Editorials
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KINGSTAR Soft Motion provides all the benefits of a software solution to motion control in an automatically configured EtherCAT environment with “plug-and-play” compatibility. With the highest quality and performance of pre-integrated and pre-tested motion libraries, KINGSTAR delivers motion control at half the cost of traditional hardware platforms. Deliver Software-Only Motion Control and Positioning Systems Quickly and Affordably KINGSTAR Soft Motion is an open and standards-based, software-only solution that streamlines motor control and automation. Soft Motion runs directly on the PC, uses the NIC card for I/O, and uses the powerful EtherCAT protocol to free you from the shackles of proprietary and costly hardware. With Soft Motion, motion control engineers can design, develop and integrate PC-based machine controllers in a “plug-and-play” environment for consolidated, inexpensive and scalable motion and vision control.
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Soft Motion Control for Machine Automation
POSTED 03/07/2017
| By: Daron Underwood, Vice President R&D, CTO
Traditional hardware-based motion control comes with countless challenges: it’s expensive, inefficient, cumbersome, and not well suited to the pace of today’s business and technology. Software-based motion control, or simply soft motion control, solves these challenges and more. Soft motion control is ideal for any business environment. It provides a platform to design, develop and integrate different machine automation components for greater cost-effectiveness and quality.
Designed to offer a solution to the challenges of the hardware approach to motion control, soft motion comes with many advantages. Use of software in place of hardware reduces costs dramatically. There is no need to acquire DSP & FPGA boards or wiring cables, or install and maintain them. With reduced initial and ongoing costs, your profit margins increase considerably. It is estimated that using software-based motion control versus hardware reduces the cost by up to 56%.
With greater agility and ease in operations, production increases. Soft motion control applications consolidate different operations of machine automation. Unlike the traditional model with multiple different appliances, the soft motion application works as a single integrated unit. It is this multi-tasking factor that makes operations easier and faster.
With soft motion control, the working environment is also made clear of clutter that would otherwise result from having numerous appliances around the system. The cables and sockets to interconnect them pose a huge threat to the safety of the users. Soft motion removes that hazard. The equipment is easier to handle and costs less to maintain. Using soft motion creates more virtual space as well as physical space. With every appliance used in motion control, the manufacturer provides supporting software. A soft motion platform eliminates the need for the different applications, creating ample space within the system for storage of complete projects and resources required for motion production.
Soft motion control solutions are available from different manufacturers. However, not all of the available solutions have the capacity to meet all of your business requirements. The ideal solution delivers an open platform where you can improve on quality and speed of output, and reduce cost.
Soft motion control applications are the best choice for organizations looking to reduce hardware costs. Soft motion lets you improve on product quality while reducing time required for the output to be ready. That means you can beat the competition to market and keep up with the pace of today’s technology.