Motion controllers are electronic components (and, in an increasing number of integrated cases, electrical supply) that use computer software to control the motions of automated machinery. Visit motioncontroltips.com/motion-controller for additional details on this. Motion controllers are made to control the particular type of actuator on the axes they are controlling. This means that these controllers have the ability to control hydraulic or pneumatic actuators in addition to electric actuators (based on electric motors).
Motion controllers have several characteristics in common with other controls for automation in process applications, despite being specifically designed for the job of moving equipment. In such diverse industries as food and beverage, oil and gas, paper and pulp, chemical manufacture, and more, these process settings are generally dedicated to batch material processing, chemical production, climate control, and related responsibilities. Both the hardware and software of the processor and computer share a lot of similarities, both historically and aesthetically.
Thanks to Bosch Rexroth
Motion controllers can direct axes to follow setpoints in either an open loop (as with the majority of stepper-motor designs) or a closed loop when they are integrated into a piece of machinery (with the help of feedback). These signals are then sent to the axis drive, which eventually activates the actuator.
Otherwise, it’s becoming more and more typical for motion controllers to be what the industry refers to as “smart drives” — those earlier-mentioned devices that combine both control electronics and circuitry to deliver electrical power to the motor. In light of the way drives magnify low-power control signals into full drive signals of electrical power supplies, these relatively new offers demonstrate the suitability of the word amplifier used by some in business to describe to drives.
Thanks to Bosch Rexroth
More specifically, drive functions, motion control, and flow logic are all combined on one open automation platform by drive-integrated controls from select manufacturers. These IEC 61131-3 standards-based motion controls are capable of carrying out difficult motion tasks and even serving as a master or slave in devices that must instantly coordinate motion axes.
The addition of application-specific features is a step further in some motion controller versions. Think about those used in CNC manufacturing for the machine-tool sector. These enable design engineers to construct their own IIoT functions and other machine features in high-level languages and access the core controller software. In actuality, the options for networked machine tools and other machine designs are only being increased by integrated web technology.
Robotics, packing, printing, semiconductor production, material handling, assembly, warehouse automation, and a plethora of other industries that employ machinery are among the various motion controller applications.
Motion controllers can implement velocity control plans… or position control in straightforward applications. Here, the velocity profile can be triangular, trapezoidal, or S-shaped, and the motion trajectory can be a point-to-point track. Pressure or force control is another typical form of operation for motion controllers. The motion controller, as opposed to electronic camming, employs software to connect the actions of a slave axis to those of a master axis.
A motion controller can enable machine axes elegantly manage items or securely operate near plant personnel, for example, by using impedance control, a type of control invented in the 1980s to elicit purposefully compliant behavior from pneumatically driven and motor-driven axes. This is especially useful for activities requiring pick and place and other soft robots, rehabilitation robots, or corobots. In order to dynamically modify stiffness, some motor-driven actuators known as variable impedance actuators need motion controllers that simultaneously deliver power inputs.
The importance of networking for today’s motion controllers has increased, particularly in light of the stricter than-ever requirements for precision and synchronization. Serial networking hardware and proprietary protocols continue to exist, and Fieldbus networks like PROFIBUS continue to expand. Many of the motion controllers of today also support IEC fieldbuses. The problem is that Ethernet speeds now dominate the market even though some fieldbuses still provide dependability that is superior to nondeterministic Ethernet configurations. The Common Industrial Protocol (CIP) offering of EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, CC-Link, PROFINET, and SERCOS III are five real-time protocols that allow deterministic networking, which is crucial for many motion controller activities.