Complex motion control applications often require the design of custom systems. This process is usually expensive and time consuming for the project developers. The new Technosoft multi-axis motion system – iPOS360x SX – makes this phase faster and easier, giving the designer an extremely compact (100 x 98 x 37 mm) ready-to-run solution based on the new family of Technosoft iPOS drives.

iPOS360x SX allows you to plug in up to four iPOS3602 VX or iPOS3604 VX intelligent drives and provides all the necessary connectors (motor, encoder feedback and I/O signal) for each drive. The drives are connected through a CAN-bus link. Two CAN-bus connectors plus an optionally connectable terminal resistor ensure a rapid connection to any CAN-bus network configuration. An RS-232 link offers easy access to all drives, for setup and testing, using a standard PC. Future developments of the iPOS360x SX will include an Ethernet port and an Ethernet-to-CAN adapter, while a DIN rail mounting and a metallic cover are available as options.

Using iPOS drives, the iPOS360x SX multi-axis motion system offers a cost-effective solution for controlling up to four DC brushed, (rotary or linear) brushless, or step motors (4 x 144 W, 4 x 36 V). Each iPOS360x drive has a built-in motion controller and provides PLC features. Each can operate as a standard CiA402 CANopen slave drive or can be programmed to execute complex motion programs directly at drive level, using the high level Technosoft Motion Language (TML).

The TML language programming allows each drive to execute complex motion sequences including setting of various motion modes, I/O signals handling, arithmetic and logic operations, conditional jumps and calls or data transfers between axes. iPOS360x SX will enable you to implement a multi-axis system by configuring any drive as master: the application master drive will call each axis to execute and confirm complex TML functions.

The slave drives may also be programmed to periodically send information messages to the master drive, so the latter can monitor each task’s progress. If the master is at PC or PLC level, the iPOS360x drives operate as intelligent slaves in a similar manner as above, while executing their TML program stored in the local non-volatile memory.