Mftg News Integrated Motion Control Article 07 13

7/27/2019 Mftg News Integrated Motion Control Article 07 13

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Todays manufacturing is incorporating servo motion ina wide range of new areas beyond traditional CNC manu-facturing to increase flexibility and productivity. Applica-tions include non-traditional material processing, windingmachines, wire saws, die cushions, wing riveting machines,polishing machines, presses, multi-axis positioning systems and a widerange of material handling systemssuch as gantry loaders and large ro-

botic table positioning systems.Many of the integrators con-

tracted to develop non-machine toolmotion applications immediatelyreach inside their traditional toolkitand start designing a programma-

ble logic control (PLC) solution, cre-ating custom operator interfaces(OI), adding racks of motion control

boards, input/output cards and alarge quantity of custom applicationcode to stitch the pieces together.

Over the life cycle of the appli-cation, manufacturers find them-se lve s re l iant o n that spe cif icintegrator and sometimes the spe-cific engineer that designed the ap-plication. Unless personnel are

already familiar with the individual hardware and softwarecomponents of the system, maintenance can be challenging

For these emerging applications, an integrated motioncontroller is often a more robust and cost effective solutionIt allows integration of operator interfaces, motion, program-mable logic and input/output devices into a single packageMost of the application code is provided, embedded in theintegrated motion controller, eliminating the costly development and support of custom code.

The whole system is backed by a single source and sup-ported by a global service network that is experienced in motion applications. For machining-centric users, much of thetechnology will be familiar to maintenance departments.

Elements of a Motion ApplicationTypical motion application architecture includes severa

key components. In a PLC-based solution these componentsmay be manufactured by multiple vendors, which compli-cates sourcing, interconnecting wiring, application code andmaintenance support. With an integrated motion controllerall the components are manufactured from a single vendorsimplifying sourcing and product support. An integrated

motion controller significantly reduces both the interconnect-ing wiring and custom code development.

Operator InterfaceThe operator interface (OI) is often the primary focal

point to interact with the application. At minimum, theretypically is at least one screen that provides a way to startand stop the application. In practice, several screens

As Seen in July 2013

MANUFACTURINGNEWSSOUTHWEST SOUTHEAST NORTHEAST MIDWEST WEST

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A solution for motion control challenges is the new FANUCPower Motion i-MODEL A introduced at FANUCs recent OpenHouse Show at its headquarters at the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan.

It is suited for a wide range of multi-axis and multi-pathfunctions for motion control applications.

Integrated Motion Control


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are required for: Program/recipe entryand editing Parameters to set ap-plication and systemvariables Maintenance Axes position display Error recovery (for

when things do not goas planned) Custom applicationscreens to simplify op-erator actions.

In a PLC based so-l u t i o n , a l l o f t h e s escreens require codingthat adds up to hun-dreds of hours of cus-tom engineering. The integrator may have libraries of similarcode that they can repurpose at a fee, but the customizationcan still be significant.

Most of these functions and many more are standard inmotion controller applications with an integrated operatorinterface. It is likely that the application can be completedusing the standard screens - saving tens of thousands of dol-lars in custom development expenses. Because these screens

are common to numer-ous applications, fieldservice and maintenanceteams do not need to betrained on a custom so-lution.

Integrated motioncontrollers offer power-ful touch screens andflexible HMI tools to cre-ate any custom screensrequired to simplify theapplication. Windows-

based OIs are also avail-a b l e w h e n i t i s t h epreferred developmentplatform or when thereis a need to integrate off-the-shelf, third party ap-plications.

For large machinesthat need multiple dis-plays or for applications

that do not need a permanent display, portable IO devicescan be connected to the integrated motion controller.

Motion ControlMotion control is the brains of the system that actually

controls the movement of the axes in response to an event orthe execution of a program/recipe. Motion control managesthe path of the axes by controlling the position, speed and

current (torque) of the individual axis motors anddrives.

When there are jusa few axes to move, mo-tion control using a PLCmay be achievable in areasonable amount ofdevelopment time. Cus

tom application codemay load a new positioninto designated registersand then set a few con-trol bits to get an axismoving. Then the appli-cation code may monitordesignated register locations and/or control bitsto determine if the move

was completed correctly.As the axis count rises, however, this PLC-based motion

management can be become unwieldy, especially when axes

must interact. PLC motion modules are often designed tocontrol just a few axes, so large axis count applications mayrequire multiple racks of motion modules in addition to thetypical CPU/IO rack, increasing the cost of wiring and application code and reducing reliability.

Easy, high-performance axis positioning is at the core oan integrated motion controller, supporting up to 32 axes ina single unit without any interconnecting wiring. The axescan be organized into independent paths, with separate program/recipe streams, that can be synchronized at criticapoints as required by the application. Connection of the mo-tion controller to the drive system is a single, high-speednoise immune fiber optic cable. Both rotary and high-speedhigh acceleration linear drive systems are available.

Entering axis position programs/recipes in a simple texfile using the powerful, integrated editor is all that is re-quired for motion path development. All the applicationcode to command and monitor the axis positioning are standard functions and require no engineering developmentMultiple text files can be created for each task or event andadding variables and program flow control increases flexi-

bility. Programs/recipes can be executed proactively basedon operator selection or executed in response to an event trigger. Motion controllers can perform precise linear and circular path coordination (interpolation) with multiple axes.

Aside from standard distance positioning, motion con-trollers support specialized functions such as moving until athreshold is reached based on pressure, torque or speedmulti-axes synchronization, electronic CAM positioning profiles and high-speed response to signals.

Advanced acceleration and deceleration profiles increaseperformance and the accuracy of the motion path. Setupscreens make basic servo system tuning practically auto-matic. Integrated, graphical screens provide tools to optimize

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the servo system tuning for critical operations.

PLC/PMCMost motion applications will include functions that can

be achieved using programmable logic control. Both PLC-based motion and the integrated motion controller solutionscan easily meet this need.

Both include sufficient memory for large logic programsand register space for simple to complex applications.Whereas the PLC based solution typically starts as a blankcanvas, the integrated motion controller solution has definedinterfaces between the operator interface, motion control andinput/output devices, encouraging commonality betweenapplication designs and saving development time.

The motion control solution can support up to five totalindependent ladders, allowing segmentation based on appli-

cation needs. Some ladder programs may be secured to pro-tect intellectual property, while others may be left totallyopen to allow subsequent customization. On large applica-tions, ladders may be dedicated to different areas of the ap-plication. The independent ladders can communicate witheach other using shared memory locations.

Both systems support a wide range of input/output (IOtechnologies, either in a traditional rack configuration ormounted on terminal strips. Both systems support intelligen

IO blocks that are ideal for large scale applications, allowingthe points to be configured as inputs or outputs as requiredand minimizing the installation footprint.

PLCs and integrated motion controllers both support avariety of fieldbus for remote IO and simplified device inter-connection. However, whereas each PLC manufact urerprefers a particular fieldbus technology, the leading inte-grated motion controller supports the most fieldbus standards, including Ethernet/IP, DeviceNet PROFIBUSDPFL-net, Modbus/TCP, CC-Link and IO-Link i.

Interconnecting with other processes, machines and ro-bots is also simplified using Ethernet, Ethernet/FTP, Ether-net/IP and Ethernet/IP Safe protocols, providing robusthigh-speed and flexible interconnectivity over a standardEthernet network.

Authored by Bill Catalano,Manager, FA SystemsFANUC FA America

For more information contact:FANUC FA America1800 Lakewood BoulevardHoffman Estates, IL 60192888-FANUC-US (888-326-8287)www.fanucfa.com

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Mftg News Integrated Motion Control Article 07 13