I would like to get some suggestions from people on this board more knowledgeable than me about servos. I currently build a line of pick-and-place machinery that is predominantly powered by air cylinders, a conveyor belt, and a small Micrologix PLC handling I/O.
I'm trying to expand the capabilities of the machine by powering it by servos, which will increase speed, setup time, and flexibility. The operator will select different jobs from an HMI screen which will cause the setpoints for axis 1 and 2 (described below) to change.
The axis I need to control are:
1)an indexing conveyor belt that moves trays through the machine and stops at programmed intervals. This axis requires a 400w motor.
2)a vertical pick and place axis that moves product from the top of the machine to the trays on the conveyor at the bottom of the machine. This axis requires a 750w motor.
3)a rotary axis that rotates the products 180 degrees as they travel from the top of the machine to the trays at the bottom. This axis requires a 750w motor.
Depending on the size of the product being moved, the vertical travel will need to change. Also, the increment distance of the trays will need to change based on product size changes. This will be setup using an HMI screen.
So far, I have spoken to my AB rep and he suggested using a Compactlogix plc and Kinetix 2000 drives/servos. However, this is too expensive. I am trying to keep my total cost for the control system below $8000.
I know I could use standalone drives and write parameters to the drives using ethernet or modbus. However, the ease of the Compactlogix programming approach is very appealing.
I'm looking for suggestions about what products to look at. I would prefer something that is easy to program, cost effective, and reliable. A motion controller that controls all drives would be ideal, but I'm not sure where else to look besides AB Compactlogix.
Thanks
I'm trying to expand the capabilities of the machine by powering it by servos, which will increase speed, setup time, and flexibility. The operator will select different jobs from an HMI screen which will cause the setpoints for axis 1 and 2 (described below) to change.
The axis I need to control are:
1)an indexing conveyor belt that moves trays through the machine and stops at programmed intervals. This axis requires a 400w motor.
2)a vertical pick and place axis that moves product from the top of the machine to the trays on the conveyor at the bottom of the machine. This axis requires a 750w motor.
3)a rotary axis that rotates the products 180 degrees as they travel from the top of the machine to the trays at the bottom. This axis requires a 750w motor.
Depending on the size of the product being moved, the vertical travel will need to change. Also, the increment distance of the trays will need to change based on product size changes. This will be setup using an HMI screen.
So far, I have spoken to my AB rep and he suggested using a Compactlogix plc and Kinetix 2000 drives/servos. However, this is too expensive. I am trying to keep my total cost for the control system below $8000.
I know I could use standalone drives and write parameters to the drives using ethernet or modbus. However, the ease of the Compactlogix programming approach is very appealing.
I'm looking for suggestions about what products to look at. I would prefer something that is easy to program, cost effective, and reliable. A motion controller that controls all drives would be ideal, but I'm not sure where else to look besides AB Compactlogix.
Thanks