Product category:
Industrial Drives/Controls
News Release from: Rockwell Automation | Subject: Allen-Bradley 1394 Sercos drive
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 26 June 2001
Servo drive offers the benefits of using
Sercos
Rockwell Automation's new Allen-Bradley 1394 Sercos drive features single point programming, reduced wiring requirements, and the elimination of analogue offsets and EMI effects
Rockwell Automation introduces the new Allen-Bradley 1394 Sercos drive for high speed, flexible, easy to use motion control With single point programming, reduced wiring requirements, and the elimination of analogue offsets and EMI effects, it is perfect for OEMs and end users
Sercos (SErial Real time COmmunication System interface) is a digital interface that provides improved system performance and increased speed.
It communicates information between the controller and servo drive via a fibre optic, real-time, deterministic network.
The network replaces the complex bundle of wiring associated with traditional drives and is used to send and receive information about the status of the drive.
This includes the demand position and axis position together with many drive parameters.
The benefits of using Sercos, include ease of commissioning, higher accuracy, and improved system performance.
Originated as a solution for the machine tool industry, Sercos network speed has advanced significantly in recent years, allowing more axes of control and faster update rates.
With the advent of faster network technology, Sercos is now a valid solution for motion control applications that need distributed control.
The drive uses a process known as micro-interpolation to determine what its position should be between position updates, and Sercos uses a deterministic protocol, so the drive remains safely in control of all axis movements at all times.
Sercos eliminates the need to perform programming or to retrieve diagnostic information at the drive, although that option is available for users who want to 'pre-commission' their drives before the control is connected.
Since the command signal and all position feedback information can be routed over the fibre optic network, wiring requirements are significantly reduced.
For example, in a typical four- axis system, the number of wires required is reduced from 160 to just nine, representing a saving of over 10 hours wiring time.
In addition, digital drives can now gather many of the configuration values that are truly unique to the user: motor current used in motion profiles, bus voltage and power-efficiency characteristics.
Smart devices, such as motors with on-board memory, can communicate their identity to the drive transparently to the user, and an advanced autotune feature automatically determines the ideal response characteristics of the system.
Easy-to-use configuration wizards step the customer through the set-up of values that cannot be pre-determined or read during the power-up sequence.
In all, the machine builder ends up with simplified set-up requirements and a shorter commissioning time.
In the packaging industry, for example, where individual products have a low per-unit value, users place their emphasis on high-speed production.
After a motion control application is designed and installed, the next logical step is to streamline the production process.
Digital drive systems with power sharing can provide the tools to optimise the motion processes and get products flowing faster.
To do this, the drive system can collect data about the operation and transmit it to the processor over the Sercos network.
Other packaging applications benefiting from digital drive systems include flow wrapping, cartoning, case packing, and material handling machinery.
Motion control users in all industries can now benefit from Sercos by choosing the Allen-Bradley 1394 Sercos option.
The result is ease of commissioning, higher accuracy, and improved system performance.
As the network matures, users can expect even more integrated system benefits. Request a free brochure from Rockwell Automation ...
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