More movement on the market

April 2024 Motion Control & Drives

If you want to move something, you have to be able to control the movement. When positioning in the nanometre range everything matters and requires high performance motion control. Six years ago, Aerotech therefore set itself the goal of revolutionising the market for precision motion and machine control systems. The Automation1 motion control platform, which was developed in-house and has been available since 2019, now offers far more capability than many users expect from a motion control system.

Nine functions you wouldn’t expect from a motion controller

• Control positioning systems and connected components such as servo and stepper motors, galvo scan heads, piezoelectric actuators and various other devices on one platform.

• Setup Assistant for the homing configuration of gantries.

• Camera module to display feed from a vision system that can be used to monitor the automation and production process in addition to motion control.

• Intuitive configuration wizard for complete machine setup and rapid implementation of projects.

• EasyTune servo tuning for optimising the servo loop like a control engineer would with access to third-party devices.

• HyperWire bus for drive connection, currently the most powerful communication bus in the motion control industry.

• MachineApps HMI development tool for customising user interfaces for drive systems and allowing support for custom module development for ultimate flexibility.

• EtherCAT compatibility for simple and seamless integration of PLC-based systems.

• Python API and Driver for LabVIEW that enable direct access to the motion control platform.

Further reading:

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Hexagon Electrical has expanded its manufacturing and service capabilities to meet the growing demand for customised, high-performance specialised electric motors in heavy engineering, and hazardous industrial and mining applications.

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Powerful high-precision hexapod
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With the HEX150-125HL, Aerotech is launching the latest generation of its hexapod technology. The compact six-axis positioner combines precise movements with high load capacity and simple integration.

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Servicing the electric motor sector
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Hexagon Electrical has expanded its manufacturing and service capabilities to meet the growing demand for customised, high-performance specialised electric motors in heavy engineering, and hazardous industrial and mining applications.

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Control system for deep antenna
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When a major university in South Korea set out to build a 21-metre deep space antenna, the researchers needed a control system that could track celestial objects with pinpoint accuracy, a level of precision they thought was out of reach. By partnering with Rockwell Automation, they discovered that the right technology and support could turn their vision into reality.

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Manufacturers should go PFAS-Free
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