Motion controller provides full automation

Automation 3200 is the first high-performance software-only motion, vision, PLC, robotics and I/O digital automation platform that offers from 1-to-32 axes of synchronised motion control.

Aerotech's Automation 3200 is the world's first high-performance software-only motion, vision, PLC, robotics, and I/O digital automation platform that offers from 1-to-32 axes of synchronised motion control.

The Automation 3200 retains the best features of the company's previous PCbus-based controllers and combines them with an advanced, high-performance control architecture to produce a truly state-of-the-art motion, vision, PLC, robotics and I/O controller.

The Automation 3200 addresses a major shortcoming of today's multi-axis controllers: as axes are added, performance markedly degrades as either the servo update time or program execution time increases.

The Automation 3200 uses a distributed control architecture that enables it to maintain performance independent of the number of axes being controlled.

It accomplishes this by avoiding the processing bottleneck caused by today's common single processor control architecture.

Drawing on 30 years of advanced drive development, Aerotech has introduced its first line of intelligent digital drives for the Automation 3200 platform.

Connected via the IEEE1394 (FireWire) communication bus, these drives provide deterministic behaviour, auto-identification, and easy software setup from the Automation 3200 software controller.

Featuring an 80MHz DSP, the drives have fully digital current and servo loops providing selectable 1-20kHz loop closure, 32MHz encoder datarate, and a smart Modbus-enabled Ethernet port for access to third-party networked I/O, cameras and other compliant modules.

Designed for the discriminating motion control user, they also feature onboard brake relays and options such as programmable resolution multiplication (x65536) and from one to three-axis position synchronised outputs.

In addition to these features, the use of the commercially standard FireWire communication link makes integration to the Automation 3200 platform as easy as one-step plug and play.

PWM power from 10 to 100A and ultraquiet linear amp versions are offered.

Designed for use in the Automation 3200 family of control solutions, the NPaq is a 3U, 19in rack-mount chassis capable of powering six axes of motion while providing unparalleled ease of integration.

The NPaq foregoes the complicated wiring and assembly schemes offered by other vendors and instead employs a cost-effective plug-and-play FireWire connection.

Aerotech has designed the NPaq to accept simple plug-in digital amplifiers as well as one-step connections to third-party Ethernet I/O networks.

Already containing a variety of analogue and digital I/O options, the Ethernet port allows the user to control machines with the networked I/O of choice.

Combined with the ability to accept linear and PWM drives of varying power, to support onboard encoder multiplication across all axes, and to connect to additional NDrives (up to 32) and NPaqs (up to five), the Automation 3200 satisfies an endless range of automation needs.

Machine builders now have unparalleled flexibility to control alignment stages, part handling, bonding, and camera stages from the same controller software package.

The PSO (position synchronised output) option available on the Automation 3200, NDrive and NPaq products provides versatile, on-the-fly synchronisation of a laser's pulse and power output with the motions of any machine.

By using advanced, high-speed gate array technology, the PSO can acquire and analyse the positions of up to three axes of motion.

The PSO can vector-process two or three axes to provide laser control synchronised to 2D or 3D contoured machine motions.

By using real-time position transducer feedback information, the PSO produces extremely accurate and repeatable results.

In addition to laser control, the PSO has been successfully applied to NDT (nondestructive test) and force or flow control systems.

The PSO's ability to provide fixed-pulse spacing along complex contours is ideal for inspection systems such as ultrasonic pulse/echo and through-transmission, eddy current and X-ray.

Analogue, TTL and optoisolated digital output channels are provided with pulse frequencies up to 20MHz.

Output modes include: constant and array-based position firing, programmable pulsewidth output (25ns resolution), multiple pulse-at-position, bit-pixel data mapping, real-time position feedback scaling, and window-based firing.

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