, high-performance and high-precision industries, like motion control, robotics and high-speed manufacturing. Our plan for joining with the Alliance aligns well with our long-standing work in bringing innovation, standardization and awareness to the industrial market for new and emerging open standards.”
“TSN promises through standard silicon to converge the previously disparate technologies needed for standard Ethernet communication, for deterministic high speed data transfer, and for high accuracy time synchronization. These developments will create a common foundation that will impact numerous applications and markets ranging from machine control and asset monitoring to test cells and vehicle control. Key technology and equipment providers to the industrial market are supporting the effort. National Instruments is happy to collaborate within the solid ecosystem that AVnu Alliance is building,” said Mike Santori, Vice President, Product Marketing, National Instruments.
The Alliance notes, “Standard Ethernet is evolving to enable next generation control systems. This will allow convergence of low latency control traffic and standard Ethernet traffic on the same network for demanding applications like multi-axis motion control, providing a foundation for more advanced manufacturing and production models where data can be shared more flexibly between layers of the control system and where Internet of Things (IoT) technology can be applied into production environments. The new capabilities of these open standards enable high-speed closed loop control networks to support any Ethernet device using standard IT components and creates the needed foundation for IoT integration with industrial production.”
“As a founding member of AVnu Alliance, Intel is committed to advancing open standards that deliver time-sensitive communication” said Anthony Neal-Graves, Vice President, Internet of Things Group, Intel. “This is particularly important for cyber-physical-systems where multiple compute nodes cooperate to control physical systems ranging from industrial robots to autonomous vehicles and smart buildings. Intel has been a leader in this industry for more than two decades and we look forward to seeing the new opportunities TSN will bring to our customers.”
The Alliance has previously announced support for TSN in automotive applications such as drive-by-wire and autonomous driving. The Industrial market, which parallels work that AVnu Alliance members have been doing in the Automotive segment, is a $150 billion a year market space and creates a pathway to the future of IoT.
“This new segment is very exciting for the Alliance. Adding new members who are from this space and the evolution of the standards makes AVnu Alliance and Time Sensitive Networking poised for rapid growth in this market. As a founding member, Cisco’s contribution to AVnu Alliance will help guide the expansion and the standards work being done within the industrial segment,” said Kip Compton, VP and General Manager of the Internet of Things (IoT) Systems and Software group, Cisco. “AVnu Alliance remains dedicated to its core work in professional audio and video, consumer electronics and automotive. Broad market expansion of AVB/TSN with wide deployment will only benefit all members and markets – both from a cost perspective as well as assuring long-term support for the capabilities in standard components.”
“As a founding member of AVnu Alliance, Broadcom has been involved in the support of a variety of evolving market segments and expansion into the industrial control space is the next natural move for the Alliance,” said Nicholas Ilyadis, Broadcom CTO, Infrastructure & Networking Group. “As the industrial market continues to expand, AVnu Alliance will become an important driver in the interoperability and certification of networked devices and ensuring the deployment of reliable solutions in global markets.”
AVnu Alliance is responsible for guiding the specification for new applications to simplify the process for engineers and designers to build products. AVnu Alliance has created an Industrial Advisory Council for manufacturers and end users to learn more about the Alliance and the standards.
by Gary Mintchell | Dec 4, 2014 | Automation, Motion Control
Technosoft,
based in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, has released the first member of its iMOT line of motors with integrated motion controller and drive — the iMOT172S XM-CAN intelligent stepless motor.
The product is based on a cost-effective hybrid step motor on which the motion control specialists at Technosoft have integrated a magnetic encoder, together with a member of their powerful iPOS motion controllers, into a very compact package (42 x 42 x 70 mm).
The design is made, for high reliability, with only one PCB incorporating the encoder and the iPOS controller that utilizes the Technosoft MotionChip technology and provides 7 I/Os. The configuration, tuning and local programming of the iPOS drive can easily be done using Technosoft’s powerful graphical platform, EasyMotion Studio. The position sensor is absolute single-turn, providing 4096 counts per revolution for accurate speed and position control, down to 5 arc minutes.
While an EtherCAT version is under preparation, the current release covers two CAN versions: the standard CANopen, in accordance to the CiA 301, 305 and 402 profiles, and the TMLCAN protocol. TML (Technosoft Motion Language) opens the possibility to use the powerful motion controller, allowing it to operate as an independent intelligent device. As an example, any homing routine can be customized to match the application needs. Standalone single- or multi-axis applications with communication between drives without the need of a CAN master are possible, while various types of CAN masters are as well supported through an extended set of Technosoft Motion Control Libraries.
This intelligent stepless motor reaches a peak torque of 500 mNm at 1000 rpm without a gearbox, achieved from a motor with a square flange of 42 mm. The maximum length of the integrated unit is a mere 70 mm. The high efficiency of the solution is obtained due to Technosoft’s implementation of current and torque vector regulation under a field oriented control method (FOC) that practically transforms the motor into a stepless servo motor, dramatically reducing the current consumption and heat dissipation typical to hybrid steppers.
The standard NEMA17 flange ensures multiple sources of gearheads that are available for fitting to the motor, depending on the requirements of the application.
An intelligent motor can be used in many applications, but it has been developed for medical analysis and dosing machines, pick and place and welding robots, instrumentation and optical equipment, unmanned military vehicles, packaging, bottling and labeling machines.
Intelligent Motion Control Drive
It has also rele
ased the iPOS3604 HX-CAN—a closed frame intelligent drive offering a very compact solution for sinusoidal or trapezoidal position, speed and torque control of rotary or linear DC Brushless and open-loop or closed-loop control of 2-phase and 3-phase step motors requiring power up to 144 watts. The supply voltage range is 12 to 36 VDC with a continuous current of 4 A, (10 A peak) and a PWM frequency of 20 KHz.
This high performance servo drive offers high level single or multiple-axis control functions such as master, slave or standalone operations in a small package of only 80 x 55 x 16 mm. Although extremely compact, iPOS3604 HX embeds motion controller, drive and PLC functionality in one unit.
iPOS3604 HX can operate as a CiA402 CANopen drive, or can be programmed to execute complex motion programs directly at drive level, using their built-in motion controller and the high level Technosoft motion language (TML).Thanks to the TML instruction set, the iPOS3604 HX is an intelligent drive, programmable at user’s level and offering position and speed profiles, PVT & PT interpolated, electronic gearing and cam, external reference: analogue or sent via a communication bus.
The configuration, tuning and programming of the iPOS3604 HX-CAN drive is easy with Technosoft’s powerful graphical platform, EasyMotion Studio. System configuration and parameterization are performed by selecting and testing the system structure, motor and sensor types and control mode.
Flexibility and easy implementation make the iPOS3604 BX-CAN drives an ideal solution to fulfilling today’s motion axis control needs, using modern distributed intelligence architecture.
by Gary Mintchell | Dec 2, 2014 | Automation, Motion Control, News, Operations Management, Process Control, Software, Technology
Every Rockwell Automation software executive and product manager who talked with me at Automation Fair almost gushed over the latest and major release of Rockwell Software Studio 5000 Logix Designer v24 (with a name that long, it’d better be good).
According to the press release, “Engineers have new design capabilities that can dramatically increase automation productivity, improve start-up time and reduce costs throughout a project’s life cycle. The new additions include an application-centric view of code, enhanced work flows for more efficient re-use of content, and new collaborative tools that make it easier for multiple people to work together.”
“Many machine builders and manufacturers struggle to support production changes due to unstructured code that is not easily understood and organized,” said Mike Brimmer, product manager, Rockwell Automation. “The Studio 5000 Logix Designer v24 software improves the design experience by more intuitively aligning the control system with the manufacturing operation, thus leading to enhanced automation productivity.”
As part of a contemporary automation engineering design environment, the Studio 5000 Logix Designer v24 software is used to configure Allen-Bradley Logix5000 controllers from Rockwell Automation for discrete, process, batch, motion, safety and drive control.
The Studio 5000 Logix Designer v24 software features a new logical organizer that arranges program code based on the users’ applications – rather than how the programmable controller executes. Logical organization of program code can help users identify and troubleshoot code faster for improved downtime recovery.
New library management workflows, meanwhile, ease the ability to store and re-use intellectual property. Users can simply drag and drop modules of code from the Studio 5000 Logix Designer v24 library into a new project. The new workflows enable design engineers to re-use sections of code, which reduces design time and eases the ability to make future operational changes.
Automation system design and maintenance teams are increasingly global and specialized by function. This highlights an increasing need for more powerful collaborations tools. The Studio 5000 Logix Designer v24 software is addressing this need by building on its already strong baseline of multiuser capabilities, which allows many users to work separately and then bring their work back together.
In addition, the Studio 5000 Logix Designer v24 software supports the Allen-Bradley Kinetix 5500 servo drive with integrated safety to help machine builders reduce development and installation time. It also provides support that allows the Allen-Bradley PowerFlex 527 AC drive to be the first variable frequency drive to exclusively use the motion instruction sets within the Studio 5000 Logix Designer v24 software for machine control and motor synchronization.
Additionally, the Allen-Bradley Dynamix 1444 integrated condition-monitoring system allows manufacturers to leverage the Rockwell Automation Integrated Architecture system, rather than an isolated condition-monitoring device. It helps assess current equipment health, predict potential issues, and help avoid damage to critical machinery.
by Gary Mintchell | Aug 12, 2011 | Automation, Motion Control
While I was in Austin, received a message about a new motion control blog from the Motion Control Association. Worth the price of a subscription.
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 1, 2011 | Automation, Motion Control, Technology
I had no more that set up an interview with Invensys Operations Management CEO Sudipta Bhattacharya to discuss progress there after two years, when news came from London that the CEO had been replaced. Of course, that led to resurgance of speculation about the future of the parent company–stirred up by my friend Jim Pinto yesterday.
At any rate, in this podcast, I discuss my hour-long interview with Bhattacharya and the progress that has been made there. I also recap my trip to the Automate 2011 trade show (robots, vision, motion control), Wes Iversen’s retirement and the upcoming Packaging Automation Forum and Maintenance and Reliability Forum.
I’m digesting information to write on from the conference I’m at now. But first, an interlude.
