PLC for stepper motor

Hi all,
I might be in the wrong place, but please bear with me! I am looking for a driver/controller (preferably integrated) for controlling a stepper motor. I was wondering if anyone could help me in my quest because I'm kinda lost. Any input or recomendations would be extremely helpful. Thank you for your time.

~JR

JR

Could you please better describe your application and your control system.?

Step motor don’t came usually stand alone you getting driver and motor that the “stupid” part and the brain might be PLC PC or any other controller.
To help you to choose I need more info.
Attched link to one of my suppler.

http://www.acs-tech80.com

Arik

Integrated stepper drive + controlers exist... but depend on your requirements and informations. At least I/O's number and functions, built-in network, output current, speed and resolution, programming style... number of motors... cycle time-chart... ?

Since your motor could be 24 steps/10mm diam. or NEMA 42/5700 oz-in holding torque, how do you want us to recommend general solutions ?

The good news now : steppers are so widely spread actuators that you could exactly find the controler you're looking for.

Laurent

Well, here is what I am looking at. I'm looking at two different systems as of now, but will make the choice based on what I can get.

I have a 5 phase stepper motor that has a 1.1 inch frame size and 210 oz-in holding torque. I am looking for an integrated driver/controller that I can program. I need at least 24 IO/s (23 inputs at least) but would prefer more than 30. I am currently using a MicroLynx controller for a two phase stepper, but I have to shave the size off of motor, and so am looking at changing the whole system. As for the programming style, I just learned to program for the Microlynx (new programmer at the company) but can probably learn just about anything. Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions?

I'm kind of new to all this, so please forgive me if I have used improper terminology and am asking a stupid question.

Thanks for your time and help.

I never meat step motor controler with so menay I/O
I you dont find go to my first idea to use PLC as controler.
Omron CQM1-H or CPM can do the job for you.
even you will find controler with multi I/O most of multi I/O controlers are limited in their logic option.

Hi JR,

For small size drives and 2-phases motors, have a look here : http://www.geckodrive.com. You can select currents up to 7A/phase on G201/G210 (don't forget heatsinks) and basic micro-step modes on G210 only. Build/wire your own power unit with transformer, rectifier and capacitor. That's it.

Combine it with a small PLC. All manufacturers offer today pulse output functions. Depending on your project, make your own choice : all products are not equivalent. The so-called "motion control" functions are not managed in PLC scan but by an independent part of the CPU. If the unit comes with dedicated functions, it often doesn't come with sufficient tools allowing real-time control of those functions by I/Os.

Example : your PLC has to stop a motor when a sensor is reached. What happens if you only stop the pulse generator in PLC scan ? You never stop at the same place, depending on your scan time or the moment your input is refreshed during the scan ! BUT in many cases, this is not a weakness.

As ArikBY mentioned, compare low-cost and expandable japanese PLC, at least : Omron CPM-2C, Mitsubishi FX, Aromat-Matsu$hita FP0 or FP-SIGMA... and so on. All depends on your project and requirements...

Regards.
Laurent

I am not a servo expert but can suggest the Omron CJ1M-CPU22 series. These PLC's can be expanded to suit your IO requirements, offer remote I/O for future expansion etc.

As for servo/stepper control, they have built in IO for 100kHz pulse output which should be more than suitable.

Note that CPM1A/2A are also good but may suffer due to much lower output frequency.

Omron SMARTSTEP ac servos are also a economical solution. They offer greater torque/speed characteristics, high peak torque etc.

Hope this helps. If you need more info, give your local omron distributor a call.

Omron SMARTSTEP ac servos are also a economical solution. They offer greater torque/speed characteristics, high peak torque etc.

Click to expand...

I can't help but notice that Omron's Smartstep is nothing more than a customized version of Yaskawa's Sigma II series servos, privately labeled by Omron. To the mutual benefit of the both.