The Ethernet-compatible Powerlink motion control network is helping the Swiss company Carbo-Link to create carbon fiber components for rigging for racing yachts.
The company has used a Powerlink compatible controller and drives from Baldor Electric Co. to build a machine that winds carbon fibers to form lightweight yet strong tubes or rods of up to 14 m in length. The machine has proved successful, so the company is now building a 50 m long version for a broader range of applications.
Powerlink reduced the cabling complexity and size of the control system. Part of the motion control system moves along the 14 m carriage as the tube or rod is formed.
The Powerlink-compatible controller, NextMove e100, provided Carbo-Link with a flexible solution. The 100 Mbps data rates of the Ethernet-compatible network allows the single controller to manage 16 interpolated axes as well as all the other machinery I/O components required. The network’s intrinsic immunity to noise enabled it to be installed over very long distances.
Baldor Electric Company
www.baldor.com
Filed Under: CONNECTIVITY • fieldbuses • networks • gateways, Motion control • motor controls, ELECTRONICS • ELECTRICAL