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Engineering Education, Resources and Standards
News Release from: Sercos North America
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 16 May 2005
New profile to focus on distributed
control
The Sercos trade organisations have set up a new technical working group to specify a profile for distributed control functions in modular machines and systems.
The Sercos trade organisations have set up a new technical working group to specify a profile for distributed control functions in modular machines and systems, providing for controller-to-controller synchronisation between distributed motion controls via the Sercos interface This addresses the increased need in manufacturing systems engineering in which individual machine modules not only need to be connected mechanically, but also need to be integrated into communication networks and coupled in hard real-time
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 12 Aug 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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Manufacturer-specific solutions - based on available Sercos interface physics - currently exist to for synchronisation between distributed motion controls.
With the Sercos C2C (controller-to-controller synchronisation and communication) Profile, this type of communication will now be standardised.
The C2C Profile is a supplement to the existing Sercos device profiles for servo drives and remote I/O devices.
The specification of communication and synchronisation mechanisms between distributed motion controls takes into consideration the hardware redundancy and hot-plugging features of the new Sercos III concept.
In addition, the data and commands exchanged between controls will be defined based on the Sercos parameter model.
This data includes control and state information, as well as relevant command values and actual values.
In this context, a convergence with the CIP motion profile and the development of a Sercos/CIP gateway is planned.
Typical applications for such a profile are in printing, packaging and processing machines, as well as machine tools with special requirements for control systems and synchronisation, eg machine concepts with gantry axes or rotary transfer tables.
The Sercos C2C profile specification will be available by Hanover Fair 2006.
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