SSZTCK8 june 2015
We are happy to have our guest blogger, Sari Germanos today. Sari is the Technology Marketing Manager for the Ethernet POWERLINK Standardization Group. His expertise lies in developing complex distributed real-time mechatronic applications. He also has significant experience in applying simulation technologies to improve the efficiency of developing large-scale distributed systems.
There are many applications that require discrete machine synchronization. Label printing applications require that a print-head start printing based on a specific label location. This process has to be reliable, repeatable, and robust. Web applications need to synchronize the speed of their windings based on the web thickness which constantly changes. Mobile automation machine axels need to synchronize wheel rotation based on angle and velocity.
Implementing synchronized motion in a machine can be quite complex. Such problems are typically solved mechanically using shafts, gears, and differentials. However, the complexity can be significantly reduced when information (such as position of velocity) from a device may be communicated in real-time and with low latency. If a machine can share information between its discrete components consistently and reliably with low latency, the additional cost of complex mechanical mechanisms can be eliminated. It is possible to achieve a high degree of synchronization to meet the needs of the most stringent applications if you have a high performing network that allows you to adhere to the following requirements.
Fortunately there is a free open source, widely used protocol (Ethernet POWERLINK) that can accurately achieve the highest possible degree of synchronization. Using this protocol in conjunction with the TI Sitara AM335x processors will meet all these requirements.
When was the last time you looked inside the cabinet of your machine? Is your network properly serving your machine and providing optimal machine performance?
To learn more about the Powerlink Technology and its realization on TI Sitara Processors, register for the free webinar ‘Using Real-Time Ethernet to Control and Synchronize Industrial Machines’ on July 16, 2015 02:00 PM EDT