November/December 2020

n NEWS NEWS n November/December 2020 www.drivesncontrols.com 8 THE UK-BASEDMOTION control specialist, Trio Motion Technology, has entered the servodrive market for the first time with a drive and motor package that, it says, will make it faster and easier for OEMs to apply its high-performance Motion Coordinator motion controls. It adds that, combined with its free Motion Perfect 5 software, it now offers the lowest cost-per-axis motion control for 64 axes. The new DX4 servodrive is said to achieve fast, accurate positioning when used with Trio’s matching low-inertia MXL or medium- inertia MXM servomotors. The 200V AC servodrives delivers EtherCat update rates down to 125μs with a 350% overload capability for dynamic applications, as well as dual STO (SIL3, PLe) safety functions. They cover the power range 50W to 3kW in three sizes, while the motors have a 23-bit absolute multi-turn capability for high positioning accuracy. The servodrives are plug-and-play compatible with Trio’s controllers and slice I/O systems, and all are programmed using the same Motion Perfect 5 software, accelerating development and commissioning for OEMs. “When a customer wants a single system and supplier, we can now offer it,”says Trio product manager, David Greensmith.“It fundamentally changes who we are.” The narrow drives (with widths from 38– 95mm) are said to have some of the smallest footprints available, with no stacking gaps, saving space especially for higher axis counts. In keeping with Trio’s design principle of “everything you need and nothing more”, the compact sizes are achieved partly by implementing functions in the Motion Coordinators and I/O slices, rather than in larger, more complex drives. Avoiding unnecessary onboard hardware such as keypads or expansion slots cuts costs, says Trio, especially for higher axis counts. The Motion Coordinators use high-speed EtherCat communications, and can control up to 128 axes accurately. Trio’s Motion-iX technology core is capable of complex kinematics. The use of open communications means that the controllers can connect to automation systems via common Ethernet-based protocols. Plug-and-play functions identify the drive and motor for easy configuration. Accurate motor performance is achieved quickly using adaptive autotuning and anti- resonance tools. Motion Perfect 5 supports PLCopen and IEC 61131-3 programming, allowing users with any background to program installations. TheWindows-based software includes a digital twin visualisation tool. Offline 3D simulation accelerates development by validating motion controls before they are deployed physically. This is particularly useful for controlling complex systems such as robots, and the software can program robots with up to six axes. Trio Motion was founded in 1987 to produce three-axis controllers. In 2017, it was acquired by the Chinese automation and robotics company, Estun, which has since doubled Trio’s r&d budget and the size of its headquarters in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. Estun, which has been expanding by about 40% per year, has recently started to use the Trio brand to market its automation products in China. Last year, it added the German welding robotics specialist Cloos to its portfolio. Since it was acquired, Trio has been expanding by more than 15% a year. China was already a major market for Trio before the acquisition, and now accounts for about half of its business. Around 95% of Trio’s revenues come from sales outside the UK. The company employs around 120 people worldwide, more than a third of them in the UK. It has r&d facilities in the UK, Bulgaria and China, where its products are assembled. www.triomotion.uk p The ARC Advisory Group has issued a report suggesting that“universal automation”based on IEC 61499 – a concept that is being championed by Schneider Electric (see October issue) – could cut engineering times by 68% by eliminating the need for automation users to be tied to particular vendors. ARC also says that standardised automation layers could avoid“a substantial part”of the $20-30m spent each year on servicing installed bases. p Rockwell Automation and PTC are extending their strategic alliance formed in June 2018 when Rockwell invested $1bn in PTC. The extension will ensure continuity in both companies’sales and product development efforts, and expand the agreement to include PTC’s product lifecycle management and software-as-a-service (SaaS) products. PTC will also offer Rockwell’s virtual machinery simulation and testing software to its customers and partners. p Omron has appointed theWelsh cobot (collaborative robots) systems integrator Reeco Automation as the first member of its new Omron Solution Partner (OSP) network that aims to develop and de-risk complex automation projects. The aim is to provide a tight link between SIs, users and equipment vendors. Omron is looking for partners in other technologies including safety, vision, industrial robots and mobile/autonomous systems. p ABB and IBM are collaborating to link cybersecurity to operational technology (OT). The first result is a new OT Security Event Monitoring Service that combines ABB’s process control system domain expertise with IBM’s security event monitoring portfolio to help improve security for industrial operators. The service allows security events from ABB to be sent to IBM’s QRadar security information and event management platform. p Magnomatics , the Sheffield-based developer of magnetic gear technology has been awarded two Government grants: the first, worth £300,000, is part of a £5mproject to developmachines and power electronics for offshore wind turbines; the second, worth £200,000, will developMagnomatics’ Magsplit technology to provide continuously variable transmission between drive belts and air- conditioning compressors in vehicles such as buses. p Rockwell Automation is reversing the temporary salary reductions that it implemented on its US employees in May in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It will also reinstate its match for US employees participating in 401(k) retirement savings plans at the same time. In April, Rockwell announced that it was temporarily cutting the salaries of its non-manufacturing employees by 7.5%, with chairman and CEO Blake Moret taking a 25% pay cut, and all senior vice- presidents losing 15% of their salaries. p SEW Eurodrive has launched a service offering delivery of industrial gearboxes within five working days, or in one day in emergencies. The Assemble-To-Order services are available for SEW’s modular gearboxes including its Generation X.e helical and bevel-helical boxes up to 45kNm, and P Series planetary gears up to 360kNm. FromMarch 2021, Generation X.e systems up to 175kNmwill be added. NEWS BRIEFS Trio enters servodrive market with ‘the lowest- cost’ 64-axis system Trio's new servomotors and drives, with its “pocket-sized” 64-axis Flex-6 Nano Motion Coordinator (right)