Product category:
CNC and Motion Controllers
News Release from: Ormec Systems Corp | Subject: SMLC
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 19 September 2003
Motion and logic control come together
The SMLC ServoWire motion and logic controller is a tightly integrated, low-cost solution combining high-performance soft motion technology with IEC61131-3 programming for motion and I/O control.
Ormec's new ServoWire motion and logic controller (SMLC) offers a tightly integrated, low cost solution by combining high performance Ormec ServoWire soft motion technology with standard IEC61131-3 programming for motion and I/O control The SMLC features commercial off the shelf (COTS) components to reduce hardware costs, a proven real-time operating system (RTOS) for robustness, and industry standard network interfaces for a variety of connectivity options
Ormec has evaluated, qualified and integrated best of breed components for this new controller, giving its customers the advantages of PC-based control (reduced costs, increased flexibility etc) in a tightly integrated, easily installed package.
The ServoWire controller features Flash memory for application program storage, battery-backed RAM for nonvolatile data storage, and no hard disk.
The all-digital ServoWire SM drives provide support for a variety of actuator technologies, including brushless rotary and linear motors, DC brush motors and voice coils operating from 24V DC (300W) to 460V AC (15kW).
The drives are configured over the ServoWire network, eliminating all manual configuration and offline configuration utilities, reducing the cost and complexity and maintaining the motion control.
For general-purpose I/O, Ormec has partnered with Wago to integrate its 750 Series Profibus DP, Ethernet (Modbus TCP/IP) and FireWire (IEEE1394) networked I/O with the ServoWire controller.
This system covers a wide variety of interface modules, and the introduction of FireWire I/O allows for a single network for both I/O and motion control.
Ormec has selected the highly reliable QNX Neutrino as the ServoWire controller real-time operating system.
The use of an RTOS in the ServoWire controller facilitates the integration of new functionality and eases product lifecycle maintenance by allowing for easy migration to new and more powerful hardware platforms as they become available.
To implement the ServoWire controller's programming, Ormec has partnered with 3S to integrate high-performance ServoWire soft motion technology with CoDeSys IEC61131-3 software.
CoDeSys covers all five IEC61131-3 standard compliant languages, and is incorporated in over one hundred OEM partner products.
All application motion and I/O control is implemented in a single program running on one processor, with out the delays and timing issues associated with separate processor cards in PCs and PLC racks.
For the motion control programming, Ormec has implemented PLCopen motion control function blocks.
Powerful features have been added to the open standard motion control function blocks, allowing motions to be loaded into a queue for sequential operation initiated independent of the I/O scan rate.
Motions in the queue can be automatically repeated, simplifying application programming, and triggered by high-speed sensor inputs at the servo command rate (faster than the I/O scan rate).
It is also possible to easily superimpose incremental time-based and geared motions on top of a constant motion gear ratio, without the need to develop cam profiles.
Using IEC61131-3 and PLCopen motion blocks for application program development helps reduce the cost of developing and maintaining new control systems.
Development costs are reduced through the use of reusable function blocks, as well as standardised program languages and methods.
Maintenance costs are reduced because technicians are required to learn only one set of vendor independent programming languages and complex functionality can be encapsulated in function blocks that can be embedded in easily understood relay ladder logic programs.
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