Basingstoke, U.K. – If you want to move something, you have to be able to control the movement. When positioning in the nanometer range everything matters and requires high performance motion control. Six years ago, Aerotech therefore set itself the goal of revolutionizing the market for precision motion and machine control systems. The Automation1 motion control platform, which was developed in-house and has been available since 2019, now offers far more capability than many users expect from a motion control system.
9 functions you wouldn’t expect from a motion controller
- Control positioning systems and connected components such as servo and stepper motors, galvo scan heads, piezoelectric actuators and various other devices on one platform
- Setup Assistant for the homing configuration of Gantrys
- Camera module to display feed from a vision system that can be used to monitor the automation and production process in addition to motion control
- Intuitive configuration wizard for complete machine setup and rapid implementation of projects
- EasyTune servo tuning optimises the servo loop like a control engineer would with access to third-party devices
- HyperWire bus for drive connection, currently the most powerful communication bus in the motion control industry
- MachineApps HMI development tool for customizing user interfaces for drive systems and allowing support for custom module development for ultimate flexibility.
- EtherCAT compatibility for simple and seamless integration of PLC-based systems
Figure 1: Simon Smith
Caption: Simon Smith, European Director of Aerotech in Basingstoke: “The high-precision control of motion components has been our expertise for decades. Whether in industry or in research facilities, our solutions and systems are used wherever something needs to be positioned with repeat accuracy in the micro and nanometer range.”
Figure 2: Automation1
Caption: Camera module integrated in motion control: A camera recording is used as a live video feed with optional crosshairs as well as the capture and display of images and axis positions are displayed directly on the screen of the control platform in order to monitor the production process, for example.
Figures 3-6: Automation at a glance
Caption: Performance meets user-friendliness: The Automation1 control platform enables direct control of servo and stepper motors, galvo scan heads, piezoelectric actuators and various other devices. The individual axes are connected via the HyperWire bus, the most powerful communication bus in the motion control industry.
Figure 7: Gantry portal
Caption: The decoupling control in Automation1 can also be used to control a rotary movement (yaw) on the yaw axis (theta) when working with a flexible gantry.
Figure 8: digital XA4 and iXA4-PWM drives
Caption: Specially developed for use with the Automations1 motion control platform: the new digital PWM drives XA4 and iXA4
