With the rapid growth of Industry 4.0 applications, machine manufacturers are under pressure to provide advanced machines with shorter development times using fewer personnel. The demand for using real-time data to provide necessary information for operational decision making is growing. The key word related to Industry 4.0 is connectivity (the connection between all participants in the production process), even in factories that have not yet applied Industry 4.0. It is very important that the component or system is at least compatible with the requirements of Industry 4.0, and can be connected and communicated with internal and external networks.
Although it is easy to implement using new components, it is not realistic to replace all existing systems to ensure compatibility. This has led to the development of various devices that provide at least a basic connection to the Industry 4.0 system without affecting the automation logic.
The development of transmissions allows manufacturers to configure various functions through built-in technologies. These technologies eliminate the need for external PLCs. This reflects the changes made to the previous generation of transmissions that provide limited functions.
No external PLC requiredModern drive systems have enough intelligence to complete position displacement and speed control. The realization of these functions will be as simple as checking e-mails through a mobile phone. Another expectation brought by Industry 4.0 is that the drive system can obtain machine functions and performance data, and then configure the data and present these data to the outside world.
Advanced drive manufacturers can configure various functions through built-in technologies that eliminate the need for external programmable logic controllers (PLCs). For example, the current latest servo drives include the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61131-3 programmable controller operating system. This reflects the changes made to the previous generation of drivers that provided limited functionality.
It will take some time to fully understand the meaning of these advancements in the drive, but the current intelligent drive has the ability to solve real-time control challenges, which is also a major aspect of Industry 4.0. Eliminating the PLC and directly entering the drive can eliminate the time interval, and optimize the cycle time and product consistency.
Keep in syncEven if a drive system does contain certain problem-solving tools or functional blocks, it still has to face the challenge of synchronizing multiple motions on a machine. When the bus system used is uncertain, the solution that can be adopted is to allow the drives to communicate without having to return to the central control system. This is where a deterministic bus system such as SERCOS III is self-contained. A deterministic system is not a necessary prerequisite for the application of Industry 4.0. The drive can store real-time data and send it to the uplink system in a non-deterministic way.
Now there are various advanced tools available in the drive, so it is important to choose the right tool. The goal should be to enable programmers from machine builders with no specific experience to access and use these functions. It is recommended to use PLC function blocks that have been tested and tested. They can be used in PLCs under the IEC 61131-3 standard, and can even be combined with ladder logic programming.
There are now a variety of functional blocks available, which can be selected according to the needs of each application. What they can do includes collecting product position information on conveyor belts, winding machine control to closed-loop register control, and even creating complete motion trajectories for cross-cutting machines and cross-sealing machines.
Create HMIHuman Machine Interface (HMI) is another key component of Industry 4.0. In the past, creating interfaces for machines and operators required the intervention of a central PLC and bus system. The bus system was used to send key machine setting information and variables to the drive. Before being displayed on the HMI, diagnostics and machine status information will be re-imported to the PLC.
Although modern bus systems can perform this function, it may require a lot of programming work and may be unnecessary when the drive system contains all the required information. To solve this problem, many drive systems include all the tools needed to create an HMI. In some cases, the central PLC may not be needed, because the drive can use a full range of inputs and outputs, which are usually connected to the PLC in the past.
The key factor that must be controlled is the time required to set up and debug the machine. Smart drives now provide many tools to reduce start-up time through optimized axis movement and process synchronization.
The design of these quick-start tools allows the transmission to be moved in the early stage of machine commissioning, even before the machine control software has been installed in the system. The result of this is that only basic IT tools (such as mobile phones or tablets) can be used to quickly and easily test the mechanical performance of the machine.
Help maintainIntelligent drive systems can participate in active maintenance strategies because they can be integrated with a complete set of key tools that can perform key predictive maintenance functions when they are supplied, minimizing additional programming workload. This software can be set to continuously monitor real-time machine performance status and process status. This includes waveform analysis by analyzing temperature changes, and checking for backlash, increased friction, or process overload.
If a fault condition occurs, a code is generated and sent to the HMI. If you find a critical issue that requires the machine to stop running, you can make a decision within the drive, thereby minimizing the risk of production loss and machine damage.
Industry 4.0 provides enhanced processing capabilities and improved functionality for smart drives. This brings more opportunities for manufacturing companies to optimize programming, production and maintenance. Because in many cases the demand for PLC is reduced or even no longer needed, more advanced machines can be created in a shorter time. (Author: Mike Loma)
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