Monday, 29 April 2013

Motion Control Design - What's suitable for You?

By Todd Smith


Putting together motion control design can appear comparatively straightforward but it is also really complicated and baffling. There's the need to choose between drivers, the necessity for a network, and/or if you can put the brains of the operation all on one controller card

To respond to that equation, you have got to ask more questions. As an example, how fast does the process have to go to get your product to market in a timely manner (this is critical in the food industry). What sort of synchronization do you need and what kind of power motor? Are there any connectivity issues that need to be addressed so the design fits your machinery? Last, but certainly not least, how many items do you plan to create over a specific quantity of time?

Happily the motion control industry has made impressive jumps technologically, up to and including comparatively universal motion control cards that mesh with external amplifiers with a little wiggle room on torque and voltage. Provided everything else is in place , this gives you a sound interface for managing motion. You want to be sure that the connectivity is correct with the shape/size of the card. A lot of makers treasure the 'off the shelf ' product for its flexibleness apropos power. While amplification may need alteration, the motor can remain. On the down side, the off the shelf option can get expensive. The wiring is stupendously complex. And, as one might imagine, the more wires = more potential problems in the long run vis upkeep. Additionally, this actual sort of product leaves technicians with many questions when a problem comes up - for example, was it the card, the wires, the motor, the amplifier? All of those questions equal extra time and resources to solve a problem.

An alternative is an integrated control card. This basically holds all of the instructions for your machine so it can apply processes and manage time. These cards are user-friendly and offer an interface. Network or Ethernet works nicely. This sort of card can be swapped out and needs a lot less wiring. Overall this is a cost saving move, regardless of whether it requires more design specifications.

So what's best? It depends. The OTS versions already have the capability to connect to several different amplifiers, encoders and software. The cost of custom generated procedures alone may make these a good choice. However having something that's wholly customized to your production has lots of potential too. The key here is finding the right Design for your company, and when you're unsure get a professional expert that will guide the process.




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