Whether you are working with step motors or servo drives, precision and accuracy are necessities in any motion control system. Unitronics, a global developer and manufacturer of all-in-one PLCs with onboard HMIs, has made the speed and accuracy of step motor and motion control applications more efficient and easier to use than ever before.
The new EXF-RC15 digital, high speed IO module by Unitronics adds an elevated level of flexibility to the Vision series PLC + HMI product line, and can be easily configured via their free software to fit a variety of motion control related applications where a mixture of high speed and general purpose inputs and outputs are required.
Compatible with the Unitronics Vision products via CANbus, this new IO module features nine digital inputs, six digital outputs (four transistor outputs with high speed capability, and two relay outputs). The EXF-RC15 supports up to three High Speed Counter (HSC) or Shaft Encoder input channels, at up to 200KHz. Additionally, it supports up to four Pulse Width Modulators (PWM) outputs or up to three Pulse Train Outputs (PTO), at 200KHz max, that can be used for accurate step motor control.
This new and enhanced combination of features enables engineers and systems integrators to benefit from a powerful, upgraded IO module within a bare minimum of budget, cabinet space, and wiring.
Also, Unitronics has also introduced the newest members of their Vision130 PLC + HMI family flat fascia Vision130 units. The new flat fascia makes these models suitable for the food and pharmaceutical industries. With their IP66/IP65/NEMA4X rating, these units are well suited wherever spray/wipe down applications apply. Models include V130-J-B1, V130-J-TR20, V130-J-R34, V130-J-TR34, V130-J-TR6, V130-J-RA22, V130-J-TRA22, V130-J-T2, V130-J-T38, V130-J-TA24. Their PLC + HMI advantage gives users the opportunity to operate on a minimum budget, programming time and wiring.
With a wide variety of onboard and expandable I/O options, these new units are capable of supporting up to 256I/O. These configurations include digital and analog inputs and outputs, high speed I/O, PT100/thermocouple capabilities, and load cell for weight measurement. The I/O can be mounted locally or remotely, up to 1,000m from the controller. These power PLCs are equipped with recipe capabilities, Micro SD card memory storage for data logging and back-up, and complete PLC cloning.
Systems integrators can rely on a single device – the Vision130 units can support 24 auto-tuned PID loops to control temperature, level, and pressure. The graphic LCD, 2.4″ 128 x 64 pixel operator interface supports over 1,024 user designed screens with 400 images per application, a 20 key keypad, and is able to display trend graphs, and a text string library. Internal memory holds 512K of application logic, plus 128K for fonts and 256K for images.
Communication options include Ethernet, cellular, and industrial protocols such as MODBUS, DF1 slave, J1939, CANopen and more. In addition, the Vision130 units can be ‘taught’ to communicate via almost any ASCII protocol. The controller is also capable of time-based and immediate interrupts, making it a natural for ‘rapid response’ applications such as packaging machines.
Unitronics’ free VisiLogic software provides one user friendly environment for hardware configuration, modular ladder application development, and HMI design, including a library of industrial images. Unitronics also offers free technical support for all of their products.
The Vision130 reduces overall system costs by minimising hardware requirements, saving cabinet space, and above all exempting the user from setting up panel-PLC communication.
