Drives & Controls Magazine February 2023

n TECHNOLOGY February 2023 www.drivesncontrols.com 16 BOSCH REXROTH is latest contender to join the burgeoning market for levitating transport systems for production lines. Unlike most other systems, which use rectangular“movers”to carry items while floating above electromagnetic tiles, Rexroth’s ctrlX Flow6D system uses circular movers that can rotate and tilt as they move. The movers can also supply power and communications wirelessly to items such as sensors and actuators that they are carrying, and can travel up vertical walls or even suspended below overhead work surfaces. As the name suggests, the movers have six degrees of freedom, including tilting by up to 10 degrees and rotating endlessly as they move. These degrees of freedom can be combined with each other. The movers can float at a height of up to 20mm above (or below) their tiles – more than some rivals. Rexroth says that the technology will allow entirely new production system concepts and workflows. For example, the movers can operate in process chambers, allowing transport and process tasks to be combined. The additional degrees of freedom mean that fewer peripheral devices are needed. As a result, the system becomes more compact and less costly. Steffen Winkler, sales manager of Bosch Rexroth’s automation and electrification solutions business, says that the transport system will “form the backbone of a flexible and efficient production facility. As an open system, it can interact seamlessly with various other systems. Software-controlled production allows it to be adapted to changing products or processes quickly.” The system is designed to integrate with Rexroth’s ctrlX Automation platform (see below), resulting in compact controls and the possibility of using apps to increase the range of functions. Several movers of different shapes and sizes can operate simultaneously and independently on the same surface. Their friction-free travel avoids abrasion and results in quiet, non- polluting operation. In the event of a power cut, the movers are designed to land and park safely and gently. Rexroth believes that modular, adaptable planar system will be attractive to many industrial sectors, including semiconductor manufacturing, food production, pharmaceuticals and assembly. www.boschrexroth.com BOSCH REXROTH has opened up its real-time Linux-based operating system, which it has previously used exclusively for its ctrlX Core controllers, to third-party suppliers. The hardware- independent ctrlX OS can be used by other automation suppliers to connect their components to the ctrlX Automation portfolio, including items developed by partner companies supporting Rexroth’s ctrlXWorld platform. There are currently more than 60 partners offering 50 downloadable apps from the ctrlX Store. Bosch Rexroth launched ctrlX Automation at SPS in 2019, hailing it as the "smartphone of industrial automation”and“a radical step towards openness in automation”. The open system of hardware and software provides the building blocks for complete automation systems and works with modern app technologies. It can also be used to merge OT and IT applications. More than 600 customers around the world are now using the ctrlX platform. The platform’s hardware independence makes it possible to operate virtual control systems on hypervisor platforms, in data centres, on edge servers, or in the cloud. Software-based functions can be developed, installed, updated and operated easily and flexibly across all levels of automation. And users can run their own software on any suitable hardware. SteffenWinkler, sales manager of Bosch Rexroth’s automation and electrification solutions business, describes the opening up of the system to other suppliers as“a bold step”. It will make it“possible to use the advantages of our operating system – such as Linux, security, real-time capability, microservice-based architecture and many more – for every automation topology. “We want to free [automation users] from lock-in effects and isolated solutions,”he adds.“For this reason, our developments are all aimed at opening up solutions as much as possible, enabling networking and compatibility.” ctrlX OS can be used at all levels of automation from the field to the cloud, and on a variety of hardware. Software-based functions can be installed and operated across all the levels. Functions can be created as apps and combined freely using programming languages such as Blockly, Python, IEC 61131, PLCopen and C/C#. At the recent at SPS 2022 show, more than a dozen partner companies from ctrlXWorld were demonstrating compatible technologies and apps, including Bosch Connected Industries, Nokia, HD Vision Systems, Hailo Technologies and ifm electronic. Rexroth opens up its real-time Linux- based operating system to third parties Circular movers give levitating transport system a novel spin Rexroth’s ctrlX Flow6D system uses levitating discs to carry, power and monitor items on production lines