January 2021

OMRON HAS LAUNCHED a series of AC servomotors and drives with built-in safety functions that can help to avoid machine stoppages, and to achieve zero-loss production due to synchronised emergency stops. The 1S Series drives span ratings from 200W–3kW, and the motors incorporate 20-bit high-resolution absolute multi-turn encoders. They can provide 350% of peak torque. The drives need just one cable connection: power, encoder and brake signals are all carried by pre-assembled cables with IP67 connectors. The drives are claimed to ensure safety and to minimise downtime and production losses. Integrating a wide choice of safety functions (STO, SS1, SS2, SOS, SLS, SLP, SDI and SBC) also cuts costs, wiring complexity, and the need for extra components. The drives support Safety over EtherCat (FSoE), reducing wiring and maintenance while conforming with PLe / SIL 3 performance levels. “If an operator on a manufacturing line is carrying out maintenance or making adjustments close to a machine during production,”explains Omron Europe’s motion product marketing manager, Josep Marti,“the machine can slow down to a safe speed, without stopping production. It will return to the normal speed when the operator leaves the area. And if the operator needs to intervene in the process, all axes can be stopped with the Safe Stop functionality and kept at a safe standstill with the Safe Operating Stop mode.” A Safe Direction mode makes changeovers quicker on packaging lines. If a machine stops, power can be supplied continuously to the motors, avoiding the need to scrap products or for operators to intervene. www.ia.omron.com TECHNOLOGY n n Servo safety functions protect operators, machinery and products Omron claims that its 1S servodrives and motors will ensure safety and minimise downtime p The cycloidal gear specialist Nabtesco is working with the controller expert Keba to develop industrial robots with the highest precision on the market. The aim is to achieve point and path accuracies of hundredths of a millimetre. Gearbox data will be integrated into a robot controller, with software replacing sensors to cut costs and system complexity, and improve data quality. The partners say this will open up new possibilities for robots and machines and allow robots to perform handling andmachining tasks with the precision of machine tools. The project is in the test phase and a first application is planned in co-operation with the German robot-maker, Autonox Robotics . p Softing has announced a technology for connecting Rockwell PLCs to AWS (AmazonWeb Services) IoT SiteWise cloud computing services. Softing claims its tManager is the only module that can be inserted into a ControlLogix or CompactLogix PLC to enable secure transactions with the cloud without needing servers, coding or protocol translation. It connects directly to the AWS IoT Core, making it easier to link plant floors to analytics and dashboards. Once connected, it can be used tomodel assets, processes and facilities, compute performance metrics, and create managedWeb applications to help analyse industrial data, cut costs andmake faster decisions. www.softing.com