Posted to News on 9th Oct 2008, 18:38
Multi-axis NC servo controller for electrohydraulic systems
Available now in the UK, the HNC100-3x digital servo drive from Rexroth is a programmable, multi-axis NC controller, with fieldbus interfaces, specifically developed for control of electrohydraulic drives. It expands Rexroth's HNC100 family of tailored automated offerings by controlling up to four electrohydraulic axes in one unit.
Providing enhanced modularity and flexibility with a more compact architecture, Rexroth's HNC100-3x makes installation easier and saves valuable control cabinet space. Rexroth has coupled this reduced size with improved performance; the HNC100-3x features increased computing power to handle more complex tasks. This results in reduced costs by squeezing more performance out of the compact, powerful unit.
Rexroth's HNC100-3x offers true multi-axis synchronisation. Open- and closed-loop control algorithms, tailored specifically to the particular characteristics of hydraulic systems, make it easy to obtain the optimum performance from electrohydraulic drives.
In addition, the increased computing power of the HNC100-3x shortens scan rates. Up to 11 freely configurable digital I/O are available per axis, increasing automation flexibility. Engineers can program the HNC100-3x via a PC with the HNC's WIN-PED software using the NC programming language. This powerful and flexible G-Code-based language is typically used in NC machine control systems and, as such, ensures programming is straightforward and existing programming knowledge can be shared and reused.
Choice of fieldbus protocols
As standard, each of Rexroth's third-generation HNC100-3x controllers features a local CAN-bus that can be used to link individual drives for data exchange or for implementing synchronisation controls. This modular design concept enables engineers to design scalable automation systems.
As with previous generations of HNC100 controls, the HNC100-3x can communicate with higher-level controls via Profibus-DP, Interbus-S, Interbus-S with fibre-optic cable, and CANopen fieldbuses. In single-axis mode, the HNC100-3x also supports the Sercos interface, said to be the most common communication interface for electrical drives. This common bus architecture supports the Rexroth IndraMotion concept of finely scalable and interpolated electrical and hydraulic drive control structures, making total machine control and programming faster, easier, and more completely integrated than ever before.
