April News in Brief
º The PLCopen organisation’s motion control task force has published a set of user guidelines providing examples of how to use function blocks, as well as clarifying other documents issued by the task force. The new document (part 3 of a planned five-part series) supersedes an earlier version published in 2004. It shows how users can generate their own motion control function block libraries, saving time in subsequent projects. PLCopen has also issued a preliminary version of Part 4, covering co-ordinated multi-axis motion in 3D, for comments.
º Cognex has won an order worth more than $2m to supply Japan’s largest paper manufacturer, Oji Paper, with a web inspection system using more than 100 cameras on a line than manufactures and coats paper in a continuous process. The installation, thought to be the world’s largest web inspection system, will identify defects on the 10m-wide moving web and record their locations. When the paper is cut into sheets at the end of the line, any sheet with a defect will be rejected automatically.
º Sercos International has released the CIP Safety on Sercos specification as a function-specific profile (FSP Safety) for Sercos III, which is based on industrial Ethernet. The extensions will be included in Edition 2.2 of the CIP Safety specification, and published in the IEC 61784-3 safety standard.
º Avago Technologies has announced a series of miniature three-channel optical incremental encoders for use with stepper motors, miniature servo motors, packaging machines and other automation applications. The bearingless encoders have two-channel quadrature outputs and a third index channel and are suitable for motors with shaft diameters from 2–5mm.
º ControlNet, one of the CIP family of networks, is now wholly under the management of ODVA, which is now the single organisation responsible for developing, managing and promoting the CIP networks, including EtherNet/IP, DeviceNet, CompoNet and ControlNet. The transfer has been endorsed by ControlNet International, the organisation that established ControlNet as an open standard,
