Stand-alone motion cards permit motion program download without need for host PC
21 May 2010
Inmoco’s new Prodigy/CME stand-alone motion cards, from Performance Motion Devices, Inc. (PMD) give machine designers the capability to download and run motion programs directly for onboard execution, off-loading or eliminating a host PC and increasing the ability to distribute independent motion programs throughout a machine. The programs can be downloaded over UDP and TCP Ethernet protocols, in addition to serial and CANbus protocols. They communicate via 16-bit parallel, Ethernet, serial, and CANbus.
PMD stand-alone motion cards offer high-performance motion control for scientific, automation, industrial, and robotic applications. They are available in 1, 2, 3, and 4-axis versions and support multiple motor types, including DC brush, brushless DC, microstepping, and stepper motors.
Advanced motion control functions with the Prodigy cards are handled by PMD’s industry- leading Magellan Motion Processor, which is tightly integrated with the company’s C-Motion Engine. Employing this twin functionality, users can program a variety of motion profiles, including S-curve, trapezoidal, velocity contouring, and electronic gearing. These features are complemented by servo loop compensation, with full 32-bit position error, PID with velocity and acceleration feedforward, plus integration limit and dual biquad filters for sophisticated control of complex loads. In addition, for each Prodigy axis, motor type and feedback type can be selected independently, delivering maximum flexibility for the machine designer.
Program development with the Prodigy cards is greatly simplified through the use of PMD’s C-Motion development suite. This includes an extensive library of proven motion control code, as well as an array of development and debug tools. The powerful C-Motion command set includes an extensive source code library of motion commands that speed development of standard C/C++ programs.
In addition to handling the motion control functions, the C-Motion Engine can also manage digital and analogue I/O signals locally, allowing for much faster responses and a reduced need for supplemental I/O cards in the system.
Extremely easy to integrate into machines, the Prodigy motion cards offer the advantage of a small envelope for all axis versions of just 16cm x 10.7cm, meaning that they will even satisfy designs where space is particularly limited. Also aiding easy integration, the motion cards are available with horizontal connectors or optional vertical connectors for stackable configurations. This choice of options provides designers with greater versatility in choosing mounting locations and cabling options.
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