Trio Motion Technology has launched the first controllers from its new Motion-PLC range, designed to provide advanced motion control performance with the functionality and simplicity of a PLC. Discover how the controller enables faster design and install of packaging machines.
Trio’s new class of controller combines high performance motion control over EtherCAT, plus logic and I/O expansion. This enables faster, simpler machine development and integration in the food & beverage packaging sector.
The first controllers in the range, which are now available to order, comprise the MCS 30, the MCS 40, and the MCS 50 Flexible Machine Controllers. The three controllers scale machine and motion control requirements up to eight axes over high-speed EtherCAT, managed via a single EtherCAT port.
The controllers also feature up to two Ethernet ports with fieldbus support for HMI and upstream devices, including Modbus TCP, PROFINET I/O, and Ethernet I/P. The controllers also include extensive I/O integration to expand machine connectivity.
The first controllers in Trio’s Motion-PLC range provide the machine and motion control requirements for stand-alone machines and sub-machines for food & beverage packaging applications such as vertical form-fill-seal, flow wrapping, label printing and palletising.
The new controllers are based around a multi-tasking operating system that performs motion and logic control in parallel. Like all Trio controllers, the motion control capability is built on the company’s Motion-iX motion engine, which is based on over 30 years’ development. Motion-iX includes a variety of pre-programmed motion features that simplify development, from point-to-point moves through to complex motion.
To make access to Trio’s motion specialisation even easier, Motion-PLC can be programmed in familiar PLC languages based on the IEC 61131-3 standard, and the controllers also include a PLCopen motion library. Developers also have the choice to use Trio’s high-level, English-based motion programming language, TrioBASIC. Trio also provides a licence-free approach and access to the Motion Perfect software for programming and commissioning software is free of charge, which can significantly reduce the cost of machine development.
Extending device integration, the Motion-PLC controllers can integrate ‘click in’ I/O slices via the MS-Bus interface, Trio’s local communication protocol that provides high efficiency and throughput of data. The controllers can support up to 16 of Trio’s new MS I/O slices, including any combination of digital or analogue inputs or outputs. I/O can be optionally increased to achieve 1024 digital ports and 128 analogue ports through Trio’s new MS EC I/O coupler that provides a bridge between EtherCAT and the MS-Bus system.
To optimise installation and ensure a compact footprint, whether machine- or cabinet-mounted, the first controllers in Trio’s Motion-PLC range measure just 100 mm high, 75 mm deep, and 23 mm wide.
The first controllers in the Motion-PLC range will be joined by four additional models that increase the scale of the controller to manager larger stand-alone machines. Designated All-in-One Controllers, the ultimate devices in the Motion-PLC range will add a Serial Port, a Flexible Axis Port, plus NPN or PNP On-board I/O.
The Motion-PLC controllers can also be combined with Trio’s servo drives & motors and HMI to create a fully integrated, motion-first machine automation solution. Trio’s products are also supported around the world.
“Motion-PLC simplifies the development of packaging machines,” says Trio President, Tom Alexander. “This makes machines faster to design, install and commission, while for end users, it makes machines easier to use, and it also increases reliability. Crucially, this ease-of-use is supported by Trio’s motion control specialisation as well as highly capable logic control.”
