Sercos Interface Provides Ultra-Precision, High-Speed Communication between Motion Control Devices

In an increasingly automated world, machine builders worldwide greatly depend on choosing an efficient and deterministic communication system, which provides high speed precision and interoperability between multiple devices. The interfacing of various control components, as well as the precise coordination of signals and commands sent between control modules, proves especially important in the areas of automation and motion control, where individual axes of motion must be precisely regulated to ensure that the actions of an entire system accurately follow a designated sequence.

Sercos (Serial Realtime Communications System) is an open, globally standardized interface that allows for ultra-precision communication between industrial controls, drives, and input/output devices (I/O). This communication system also provides more than 500 standardized parameters that help define the interaction between controls and drives in terms that are independent of any individual manufacturer. The sercos communication system allows industrial equipment to exchange information with each other at very high speeds, which enables machines to be accurately synchronized. Moreover, Sercos’s open, non-proprietary interface allows for the easy integration of different types of automation devices from multiple vendors.

Sercos has achieved worldwide acceptance as the universal standard for demanding industrial automation applications that require precise, multi-axis, coordinated motion. For all these reasons, IIS is a proud member of sercos North America. We incorporate sercos chips, circuit boards, and other networking components into our sophisticated motion control devices and software. By incorporating sercos technology into our components, we manufacture motion control systems that are simple to install and allow for our equipment to easily connect with other machinery (even machines from a different vendor – as long as they also use sercos interface technology). We also reduce the need for operators to be trained on the controls for each machine. As Michael Hupf, sales engineer at Industrial Indexing Systems, Inc. describes, "We chose sercos as it is the only universal bus specifically designed to meet the demanding requirements for motion control applications."