Motion-optimized PLC platforms combine traditional controls functionality with advanced multi-axis motion control, providing a streamlined automation solution.
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Industrial motion control applications range from simple to complex and are generally considered a design specialty. Currently, there are some entry-level solutions, and designers are also aware of high-performance motion control platforms. However, there are many cases where designers would like to coordinate traditional automation with medium-complexity motion control, without incurring the expense and difficulty of integrating multiple platforms, or learning a highly sophisticated motion system.
A Design World August 2024 article titled Next-Level PLC Motion Control, by Kevin McClelion and Joe Scoccimaro of AutomationDirect, discusses how there is now a happy medium suitable for a wide range of applications. A PLC with significant built-in motion-specific features can perform extensive multi-axis motion control, and directly monitor and control related field equipment.
Next-Level Motion Control
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Designers have several choices for implementing a few basic motion control axes. They can choose a servo drive with an on-board motion controller, and even use hardwired signals to connect some of these together. Alternatively, certain PLCs can command a few servo drives using hardwired connections. However, hardwired signals can only support limited interconnectivity.
A better choice for many applications is to select a motion-optimized PLC. This type of PLC is based on industrial-grade hardware, and it can connect to field devices and supervisory systems using industrial Ethernet protocols to perform monitoring, control, and data communications. It also includes significant motion-specific instructions, and it can connect to many servo drives using standard IEC 61158 Ethernet for Control Automation Technology (EtherCAT) motion control fieldbus.
When to Select a Motion-Optimized PLC
The following requirements would prompt the selection of a motion-optimized PLC able to operate servo drives using EtherCAT:
- Command and coordinate more than two or three axes, up to four or eight
- Support for enhanced data connectivity
- Ability to execute advanced motion operations, including speed-limited torque control, registration for printing and bagging operations, specialized moves such as helical, and virtual axes coordination
- A preference for coordinating additional equipment automation, with the ability to use IEC 61131-3 compliant programming languages
A motion-optimized PLC, connected to servo drives using EtherCAT, consolidates traditional control and motion via hardwired devices, industrial fieldbuses, and EtherCAT connectivity. The resulting architecture provides high-performance servo motor control, along with a convenient way to aggregate data and communicate it to higher-level visualization and computing systems.
Typical applications include fillers, assembly machines, and multi-stage production line equipment. Extensive data connectivity is demanded by modern automated systems, and a motion-optimized PLC is well suited for this task. Also, this type of PLC provides native diagnostics and trending, essential for developing and commissioning complex motion applications.
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More Capable Motion Control
While some motion control applications are simple, there are plenty of cases where motion control has developed a reputation for being costly and complex to implement. Yet there are plenty of applications between these two extremes.
For mid-tier motion control—with several coordinated axes, other sensing and automation devices, and a need for data handling—designers will find that a motion-optimized PLC is likely to meet or exceed all their technical needs, while providing high performance-to-cost ratio.
Check out the AutomationDirect LS Electric XGB PLCs (Stackable Micro) webpage to discover motion-enabled PLC, EtherCAT, and servo drive products available to support your automation and motion control project needs.