Sercos records 50% increase in contacts at Hanover Fair
Sercos International recorded a 50% increase in contacts at the recent Hanover Fair in Hanover, Germany, compared to the previous year.
Despite the visit of US president Barack Obama and the subsequent closure of hall 9 on the first exhibition day until late noon, Sercos recorded significantly more visitors by that afternoon.
A booth highlight was the Sercos® III SoftMaster demo, which was developed in cooperation with Bosch Rexroth, ISG Industrielle Steuerungstechnik and Tenasys. It showed how the highest speed and hard real-time can be achieved using a standard Ethernet controller. High performance and the highest determinism can be achieved due to a controller which supports queues and scheduling, for example the Intel i210. Ring topologies and redundancies are also reliably supported and functional limitations are no longer valid. Sercos cycle times up to 125µs are possible.
Some renowned companies are already implementing their first projects with the Sercos III SoftMaster in cooperation with Bosch Rexroth AG. Among others, a packaging machine manufacturer is so enthusiastic about this technology that the company is planning to convert its entire machine program to the technology in time for Interpack 2017.
Another highlight was the Hexapod demo from Bosch Rexroth, which is offered as a fundamental motion system (drive- and flight simulator, also simulator for other uses). The system is available in different sizes and varieties (electrical and hydraulic), depending on usage and load capacity, and with its own Sercos master-based drive. This demo showed Sercos as a motion and I/O bus with synchronization capabilities which allow a high performing MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) function.
In addition, there was an OPC UA Info Point, where visitors could learn more about the OPC UA Companion Specification for Sercos.
Various parameters of different Sercos III master and slave devices can be extracted and/or changed, using a Windows 10 based tablet and an OPC UA client application. Sercos specific device and function profiles can thus be made available for one or more OPC UA clients, independent of the product or manufacturer. Data exchange between machine periphery and higher order IT systems will therefore be easier and the requirements of Industry 4.0 regarding semantic interoperability will be supported.
Another booth highlight was the conceptual approach that simplifies the integration of machinery in manufacturing. True to the motto "Fewer cables, less complexity, easier machine integration," Sercos International developed this approach in collaboration with ODVA and the OPC Foundation. A uniform network infrastructure where Sercos telegrams, CIP messages and TCP/IP telegrams run via a single cable allows mechanical engineers and users to reduce costs and complexity involved in machine integration. At the same time, they are able to keep using their preferred product suppliers and automation devices.
Various demos and products from companies with Sercos-capable solutions completed the exhibition presence of the user organization.
"This was certainly a special exhibition, also marked by the visit of the US president to the fair," so Ilona Arnold, Marketing Manager at Sercos International e.V. commented. "We’re very happy that we could excite so many visitors for the Sercos automation, despite the circumstances.“