An Insider Look at Advanced Automation Control Infrastructure

Jan. 9, 2023

Aerotech's Automation1 Motion Control Platform is a precision machine- and motion-control platform designed to streamline and automate industrial processes.

Alix Paultre

Related To: Electronic Design

Aerotech's Automation1 Motion Control Platform is a precision machine- and motion-control platform designed to streamline and automate industrial processes. Automation1 offers the flexibility of deploying both PC- and drive-based controller architectures and with API and industrial Ethernet support. In this video, Simon Smith from Aerotech explains the company's technology at SPS 2022 in Nuremberg.

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Recent developments in the Automation1 motion-control platform include:

Additional hardware product support: Servo motor drives include the XC6e higher-powered PWM servo motor drive, the XL5e and XL2e linear amplifier servo drives, the XI4 servo controller, and the GI4 galvo laser scan head controller, which features XY2-100 and XY3-100 support. In addition, the Automation1-iSMC motion controller is flexible enough to be run on an industrial PC (such as the Automation1-iPC) or Automation1 drives, including the iXR3, iXC4e, iXC4, iXC2e, iXC2, iXL5e, and iXI4.

Ability to build custom human-machine interfaces: The new MachineApps tool lets users quickly build and deploy new graphical user interfaces for their machines and motion systems. Canned layouts and ultra-fast drag-and-drop functionality enable users to quickly add and configure machine interface modules such as programming interfaces, jog pads, data visualizers, and customizable push buttons.

Additional API tools: The Automation1-iSMC controller connects with broader factory and lab automation systems using the new Python API and LabVIEW VIs, which build upon existing .NET and C APIs as well as EPICS drivers.

Industrial Ethernet connection options: The Automation1 controller extends automation solutions by connecting to PLCs and other automation devices using popular industrial Ethernet protocols. PC-based Automation1 controllers now support MODBUS/TCP, and drive-based Automation1 controllers support EtherCAT.

About the Author

Alix Paultre | Editor-at-Large, Electronic Design

An Army veteran, Alix Paultre was a signals intelligence soldier on the East/West German border in the early ‘80s, and eventually wound up helping launch and run a publication on consumer electronics for the US military stationed in Europe. Alix first began in this industry in 1998 at Electronic Products magazine, and since then has worked for a variety of publications in the embedded electronic engineering space. Alix currently lives in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Also check out his YouTube watch-collecting channel, Talking Timepieces.