That same kind of convenience is gradually coming to the vastly more complex environment of the industrial automation world.HMI SCADA systems have long tried to simplify the operation and control of the production line at the MES level but now Siemens Energy & Automation is bringing that kind of simplicity all the way down to the individual drive level.
The company has released a new single-axis AC servo drive, the Sinamics S110 , that promises easy commissioning, high flexibility and convenient connection to higher-level controllers.
“The S110 drive uses servo motors with the Drive CLiQ interface to automatically parameterize the servo system so it’s ready to run on initial power-up,” says Craig Nelson, a spokesperson for Siemens. “It’s literally plug and play.”
The S110 accomplishes this by automatically reading the electronic nameplate of the motor via Drive CLiQ. The encoder feedback and motor temperature are also read back over the Drive CLiQ interface.
Aimed broadly at the general motion control market, the new device is intended to meet the expanding application needs for a simple positioning servo. “Application scope ranges from simple material handling like pick and place to rotary indexing tables and tool magazines. It is also suitable for robotic and automatic assembly machines, feeders in printing and paper machines, and for ejectors in injection molding machines. Other applications include medical equipment and positioning task in the wind and solar industry,” adds Nelson.
The new servo also boasts an extensive set of integrated safety functions that support the straightforward implementation of innovative safety concepts in compliance with the appropriate standards.
The S110 servo drive has seven standards-compliant on-board safety functions which meet category 3 requirements as defined in EN 954-1 and Safety Integrated Level 2 requirements as defined in EN 61508. The safety functions are controlled via three safe inputs and one safe output (terminals) on-board the S110. When integrated into a total automation system, it can be controlled via the Profisafe profile.
Says Nelson, “We wanted to design and release the simplest drive in the world to specify, commission and maintain - raising everyone's expectations for truly simple, yet advanced motion control. And I think we’ve accomplished that.”