Communications interface

Baldor Electric Company has upgraded its range of smart drives with HMS Industrial Networks’ communication technology, allowing the drives to communicate with a PLC. Baldor’s e100 AC drives, suitable for use in standalone motion control systems or networked systems, are now compatible with the Ethernet/IP, Modbus TCP and Powerlink industrial standards. The drives also feature an Ethernet interface compatible with the deterministic Ethernet-compatible motion control standard, Powerlink. The drives may be used to control rotary and linear servo motors, linear motors, closed-loop vector motors and in V/Hz control modes. The embedded Mint Lite capability is now being fitted without charge on all of Baldor’s MicroFlex e100 and MotiFlex e100s. It supports a range of basic motion programming requirements, including performing relative and absolute moves, S-ramp profiles, jog and homing movements, changing target positions on the fly, registration moves, and reacting to real-time trigger events. The programming facility allows standalone drives to provide solutions for many common automation and machinery tasks, such as cutting or feeding to length, indexing axes, simple pick and place motion, and machine adjustments such as changing guides or backstops to reconfigure machinery for new batches. Anybus CompactCom (Anybus-CC) module is intended for OEMs. It provides connectivity to all leading fieldbus, industrial Ethernet protocols, serial, USB and wireless networks without the need for any hardware and software changes to your automation device, the company says.

www.baldormotion.com/

www.anybus.com