indramat plc

Has anyone ever had any experience with a indramat plc?

Friend of mine told me that the company that he works for is getting in some equipment that had indramat plc's, to be honest, never heard of them.

i just did some searching on line, and found out that indramat is now known as bosh rexroth.

Curious, because I was asked if I would be interested in helping with a project.

if the equipment that’s coming in is “new” then the following probably won’t apply ... but I’ll post it just for general information ...



background: I had already done quite of PLC training for a good customer of mine - who then asked for a hands-on training class for his existing Indramat system ... I spent about a week going through his system and then I put together a list of needed parts for the student exercises ... it turned out that all of the equipment on this particular Indramat line is obsolete - and the spare parts we needed for the training aren’t available at ANY cost ...



but I did learn THIS much - which might (or might not) be of interest to you ...



in the Indramat system that I looked at, the MAIN controller (the “brains” behind making the system work) was the CPUB ... this turned out to be more of a CNC (Computer Numerical Control) type unit which actually moved the milling heads, boring tools, etc. around to grind and machine the parts ... most people called the CPUB the “white box” ...



in this particular system, the “PLC” part was another module mounted in the same chassis with the CPUB ... the PLC was primarily used to control the movement of parts into and out of the machining stations ... in other words, the PLC just basically controlled the conveyor system ... the CPUB did the real “machining center” control work ...



now I’m not sure whether your system is anything at all like the extremely old system that I examined, but if it is, you’ll probably do well to keep this “chain of command” issue in mind as you move forward ... specifically, if you concentrate only on JUST the “PLC” then you’re not going to have a good time ... somewhere along the line (probably sooner rather than later) the CPUB unit is going to enter the picture ...



biggest issue: management people not totally familiar with how the system works will vaguely refer to the “PLC” as if it’s the “thing” which is doing all of the control ... just keep in mind that the “PLC” is only the tip of the iceberg ... the CPUB “white box” is where the real challenge is likely to lie ...



survival tip: consider the PLC to be a “co-processor” unit which helps the CPUB “master unit” get the control job done ... that “short story” outlook is pretty close to reality ...



once again, the disclaimer: the system that I examined was extremely outdated and obsolete ... what I’ve written here might have little (or NO) relevance to the system that you’re talking about ...



and incidentally, this thread might be useful just for general “background” information ... I never was able to get ANY of the parts that I needed to build the training course ... the system in question was just too old and out of date ...

Ron

I have never seen an Indramat PLC but the Fanuc based machine tools use a PLC with a good sized program. They have quite an extensive program to do the "housekeeping". The PLC checks all the safety switches makes sure the coolant is on and makes sure that the servos are where they are supposed to be. Only then can the servo control execute. During the run cycle the servo control often stops to wait for the PLC to do something like a tool change.
A CNC troubleshooter will usually go right for the screen that shows the PLC ladder logic because that will tell him quite a lot.

Indramat is now known as Bosch-Rexroth.

Some Indramat equipment has PLC functionality, but is not a PLC in the traditional sense of the word as used on this message board..(i.e. general automation use).

More likley is the fact that the Indramat motion control equipment is controlled by their PLC functionality, which could be either a piece of stand-alone gear (PPC motion controller), or integrated into their drives with IndraWorks. In both of these cases, the PLC function is provided by 3S, which is also used by other motion manufacturers (BergerLahr, et al).

I've applied a number of these over the past few years, all in the electronic line-shaft//shaftless printing applications.
Because BRC sells into so many different industries, you really need to tell us what the machine will be doing, ..CNC? Printing?.. for anyone to give you guidance.

Has anyone ever had any experience with a indramat plc?

I have used the MLC40 unit. This is basically a Bosch Rexroth L Series PLC with additional Motion control using Sercos.

The Indulogic progamming enviroment is CoDeSysy and developed by 3S for Bosch Rexroth. It is IEC61131 based so includes multiple programming methods [Ladder, Structured Text etc] as well as standadized Function Blocks. For motion it includes nearly all PLC Open FB's as well as customized FB's specific to the Bosch Rexroth drives and firmware.

From my experience once you have accepted and understood how the IEC61131 helps standardize your programs and are comfortable using it, it really doesn't matter which control platform [PLC, PC] you end up using.

What you DO have to be aware of is that each platform has system specific instructions/FB's that may NOT be applicable on a different manufacturers control.

I am VERY pleased with the Bosch-Rexroth PLC and Indulogic programming.

Thanks for everyones input.
I have never had any experience with them.

was asked by a friend who worked for a small service company if I would be interested in assisting with some projects that would involve indramat plc components, so trying to find some info about them before I meet with him.
Suppose to meet this afternoon or tomorrow. At the moment, do not know what model of anything, just the fact that it is indramat.

All of my searching led me to bosh rexroth, and on the site, it actually reference the plc equipment as indralogic, so what I am thinking at the moment, is that indramat components that they are talking to me about on the phone is probably old and outdated.

indraworks is the software on the bosch site.

irondesk40 said:

...so what I am thinking at the moment, is that indramat components that they are talking to me about on the phone is probably old and outdated.

indraworks is the software on the bosch site.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't count out new equipment so fast as the Indramat name is ingrained in many peoples brains and many still call all the new stuff Indramat. That said, there is a lot of old product out there so until you see it all bets are off.

With the newer products, it's good to know that Bosch Rexroth Controls (BRC) is divided into market segments for

• Machine Tools
• Packaging
• Metal Forming
• Generl Controls
• Automation (Multi-Axis) controls

Many times the hardware is identical but the firmware gives it a totally different "personality".

A few segments are based on other hardware but most is moving to IndraDrive hardware and CoDeSys based controls and will have their own custom function blocks (i.e. for a Flying Shear, or Electric Line Shafting, palletizing etc.).

To get a flavor of the CoDeSys part, you can go to the CoDeSys software sige at : http://www.3s-software.com/ and download their software. I say flavor because every manufacturer has their own wrapper that goes around the CoDeSys base to make it specific to their hardware and applications.

Hope this helps.

If it is truly labeled indramat, it is out dated.

Bosch-Rexroth does have true PLC devices as we would consider them here.

The actual piece of software that programs it is called IndraLogic. Indraworks is a wrap-around piece of software that lets you package the entire project (e.g. motion, HMI, PLC) into one archive. You can click on the logic section in Indraworks and it will spawn IndraLogic.

I have used it in conjunction with their MTX CNC control, but I am told the PLC is the same. It is IEC1131, but not as user friendly as some other packages.