Sercos at the Industrial Automation Show

This year the Industrial Automation North America (IANA) show was held in Chicago, Illinois from September 8^th through September 13^th. Sercos International presented multi-vendor demos to show the advancement of interoperability by using automation products that connect by using their automation bus. Several of the devices showcased were the Bosch Rexroth XLC (eXtended Logic Control) PLC, various IO devices (Inline, S20, and more), and SafeLogic compact safety control, to name just a few.

Peter Lutz, the Managing Director of Sercos International, presented a lecture on the subject of “Trends in the Industrial Communications for the Factory of the Future.” Speaking on the blended infrastructure conceptual approach of factories, he elaborated on the benefits of integrating machinery in manufacturing applications. His approach to the subject stems from his basic thoughts on the matter in that there should be less complexity and easier integration while using fewer cables. Along with reducing the complexity of the integrated systems, this approach can also reduce overhead for many companies.

Industrial Indexing Systems has long believed that factory automation motor and control system design not only guarantees system performance, but provides application and system engineering support of the highest levels. IIS, with over 30 years of experience in the field, agrees that history supports Mr. Lutz’s position of the ability of integrated machinery to lower the cost to manufacturers.

Another interesting demo at the IANA show was the Cannon-Automata A2 PC based Intel Atom dual core which is equipped with a Programmable Automation Controller. The A2-PAC family of devices can to combine the many advantages of PC-based controls with features of both PLCs and motion controllers. Another display included the Bihl+Wiedemann’s AS-I 3.0 Sercos Gateway. This equipment is used for transmitting data originating from safety input slaves to output slaves by way of CIP Safety.

Overall, the IANA show had important information on some new technology and how to provide solutions for automation systems. This information is crucial for companies wanting to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to demanding applications that require both performance and accuracy while being reliable and energy efficient.