| Keeping Motion and Logic Separate
 This builder of liquid filling machines maintains its belief in a
motion controller that is separate from the PLC that governs a machine's logic.
The package was a thin, decorated plastic bag that was proving difficult to lift, open
and fill in an end-of-line workstation.
A manufacturer of liquid filling machines used chiefly in pharmaceutical, personal care,
chemical specialties, cosmetics, and household products, Filamatic (www.filamatic.com), a
division of National Instruments Co. LLC, has resisted the growing popularity of the PAC. Short
for Programmable Automation Controller, the PAC is a controller that combines logic, motion, and
sometimes human-machine interface (HMI) in one device.
“We've kept motion control and logic separate largely because it's more customer
friendly where our general customer base is concerned,” says Jack Chopper, chief electrical
engineer at Filamatic. “If troubleshooting is ever needed, it's easier to perform it when
dealing with separate motion and logic controls...”
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Ethernet-based Motion Hot and Real-time
One of the hottest topics in industrial networking these days is
Ethernet-based motion control. Protocols may run solely on Ethernet–Layer 2–of the International
Standardization Organization's (www.iso.ch) Open System Interconnection (OSI) 7-layer Reference
Model. Some use the model's transmission control protocol (TCP)/Layer 4 and Internet protocol
(IP)/Layer 3. Some bypass those two to get real-time responses. Regardless, they're all
unique.
For example, SERCOS III (for Serial Real-time Control System) bypasses TCP/IP. But it
provides hard real-time for motion, explains Scott Hibbard, vice president of technology for
vendor Bosch Rexroth Corp.'s (www.boschrexroth-us.com) Electric Drives & Control Division,
Hoffman Estates, Ill. Hard real-time implies time-critical tasks that must be completed within
the specified time.
“What is unique in SERCOS III is that it has been so specified that if a system can
tolerate jitter (flicker or fluctuation in a signal) higher than 1 microsecond, the
specification can be supported with off-the-shelf hardware,” Hibbard adds. “This means [it can
be used] for ‘lower performance’ applications, such as point-to-point motion or I/O
(input/output) control...” Read more
Baumer Merges Divisions to Pursue Motion Control
Watch for Baumer Ltd. (www.baumerelectric.com/usa),
Southington, Conn., to make a new marketing push in the United States following
the recent merger of four existing, independent divisions by its Swiss-based
parent into a newly created entity focusing entirely on motion control solutions.
The Baumer Group, based in Frauenfeld, Switzerland, is a worldwide supplier
of sensor solutions, motion control equipment, vision technologies and process
instrumentation.
As a result of the merger, Baumer Motion Control becomes the single source
international supplier of a broad line of motion products and technologies from
Baumer, Baumer Hübner, Baumer IVO, and Baumer Thalheim. Baumer Motion Control now
ranks among the world's largest suppliers of motion products, the company said... Read more
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