October 2020

54 n NEW PRODUCTS October 2020 www.drivesncontrols.com Rockwell Automation has announced a new generation of box PCs and thin clients incorporating designs and technologies from the Italian manufacturer Asem , that it bought earlier this year. The Allen-Bradley VersaView 6300 PCs include palm-sized industrial computers – Rockwell’s smallest to date – allowing users to save panel space and cut costs. The compact,“affordable”PCs are designed to withstand harsh industrial environments, and are protected against shock and vibration. They can operate in temperatures from 0–50°C. To improve reliability, they have no moving parts and few connections. The PCs work with the Rockwell’s ThinManager software, which supports centralised, secure application management. The box PCs can either run on aWindows 10 IoT operating system, or switch over to the ThinManager environment, effectively becoming thin clients. The dual- use option gives added flexibility, such as: the ability to deliver applications from a central server or a local PC using one product; the option to load applications from a PC if a central server goes down; and the ability to use a PC as an HMI for a standalone machine, as a thin client for a series of connected machines, or as a data aggregator for collecting and sharing operating data. Rockwell Automation www.rockwellautomation.co.uk Beckhoff has upgraded the firmware in its AX8000 multi-axis servodrives to support oversampling, allowing multiple sampling of process data within one communication cycle, with the data being transferred via EtherCat. An oversampling factor of up to 128 allows higher-level controllers to transmit several setpoint positions or speeds to the drive within one cycle, which the drive then follows. In addition, measured variables can be recorded several times in the drive, and the buffered values can be made available to the controller within a single cycle. The AX8000 drives are already characterised by high dynamics and short cycle times. The motor current is scanned in cycles measured in microseconds, while the minimum adjustable EtherCat cycle time is 62.5μs. New setpoint values can be transferred to the servodrive every 62.5μs from a motion controller running in an industrial PC. Beckhoff says that comparable control systems usually operate with cycle times of around 1ms. The oversampling technology – already familiar from Beckhoff’s EtherCat I/Os – will allow, for example, charts in the TwinCat Scope View software to be resolved even more finely. Beckhoff Automation 01491 410539 www.beckhoff.co.uk Carlo Gavazzi has launched a range of time-of-flight (ToF) sensors which, it says, can detect any object, of any colour, with any material or surface, over distances of up to 100cm. The LD30 sensors have built-in IO- Link communications and once connected to an IO-Link master, can operate in IO-Link mode, allowing parameters to be adjusted – for example, sensing distances from 50–1,000mm. In standard I/O mode (not using IO-Link), adjustments can be done using a potentiometer. The output can operate either as a standard switching output or via IO-Link, and can be configured using IO-Link. The LD30 sensors can log functions such as temperature, detection counts, power cycles and operating hours. They come in 10 x 30 x 20 ABS or stainless-steel housings, with connections made via M8 connectors or cables. Carlo Gavazzi Automation 01276 854110 www.carlogavazzi.co.uk Elesa has announced a magnetic measuring system which provides a seven-digit remote readout of linear or angular measurements. The MPI-R10 system offers an accuracy of ±0.1mm and a resolution of 0.01mm, and it is suitable for applications where contact is not advisable, or where dirt, dust or swarf could interfere with other types of measuring equipment. The system, housed in an IP54 or IP67 enclosure, is designed to be used with a sensor and magnetic strip to measure linear and angular displacements (with a minimum radius of 65mm). It offers precise alignment and positioning, saving time. Four multifunction keys can be programmed to display values in millimetres, inches or angular degrees, as absolute or incremental readings. There are up to 10 programmable offset values, and 32 target positions can be stored and displayed. Elesa UK 01526 322670 www.elesa.com Time-of-flight sensors have IO-Link built in Oversampling brings greater accuracy to multi-axis servos Magnetic system performs linear or angular measurements Acquisition leads to a new generation of box PCs and thin clients