Robotics & Machine Automation Blog: Partner: Parker Automation

• Automation

Configure Servo Drive to Run with Parker Automation Controller

Walkthrough guide on configuring the Parker Automation Controller (PAC) with a servo motor via EtherCAT network.

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• Automation

Parker P-Series Servo System for Motion Control Applications + Tutorial

Maximize Flexibility and Minimize Commissioning In today’s world, both manufacturers and the OEMs who serve them are continually searching for methods to increase profitability. For manufacturers, their goals are more likely related to driving increased productivity and efficiency through avoiding costly downtime and expensive support contracts. OEMs, on the other hand, may be more focused on decreasing the time it takes to develop new applications and commission new machines.

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• Automation

Using the Parker P-Series Servo Drive With a Beckhoff Controller

Parker recently introduced their high-performance and cost-effective P-Series Servo Drives. One version offers the speed and flexibility of an EtherCAT network. We were asked to show how the drive would perform to the open standards of the EtherCAT protocol. The third party controller we connected is the Beckhoff TwinCAT 3.

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• ElectroMechanical Motion Control

CAD to Motion For Drilling Applications

In today’s world, there is more demand from engineers, machines, and production than ever before, and tomorrow….there will be more. Engineering staffs run lean and machines are expected to produce more product with higher quality. This trend has increased the demand for flexible, reliable automation. I was involved in a project that required Cross Company to design a custom gantry that would be used for drilling patterned holes in a material. Ok, easy enough, that application has been done a thousand times.

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• Partner: Parker Automation

11 Applications for Universal Robots

These Universal Robots Solutions are Working on the Factory Floor Today Universal Robots recently released a great new video that highlights the top production tasks where users are implementing their lineup of collaborative robots (cobots). These are all great examples for anyone considering using a robot to automate the following processes (time stamps are shown next to each process):

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• ElectroMechanical Motion Control

Parker PAC Solutions: DXF to CNC Path Following Solutions for Gantry and Robotic Systems

Parker’s new Automation Controller, or PAC for short, is an innovative new machine and motion controller that combines advanced logic, multi-axis motion control, signal handling, and embedded web visualization into one surprisingly high performance, yet economical package.

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• Automation

Controlling Multiple Axes on a Parker PAC Using a Logitech F710 Controller

Parker’s PAC IEC61131-3 development environment (Parker Automation Manager or PAM) is built on 3S Software’s CODESYS 2.3 IDE. Depending on the model of PAC ordered, the controller supports not only basic point to point motion, multi-axis interpolation, gearing, camming, forward and inverse kinematics, as well as GCode motion from CAD files (in dxf format). Also included is an on board Visualization package for creating user defined GUI screens for testing, debugging, and controlling code.

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• Automation

Variable, Target-based Position Control with ±0.001” Repeatability

I recently came across an application where the engineer wanted to automate the positioning of a blade that cuts a part as it comes down a conveyor at 140 ft/min. Thankfully, the blade and its mounting block already had a round rail bearing for guide support. See Figure 1 for an illustration. Several conditions made this application difficult:

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• ElectroMechanical Motion Control

The Power of the Parker Automation Controller (PAC)

During the summer of 2015, I was involved in a Parker group project with four other newly graduated college students. Being fresh out of college, we did not have experience in motion control. The project was meant to give us experience in designing, building, and programming an electromechanical system. The goal of our project was to successfully move a metal ring around a bent piece of pipe/extrude without touching it using a hexapod Figure 1.

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