Siemens Industry, Inc. (www.sea.siemens.com) has expanded its range of upper performance Simotion D motion controllers with the addition of the latest Simotion D445-2 DP/PN and D455-2 DP/PN versions.

The new Simotion D445-2 multi-axis controllers offer high-speed I/O, onboard Profinet interfaces and with thrice the performance, a single controller can support a maximum of 128 axes of motion.

Suitable for production machines, Simotion D motion control systems provide high degree of flexibility for the machine automation’s ever-changing needs. Offering motion control, PLC and advanced technology functions, the Simotion D drive-based multi-axis control systems also provide an integrated drive control that is based on Siemens Sinamics S120 drives.

The new Simotion D445-2 DP/PN and D455-2 DP/PN provide expanded memory capacity while doubling the maximum quantity to 128 axes than the previous generation. The new versions have also integrated the previously optional Profinet I/O interface into the modules as standard. Equipped with an integrated three-port switch, the controllers’ onboard interface facilitates various network topologies such as star, tree or line structures, without adding external switches. The interface, which can be used as a controller or as a device of another controller, also has the capability of supporting real-time (RT) and isochronous real-time (IRT) data exchange.

Aside from the Profinet interface, the new controllers also feature two Ethernet and two Profibus interfaces. Of the 28 digital I/Os of the Simotion D445-2 DP/PN and D455-2 DP/PN, 16 can be utilized for technology tasks such as measuring inputs and output cams with micro-second resolution.