Automation controller offers many motion options

A universal motion and automation controller is a modular PMAC system built with a set of 3U-format Eurocards and a UBUS back-plane that can be configured to meet performance needs.

From Micromech the Delta Tau's newest product line gives engineers versatility and high performance in a rugged, CE approved, 3U package.

Currently the most versatile product the Universal Motion and Automation Controller (UMAC), a modular PMAC system is built with a set of 3U-format Eurocards and a UBUS (Universal Bus) back-plane that can be easily con-figured to meet an engineer's performance needs.

It provides a rugged, integrated package that puts the Turbo PMAC2 or MACRO electronics, breakout connectors, amplifiers, and power supply in an enclosed 3U rack.

Individual boards can slide in and out of the rack, communicate to the Turbo CPU or MACRO CPU board over the common UBUS back-plane so making configuration and troubleshooting simple.

The CPU of a UMAC Turbo System is the Turbo PMAC2 and for the UMAC MACRO it is the MACRO CPU board.

If a MACRO CPU board is used then the UMAC MACRO sys-tem is completed with a remotely connected PMAC2 Ultralite board or another UMAC Turbo system with the ACC-5E through either a fiber-optic or RJ45 twisted-pair cable.

To create a complete UMAC system then boards with axis interface circuitry, PWM, (10V or stepper) and or analogue or digital I/O interface circuitry are added to the UBUS back-plane.

If the PC/104 interface is used with the 3U-format Turbo PMAC2 CPU board, the PC/104 computer and its peripherals can fit inside the UMAC Turbo creating an incredibly powerful system in a compact industrial package.

For example having a 21-slot (19in 3U Rack) UMAC with PC/104, 6 axes of PWM or analogue servo control with 96 digital I/0 points, analogue inputs, power supply, and X4096 encoder interpolator for high-accuracy machining can rival the highest-end NC controllers in the world.

But for all that capability it comes at a fraction of the cost and packaging space.

Delta Tau also provides a set of back-plane boards to connect the UMAC CPU boards to its servo and I/O interface boards, including third-party and custom-designed boards via the 96-pin DIN connectors on each board across a '2 open' shared bus called the UBUS.

The main features of these boards are as follows.

* PC/104-Pentium computer with many options * CPU's - Turbo and MACRO, with high-speed Motorola 56303/309 DSPs.

* I/O Cards - Digital and analogue input and output, high and low power, slow and fast.

* Interpolators - X4096 for multiplying 1V.P/P Sinusoidal encoder inputs.

* Encoder Input Boards - SSI, absolute, R/D, A/B quad, Sincos, etc * Axis Control Cards - Digital PWM, analogue (10V, stepper (32 axes total, in any mix).

* Communication - USB, Ethernet - FireWire.

* Field Buses - MACRO and with SST interface; DeviceNet, Profibus, Can Bus, etc * Third Party and Custom Designed - Temperature control/load cells/4 to 20 ma loops, etc * Power Supplies - +5V and (15V).

The above variety of boards clearly demonstrates the tremendous versatility and adaptability of the powerful, cost-effective UMAC system in diverse automation applications.

These motion controllers have been used to grind the corrective lenses for the Hubble Deep Space Telescope with sub-nanometer accuracy and have moved the 90% full-scale replica of the Titanic for the blockbuster movie.

They operate the world's fastest pick-and-place machines tools, assembly lines, and process production lines.

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