AC TECHNOLOGY ADDS ETHERNET CAPABILITY IN ADDITION TO ELIMINATING THE NEED FOR SPECIFIC PROGRAMMING SOFTWARE ON THEIR MODEL 940 POSITIONING DRIVE
UXBRDIGE, MA – AC Technology, a member of the Lenze Group, announces the release of their 10/100 mbps Ethernet port on their Model 940 PositionDrive. The Ethernet port is fully hardware 802.3 compliant, which allows the unit to be connected to any Ethernet network and use the full range of standard network equipment such as switches, hubs routers etc. The 940 PositionDrive is described as a high-performing digital servo drive with a simple, yet robust motion controller that can operate AC servos and AC induction motors.
“Various protocols were used in order to optimize Ethernet and drive performance,” says Dr. Sergey Lototsky, Director of Research and Development, Servo and Automation. “TCP/IP protocol suite, ONC RPC, DHCP, and ICMP were the standard protocols used. In addition to the standard protocols, the NVE (Network Variable Exchange) and ND (Network Discovery) protocols were also implemented to improve user functionality. NVE allows easy but sophisticated data exchange between multiple drives and ND is used to quickly find the drive in the network and retrieve the drives IP address (or addresses) by its symbolic name. The name can be assigned by user and simply put is text string like “MyDrive #1” or “Axis X”. "
Like every servo, the Model940 uses proprietary software – MotionView for drive set up, programming, diagnostic, etc. MotionView in the Drive (MVD) is a technology similar to that found in home routers for setup and diagnostic. (E.g. WebServer page) “Unlike WebServer pages,” Lotosky states “MVD supports operation with multiple 940 drives simultaneously. The GUI is modified and updated dynamically when the user switches from drive to drive to reflect different supported features and firmware revisions which may differ from drive to drive.” The greatest benefit of MVD is that there is no need to install additional software on the customer’s machine, thus eliminating the necessity to maintain software. Since MVD is an integral part of the Model 940 firmware, any firmware upgrade also automatically includes MVD.
Future industry-specific Ethernet features on the Model940 include connectivity with Modbus over TCP/IP and AB Ethernet IP.
A member of the Lenze Group, AC Technology (AC Tech) develops, manufactures and markets a complete range of motion control solutions, including servo drives and motors, clutches and brakes, gears and gear motors and variable frequency AC motor drives. Since 1947, Lenze/AC Tech has offered a complete range of motion control solutions with an unsurpassed level of support. With North American headquarters in Uxbridge, Massachusetts and a global network of distributors and representatives, Lenze/AC Tech is perfectly positioned to meet the needs of customers throughout the world.
AC Tech can be found online at www.actech.com.
