The power and thermal management solutions and industrial automation systems company, Delta introduced the AX-308E as the first of its compact, mid-range AX-3 Series PLC motion controllers. The controllers is based on CODESYS, the development environment complying with international standards, targeting intelligent industrial automation applications. This will shorten the time of learning and programming.
This multi-axis motion controller can control up to eight EtherCAT servo drivers. This is compatible with the existing AS Series and supports a board range of industrial communication protocols, including EtherCAT and offers a complete motion control solution.
“The Delta AX-308E is designed for motion control applications in markets as diverse as assembly, packaging, and woodworking,” said Simone Orlandi, product manager, Industrial Automation Business Group for Delta in Europe Middle East & Africa (EMEA). “Together with the AX-8 series, we increase the scalability of the Delta motion control product portfolio, offering customers with more options.”
Apart from controlling eight EtherCAT servo drivers, AX-380E can also control inverters, remote I/O modules and other third-party devices. Also, up to four pulse-train drives can be controlled using the integrated fast digital outputs. What makes this PLC ideal for Industry 4.0 are the broad array of connectivity interfaces it offers, which includes Modbus TCP/RTU, Ethernet/IP and OPC UA. These communication capabilities are further complemented by 16 digital inputs, 8 digital outputs, 2 serial ports, 2 incremental encoder interfaces and an SSI port. Support for additional I/Os, temperature sensing and load cells is ensured.
DIADesigner-AX is the integration of CODESYS in DIAStudio software platform. The environment provides support from the planning stage through execution and commissioning, easing the implementation of both simple and complex motion control, including single- and multi-axis movements, gearing, ECAMs and interpolation, in accordance with international standards, namely IEC 61131-3 and PLCopen. Software developers can also benefit from the other integrated tools, such as oscilloscope, simulator and CAM design editor.
The AX-308E mid-range AX-3 Series PLC at a glance
- Supports up to 8 EtherCAT servos as well as 3rd party devices
- Supported protocols: EtherCAT, OPC UA (server), EtherNet/IP, MODBUS, and MODBUS TCP
- Minimum EtherCAT synchronization time: 2ms @ 8 axes
- Minimum execution time of basic instruction: 5ns
- Built-in encoder interfaces: Incremental × 2 and SSI × 1
- Built-in 16 DI (200 kHz × 4) and 8 DO (200 kHz × 4; supports pulse-train servo drives).
The AX-308E mid-range AX-3 Series PLC is now available across the EMEA region.
