Phoenix Contact Inc., the Middletown, Pa., manufacturer of control and connection systems, has joined the Mechatrolink Members Association (MMA), the Japan-based user organization dedicated to the development and promotion of the Mechatrolink motion network. The Mechatrolink motion network is an easy and cost-effective communication solution that covers the requirements of high-performance multi-axis servo systems.
One-hundred forty industrial companies belong to MMA, which was founded by Yaskawa Electric Corp., the manufacturer of regulating drives, servo control systems and robotics with headquarters in Kitakyushu, Japan.
Phoenix Contact is working with Yaskawa to develop a modular input/output (I/O) bus coupler with the Mechatrolink interface based on its Inline system. When the bus coupler is used in combination with Yaskawa drives and controls, the system engineer now is able to integrate the motion and machine control via a single network, which connects drives, I/O and controllers into an overall solution. Besides providing a high-performance and cost-effective machine control solution, the use of the Mechatrolink network can also shorten development, installation and start-up times.
