Posted to News on 22nd Nov 2006, 21:00
Festo to show intelligent DC servo drives at mtec 2007
At mtec 2007, Festo will focus on new enhancements for user flexibility and choice. Nigel Dawson, Product Manager for Electrical Drives, comments: "The new additions to our electric drives range are all about choice and ease of use. We will be introducing for the first time in the UK our intelligent DC servo motors with their new fieldbus interfaces for Profibus and CANopen. These motors will give designers a very versatile and cost-effective option for machine format setting."
Even at the 'simpler' end of the Festo range, user choice is being extended. Pre-wired cable sets will offer a choice of standard, energy chain or robotic cable types, with options of cable terminations - enabling different plug types to be configured to precisely meet customers' needs. These options can reduce assembly times considerably, drive up quality and save machine build costs.
The Festo 'Plug and Work' philosophy continues to expand in the controls area, with the introduction of new, highly flexible CPX valves and I/O options. The configurable terminals can be specified online and ordered as a single pre-assembled and tested module ready to mount on the machine frame. New lower-cost I/O modules and additional flexibility in the local CPX bus ensure designers can specify configurations for machine optimisation without constraints being laid down by their I/O and valves supplier. The local bus runs satellite I/O modules and valve terminals up to 10m away.
Festo will also be demonstrating a powerful new web-based monitoring tool at mtec 2007. Known as CPX Web Monitor, the software package provides a low-cost, ready-to-run remote diagnostics package that requires no in-house software expertise and only minimal set-up. It facilitates on-line retrieval of digital and analogue statistical data from any Ethernet-equipped Festo CPX series valve terminal or I/O module. Capable of handling static and dynamic data, CPX Web Monitor accommodates a wide variety of process-related functions, including individual pneumatic valve diagnostic and condition monitoring, pressure, temperature and I/O status monitoring, and power supply condition monitoring.
