OMRON’s NX1-Series Machine Automation Controller promises to boost productivity while leveraging information. OMRON will release the NX-HAD4xx High-speed Analog Input Unit and NX-SL5xxx Safety CPU Unit that can be used with the NX1 Series, helping address manufacturing challenges including strengthening of quality control and flexible safety measures.
According to OMRON, manufacturers are driving visualization of machine and process status, predictive maintenance to prevent downtime, and other information utilization approaches to further improve productivity. It is necessary to easily and securely collect huge amounts of data from manufacturing sites and store them in the host IT systems. However, there is a compromise between increasing control cycle time and maintaining and improving productivity when controllers in manufacturing machines process a large amount of data at high speeds. In addition, on the one hand, high speed and precision are required for industrial networks at production sites. On the other hand, high-level security is required for connection to host IT systems. This results in a significant barrier to interconnectivity of networks.
In these circumstances, the NX1 Series has been designed to collect synchronized data from sensors, servomotors, and units mounted to the controller within the same fixed cycle time thanks to OMRON's unique multicore technology that provides machine control and at the same time executes high-speed data processing tasks. This controller can send the synchronized data to the host IT system while maintaining control performance. The NX1 Series has three built-in industrial Ethernet ports -- EtherNet/IP and EtherCAT ports -- and an OPC UA server interface for IIoT for industrial automation and information technology. This connectivity allows use of IT at production sites and easy and secure connection to host IT systems. The database connection model (*3) can directly store production data in databases without using PCs or middleware, enabling real-time and reliable traceability of all products and helping improve quality control.
Features include:
- Integration of control and information utilization
- Synchronized control of I/O and motion within 1-ms cycle time and motion control of up to 12 axes enable high-speed, high-precision control
- The built-in EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, OPC UA, and database connection functionality allows use of information within and between machines, visualization of production status with MES/SCADA, traceability using SQL database, and other information utilization applications. In addition, OMRON's unique multicore technology can process data without compromising control performance
- Integration of control and quality management
- Connected with the NX-HAD4xx High-speed Analog Input Unit, the NX1 Series can simultaneously obtain analog data from four insulated channels at the industry's fastest sampling speed of 5 microseconds (*4)
- Instead of previously used special inspection machines with built-in PCs, this standard controller can be used for inspections such as vibration inspection of high-speed rotators, and enables the inspection process to be incorporated into a production line
- Integration of control and safety
- The NX1 Series connected with the NX-SL5xxx Safety CPU Unit integrates control and safety. Safety control systems can be built within and between machines, and control and safety can be managed as a module. Flexible production lines can be easily created
For more details, visit OMRON.