In a recent online event, Bosch Rexroth engineers explained their new ctrlX AUTOMATION scalable platform … which among other things, allows flexible creation of topologies. Read more about this new offering at motioncontroltips.com/bosch-rexroth-now-sells-new-line-of-automation-ctrlx-automation. Its Linux real-time operating system, support of open standards, and comprehensive IoT connections dramatically reduce engineering time. Following are videos from the event as well as a list of terms related to ctrlX as well as centralized and decentralized automation.

5G — The 5th generation of technology standard for cellular networks which allows for greater bandwidth and faster download speeds for data. Check out Design World’s sister publication 5G Technology World at 5gtechnologyworld.com for more on this technology.

Axis — An area of singular motion on a machine (such that a five-axis machine has five different controllable areas of motion)

Cartesian robot — A type of handling robot that uses three principal directions of linear movement (X-Y-Z axes … such as up-down, in-out, back-forth versus rotating movement. Rotational movement can be added by using various attachments and components.

Communication protocol — including SERCOS, EtherCAT, Ethernet/IP, Profinet … the different methods and standards for how information is exchanged between devices, machines and networks

CPU — central processing unit … as in a computer

ctrlX AUTOMATION — A new machine-automation platform from Bosch Rexroth:

ctrlX CORE — Powerful 64-bit multicore CPU at the heart of the new ctrlX AUTOMATION platform

ctrlX DRIVE — The family of compact modular drive and motor products in the new ctrlX AUTOMATION platform

ctrlX HMI — The family of human-machine interfaces in the new ctrlX AUTOMATION platform

ctrlX I/O — The family of input-output components in the new ctrlX AUTOMATION platform ⚙️ Related article: How do programmable automation controllers (PACs) handle analog I/O and related controls?

ctrlX IoT — Internet of Things capability built into the new ctrlX AUTOMATION hardware ⚙️ Related article: Connectivity and IoT in motion and general automation

ctrlX IPC — The family of industrial PC products in the new ctrlX AUTOMATION platform ⚙️ Related article: The history of motion control and PC-based control

ctrlX MOTION — The complete MOTION, ROBOTIC and CNC solution available which fits perfectly in the new ctrlX AUTOMATION platform

ctrlX PLC — Ultra-compact control platform with top performance and minimal variance.

ctrlX SAFETY — Complete compact Safety Solution available for the new ctrlX AUTOMATION platform

ctrlX WORKS — The engineering and software suite used for project planning and commissioning of the company’s automation controls, drives, and peripherals in the ctrlX AUTOMATION platform

Drive or servo drive — An electrical component used in a machine to control an axis of movement

Drive-based automation — Involves the use of the drive as the housing of the main control components overseeing the machine operation

Edge solution and edge computing — Solution implemented at the machine level of a factory or larger network

HMI — Human machine interface … a touchscreen, display, control panel, mobile device, and keypad that allows an operator to interface with and run a machine ⚙️ From the archives: Why do so many PC controls integrate HMIs?

I/O – input/output … a type of component used to feed various sensor or operating data from a machine or automation process into the main controller or network

IndraControl — Bosch Rexroth family of automation control products

IndraDrive — Bosch Rexroth family of servo and spindle drive products

IndraMotion — Bosch Rexroth family of motion/logic control products ⚙️ From the archives: Rexroth’s IndraMotion for Packaging features new functions

IndraWorks — Bosch Rexroth engineering and software suite used for project planning and commissioning of the company’s automation controls, drives, and peripherals

IPC – Industrial PC — a component for machine control ⚙️ Related article: What are the hardware and software parts of a PC-based motion controller?

IT – Information technology ⚙️ Related article and podcast: IT/OT convergence

LINUX – Specific type of computer operating system ⚙️ Related article: Protocols for cloud services

Master-slave — A machine automaton control arrangement where one device or process controls one or more other devices or processes and serves as their communication hub

Motion and logic controller — a complete automation solution that combines motion, robot and machine logic control into one uniform overall system for all control tasks

MQTT — a machine-to-machine (M2M)/Internet of Things connectivity protocol designed for extremely lightweight publish-subscribe messaging transport ⚙️ Related article: Motion control + MQTT, OPC-UA, and other protocols for cloud services

Multicore processor — A type of computing component comprised of two or more central processing units (CPUs)

OPC Foundation — An industry consortium that creates and maintains standards for open connectivity of industrial automation devices and systems, such as industrial control systems and process control

OPC FLC — OPC Field Level Communications ⚙️ Related article: Connectivity and IoT expand control design functionality

OPC UA — OPC Unified Architecture ⚙️ Related article: What is OPC UA and how does it compare with Industrial Ethernet?

OPC UA over TSN — Communication standard for time-sensitive networking

Open Core Engineering — introduced several years ago, Bosch Rexroth’s machine control programming capability that allows access to the controller core, facilitates numerous programming languages, and allows the integration of smart devices into automation systems … giving programmers freedom in their software engineering ⚙️ Related article: Rexroth’s Open Core Interface lets machine builders create functions without a PLC

OT — Operational technology ⚙️ Related article and podcast: IT/OT convergence

PLC — Programmable logic controller … a main component (controller) in a machine that controls the operation, machine functionality, and more ⚙️ From the archives: What are programmable logic controllers (PLCs)? A technical summary

PLC-based automation — involves the use of a main controller (PLC) to run the machine operation, functionality and processes

Programming language — Including PLCopen, C/C++, Node-Red, Python, Blockly, Java, IEC-61131, G-Code … the coding used to program a machine’s functionality and processes ⚙️ Related article: IDE and other software for connectivity and IoT design work

TSN — Time Sensitive Networking … a set of network data communication standards currently under development that will allow for real-time and synchronized data … as for complex machine processes ⚙️ Related article: What is time-sensitive networking (TSN)?