• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

Motion Control Tips

Automation • Motion Control • Power Transmission

  • News
    • Industry News
    • Editor Blogs
  • Controls
    • HMIs
    • PC-Based Controllers
    • PLCs + PACs
    • Stand-Alone Controllers
    • Software
  • Drives
    • Servo Drives
    • Stepper Drives
  • Encoders
    • Absolute Encoders
    • Incremental Encoders
    • Rotary Encoders
  • Mechanical
    • Bearings
    • Brakes + Clutches
    • Belt + chain
    • Couplings
    • Gears + Gearing
    • Lubrication
    • Shock + Vibration Mitigation
    • Springs + Rings + Seals
  • Linear
    • Actuators
    • Linear Motors
    • Linear Encoders
  • Motors
    • AC Motors
    • DC Motors
    • Brushless Motors
    • Gearmotors
    • Piezo Motors
    • Servo Motors
    • Stepper Motors
  • Systems
    • Conveyors + linear transport systems
    • Gantries + Stages
    • Rotary Tables
    • Grippers + End Effectors
    • Robotics
  • Networks
    • Connections + Sliprings
    • Fieldbuses
    • I/O
    • Sensors + Vision
  • Resources
    • FAQs
      • Motion Casebook
      • Motion Selection Guides
    • Suppliers
    • Video
You are here: Home / Controls / Contactless energy transfer, cable-free communication open up new possibilities for machine builders

Contactless energy transfer, cable-free communication open up new possibilities for machine builders

November 10, 2020 By Miles Budimir Leave a Comment

One of the more promising recent developments in connection technology is contactless energy and data transfer and its use in the industrial world. Such technology can replace wiring and cables and cable carriers, lowering costs and streamlining designs. For instance, robotic systems are sometimes limited by constraints in automation and drive technology. However, consider the case of a gantry robot that uses contactless energy and data transfer instead of fixed wiring runs and cable carriers.

Gantry robots are a tried-and-tested solution for intralogistics material flows within a machine or application. They’re commonly used to detect products automatically, grip them securely and quickly, and take them to their destination. This type of robot is useful in many industries, and can be used for a wide range of product sizes and weights, and distances to be covered. Oftentimes, the lengths of power and communication cables and cable carriers limit the flexibility and adaptability of an existing machine to a new production scenario. But adding contactless energy and data transfer opens up new possibilities.

Less noise, enhanced dynamics, greater flexibility 
Contactless energy and data transfer combined with intelligent software and reliable mechatronics can form a fully integrated solution. Using contactless energy transfer, multiple robots can move freely on the same horizontal stretch of rail, greatly increasing the flexibility of the gantry robot. This regularly leads to overlapping sections between robots – ultimately offering a great deal of freedom in terms of machine design and operations. Logistics processes of this kind would not be as easy to implement with cable carriers, because of the additional area that carriers use along the entire distance of the system. Plus, cable carriers generate noise, are subject to wear, increase inertia, and have an overall negative impact on both dynamics and energy efficiency due to the friction they generate.

EtherCAT
Real-time communication on the gantry robot takes place via an optical connection using EtherCAT.

Another benefit of contactless energy and communication transfer is that there are no restrictions regarding installation space, cable breakage or limited cycle rates – issues all associated with cable carriers and moving cables. It’s made possible by a contactless inductive energy transfer system, including a decentralized power supply module. Depending on the design, this module delivers a transmission power between 5 and 11 hp.

Another benefit is that throughout the entire load cycle, the robot consumes less than 0.7 hp via the pick-up – even though the horizontal axis alone requires more than 5 hp of acceleration power. The short-term energy requirements are met by the energy storage unit, a double-layer capacitor package that takes care of the primary energy supply to the robot with a dc link voltage of 100 V. The typical travel profiles of a gantry robot, which involve alternating acceleration and braking phases, led to the idea of retaining the regenerative energy generated during braking within the process instead of dissipating it via resistors. The energy storage unit absorbs this braking energy and also functions as a booster when the gantry’s drives accelerate at 20 ft/sec2. The contactless energy transfer and storage system only has to compensate for the system’s mechanical efficiency losses, which amount to around 0.7 hp. Unlike the familiar dc link connection of multi-axis applications, which is located in the central control cabinet, each unit is enabled to store energy independently. This makes it easy and convenient to scale the system.

cable
The intelligent energy supply with the dc link buffer via double-layer capacitor packages ensures the robots can be hooked up to a 230-V connection.

Cable-free communication 
The robot gantry’s contactless energy transfer system, which eliminates the need for restrictive cables, also extends to the communication processes. Here, an EtherCAT data light barrier transfers the interpolated position setpoints from the central motion controller to the four servo inverters in the moving housing box at 1 msec intervals. A motion controller calculates the complex robot motion control – and can do so for up to four robots at once. Motion control involves performing calculations and coordinating the robots to prevent collisions. If a machine in a production network requires double the material flow output, the gantry system gives users the option to move a robot from another section on a flexible basis. Handling units that draw their power with cables, in contrast, are tied to their section. As a result, the associated resources become movable and systems as a whole are more flexible and productive. Entirely new machine concepts can be created based on this approach.

Optical real-time communication 
The automation provider opted to use the real-time Ethernet protocol EtherCAT in the gantry – once again dispensing with cables by implementing an optical connection to the mobile units. The drive data can be delivered to the robots via data light barriers. There are no separate motion controllers in each robot as one does the job of running the whole robotic system. With each cycle taking 1 msec, the optical system has practically no latency periods when transmitting the interpolated position setpoints to the inverters or feeding back the relevant actual values.

controller
In the MOVI C automation controller from SEW Eurodrive, data from the FSoE (Fail Safe over EtherCAT) master is routed and mapped to the relevant robot axes.

Communication for the functional safety technology works in the same way. The application uses a central safety controller for all robots and the machine as a whole. This safety controller communicates directly with the SEW Eurodrive MOVI C automation controller via EtherCAT using the EtherCAT FSoE (Fail Safe over EtherCAT) protocol. This setup lets both controllers share data with ease, simplifies programming considerably, and offers excellent conditions for diagnostics and debugging. The seamless integration of the FSoE safety master and
the EtherCAT data light barrier are integrated into a comprehensive automation solution including motors, electronics and visualization.

SEW Eurodrive 
www.seweurodrive.com 

 

You Might Also Like

Filed Under: Controls, Fieldbuses, Motion Casebook, Networking + IoT Tagged With: sew-eurodrive

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

LEARNING CENTER

Design World Learning Center

Motion Control Handbook

“mct
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, tools and strategies for Design Engineering Professionals.

RSS Featured White Papers

  • Robotic Automation is Indispensable for the Logistics Industry’s Continued Growth and Success
  • Reliable Linear Motion For Packaging Machines
  • Polymers Outperform Metals In Precision Gearing

Footer

Motion Control Tips

DESIGN WORLD NETWORK

Design World Online
The Robot Report
Coupling Tips
Linear Motion Tips
Bearing Tips
Fastener Engineering.
Wire and Cable Tips

MOTION CONTROL TIPS

Subscribe to our newsletter
Advertise with us
Contact us
About us

Copyright © 2025 · WTWH Media LLC and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media.

Privacy Policy | RSS