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SPS IPC Drives 2014 exclusive show report
Published:  03 January, 2015

Trio Motion Technology, one of the handful of UK exhibitors at SPS, was demonstrating an EtherCat master from its Motion Coordinator range controlling 12 drives from different manufacturers on one network. The MC4N-ECAT controller can handle up to 32 axes and 1,024 I/O points, and allows automatic detection and plug-and-play operation of a growing number of EtherCat drives.

WEG’s water-cooled CFW11W modular VSD (below) made its SPS debut at the recent show. It delivers up to 40% more power than an air-cooled inverter, saving space and cutting costs. It covers power ratings from 450kW–2.8MW, with the largest version being smaller than a 2MW air-cooled VSD.

WEG has also doubled the top power rating of its CFW500 VSDs from 7.5kW to 15kW. The plug-and-play drives have built-in micro-PLCs and come with pre-programmed macros for applications such as positioning. The IP20-protected drives can be connected to most major fieldbuses.

At the other end of the size scale, WEG has more than doubled the largest version of its air-cooled MVW01 medium-voltage drives from 6.5MW to 16MW for voltages from 2.2–4.16kV. The complete line now covers voltages from 2.3–6.9kV and rated powers from 400kW–16MW. WEG claims that these are the most efficient MV drives on the market, with an efficiency of more than 99%. Water-cooled versions are available offering up to 40% more power than the air-cooled models.

Wittenstein Cyber Motor was highlighting its ability to supply motors for extreme conditions, including radioactive environments, extreme temperatures, high vacuums and cleanrooms. Its “cyber special motors” portfolio includes permanent magnet rotary and linear synchronous motors and actuators.

CONTROLS

Baumüller has developed an IEC 61131-compliant soft-PLC that incorporates motion control functions and is said to simplify designing distributed intelligence in machines. The b maXX softdrivePLC runs as part of a drive’s firmware, and can perform tasks from allocating digital outputs to complex calculations. As well as avoiding the costs of a separate controller, the soft-PLC can run highly synchronised programs with 125µs cycle times. It can access two controllers in a twin-axis set-up, avoiding the need for fieldbus communications between them.

Baumüller was also showing a space-saving family of touchscreen HMIs in sizes from 4.3–15.4”. Visualisation on the b maXX-HMI panels can be Web-based and they include symbol and graphics libraries, as well as animation options, and alarm and event management functions.

Beckhoff was promoting a low-cost, all-in-one controller incorporating a 7” touch display that is designed to mounted in control cabinets to act as an automation controller for smaller machines, plants or buildings. The fanless CP6606 Economy Panel PC (below) has a 1GHz ARM CPU and 1GB of RAM. It can be used as an OPC UA client or server.

Delta Industrial Automation exhibited a PAC (programmable automation controller) that integrates motion control with logic programming and synchronises EtherCat communications with Delta’s own DMCNET bus. The MH1’s EtherCat master port supports synchronous cycle times up to 4kHz for up to 64 axes of motion control, while a built-in DMCNET master supports 12-axis control. Up to 100 EtherCat slave modules and 24 DMCNET modules can be connected.

Delta has also released a series of touchscreen HMIs in sizes up to 15”, with aluminium enclosures and IP65 front covers. The DOP-W HMIs have a monitoring function that allows users to view the HMI image remotely and control the process via Ethernet

Eaton unveiled an “ultra-compact” modular slice I/O system with a high channel density, CANopen connections and a plug-in connector technology that allows I/O stations with sensors and actuators to be pre-assembled, simplifying commissioning and maintenance. With the XN300 system (shown below), up to 20 channels can be implemented on five plug-in connectors occupying an area of 12.5 x 102mm. Built-in intelligence can reduce the number of modules needed in many applications. CANopen reaction times of less than 1ms are possible, and up to 640 channels can be addressed for stations with up to 32 subscribers.