Omron in Japan has announced the first additional CPUs for its Sysmac machine automation platform that it launched last year.  The original NJ5 CPUs, which handle 16 to 64 axes, have been joined by two models in the new NJ3 series which handle four and eight axes.

The new CPUs are compatible with the previous machine controllers and use the same Sysmac Studio programming and configuration tool. They also support the same built-in networks – EtherCat for machine control and EtherNet/IP for factory automation. Like the NJ5 series, the NJ3 CPUs use embedded Intel processors.

This expansion of the Sysmac family is part of Omron`s commitment to offer a system that offers compatibility and scalability from four-axis systems up to the largest machines requiring 64 axes.