Motion control: SERCOS III rolls out beyond Germany

By Control Engineering Staff May 21, 2007

Hannover, Germany —At Hannover Fair 2007, SERCOS International updated its developments in three focus areas: motion control, safety, and I/O systems. Its latest SERCOS III—offering faster, bidirectional Ethernet communication technology—is now starting international rollout outside of Germany, noted Peter Lutz, SERCOS managing director.

The SERCOS joint stand included 15 exhibitors, ranging from Altera to Yaskawa. SERCOS III is heading for IEC standard status in 2007, and is scheduled to make it by the third quarter.

New SERCOS hardware products were announced at the fair, and the first products for “CIP Safety on SERCOS” are expected in late 2007, said Lutz. In the I/O arena, free IP core software for low-cost FPGA chips was introduced. Called Easy-I/O, it reportedly cuts the development effort needed to integrate SERCOS III into basic I/O slave devices. Typical applications include encoders, sensors, valve clusters, and 24 V digital / analog signals.

— Frank J. Bartos, P.E ., consulting editor, Control Engineering Daily News( Register here and scroll down to select your choice of eNewsletters free .)


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