1  

8SMC4-­‐36  Multi-­‐axis  motion  control  system  Supports  up  to  50  000  motorized  positioners    

 8SMC4-­‐36  is  designed  for  controlling  up  to  36  axes  with  DC,  stepper  or  BLDC  motors.  

The   chassis   has   7U   height   and   can   be   setup   on   usual   19’   industrial   cabinet   or   can   be  freestanding.  Up  to  6  8SMC4-­‐36  systems  can  be  installed  on  a  standard  42U  19'  cabinet  which  gives  up  to  216  axes  per  cabinet,  this  industry's  highest  number  so  far!  Up  to  250  cabinets  can  be  assembled   in  a   single  system  via  Ethernet.  The  system   is  automatically   set  on  a  peer-­‐to-­‐peer  principle  and  does  not  require  any  special  infrastructure  or  master  servers.    

 8SMC4-­‐36   contains   all   necessary   subsystems,   including   control,   power  units,   cooling  

subsystems  etc.,  which  support   the  simultaneous  work  of  all  axes.  8SMC4-­‐36  allows   full  hot  plug:   installation/replacement/removal   of   any   controller   module   without   stopping   the  system.     8SMC4-­‐36   is   connected   to   a   number   of   PC-­‐based   workstations   via   Ethernet,  moreover  all  users  have  access   to   the  range  setting  of   the  available  axes  and  assignment  of  access  privileges.  From  the  programmer’s  point  of  view,  work  with  all  axes  of   the  system  is  very  similar  to  a  local  8SMC4-­‐USB  box.  Needs  of  the  potential  clients  should  be  taken  into  very  close  consideration  when   the  system   is  being  developed.  The  system   is  highly  scalable.  The  number  of  the  axes  available  for  a  user  and  processed  by  the  system  can  reach  50,000,  which  is  the  highest  number   in  the   industry!  As  far  as  a  user   is  concerned,   it  does  not  matter  how  many  8SMC4-­‐USB  systems  are  installed  and  how  they  are  connected  because  a  user  will  enjoy  a   universal   interface   with   an   opportunity   to   control   all   the   axes   provided   this   user   has  respective  access.  

     

 Figure  1.  8SMC4-­‐36  Front  view.  Front  panel,  indication  and  additional  connectors.  

   

  2  

Front  panel  consist  all  LED-­‐indication  and  connectors  for  plugging  the  remote  control  and   indication   (joysticks,   buttons,   limit   switches   indicators,   sync   inputs   and   outputs).   The  front  panel  is  monolithic  and  fixed.  The  back  panel  is  divided  into  9  blocks  of  8SMC4-­‐4  type  of  3U  height.  Each  of  them  contains  four  axes.  The  blocks  are  independent;  they  are  located  on  the  sleds  and  can  be  replaced/installed/removed  on  the  fly;  minimal  amount  of  blocks  is  one,  and  maximum   is  nine.   If   the   system   is  expected   to  work  with   less   than  36  axes,  part  of   the  slots  can  be  substituted  with  plugs.  The  10th  block,  which  contains  an  in-­‐built  programmable  controller  and  connectors   for  plugging  to  electric  power,   is  mandatory.  Cool  air   is  delivered  through   a   1/2U   slot   in   the   front   panel,   and   it   is   expelled   from   the   back   panel.   While   in  operation  the  front  and  the  back  panels  should  not  be  blocked  for  the  purposes  of  ventilation.    

8SMC4-­‐36  uses  common  Ethernet  interface  and  all  users  are  provided  with  the  range  setting   of   the   available   axes   and   access   rights   differentiation.   This   setting   is   created   by   a  superuser,   the   administrator   of   the   system   who   has   full   access.   All   8SMC4-­‐36   systems  controlled   by   the   superuser   exchange   data   on   peer-­‐to-­‐peer   principle   thus   establishing   a  distributed  peer-­‐to-­‐peer  network  without  a  central  node.  This  organization  allows  preserving  system  availability  with  al  least  two  connected  nodes.  An  upgrade  of  such  a  system  reduces  to  logging   a   new   8SMC4-­‐36   on.   As   far   as   a   user   is   concerned,   it   does   not   matter   how  many  8SMC4-­‐USBs  are  installed  and  how  they  are  connected.  From  the  programmer’s  point  of  view,  work  with  all   the  axes  of   the  system   is  different   from  one’s  with   local  8SMC4-­‐USB  with   the  request  of  a  login  and  password  when  engine  controllers  are  connected  to  the  net  only.      

 

 Figure  2.  8SMC4-­‐36  Back  view.  Positioner  connection,  control,  and  electric  power  supply.  

All  software  supplied  with   the  controller   is  compatible  with  Windows  8,  Windows  7,  Windows  Vista,  Windows  XP,  Linux,  and  Mac  OS  X,  as  well  as  with  64-­‐bit  versions.  A  controller  is  delivered  with  a  cross-­‐platform  library  and  examples  which  allow  a  quick  programming  on  C++,  C#,  .NET,  Delphi,  Visual  Basic,  gcc,  Xcode,  Matlab,  Java,  and  LabVIEW.  A  controller  is  also  delivered  with  the  interface  of  XILab  user,  which  allows  managing  all  functions  of  the  device  without  the  necessity  to  develop  their  own  programs.  A  scripting  language  is  integrated  into  

   

  3  

XILab,   an   EcmaScript   dialect,   which   allows   easily   sequencing   actions   including   cycles   and  conditional  breakpoint  without  compilation  and  mastering  a  programming  language.    Basic  parameters  8SMC4-­‐36  Power  supply   external  220V,  up  to  10А  Power  consumption   Up  to  1.5  kW  Power  dissipation   Up  to  500  W  Supported  motors   Stepper,  DC,  BLDC  

Rated  current   Up   to   3   А   with   the   total   energy   consumption   of   all  controllers  up  to  1.5  kW  

Protections   current  overload  protection,  voltage  overload  protection,  short  circuit  protection,  motor  hotplug/unplug  protection  

Motion  modes  

move  left/right,  move  to  point,  shift  on  delta,  continuous  speed,  acceleration  and  deceleration  ramps,  backlash  compensation  mode,  automatic  home  position  calibration  mode  

Step  modes   full-­‐step,  1/2,  1/4,  1/8,  1/16,  1/32,  1/64,  1/128,  1/256  Rotation  speed   up  to  35  000  full  steps  per  second  Position  counter   40  bit  Feedback   quadrature  encoder  Closeloop  control   supported  Limit  switches   2  units,  adjustable  Revolution  sensor   supported