GDevCon-5/Controlling large scale systems with integrated measurement and motion
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| Conference | GDevCon#5 |
| Presenters | Chris Knight |
The increasing demand for integrated measurement, motion, and safety systems necessitates seamless convergence on common platforms. Building on last year’s presentations, I will demonstrate a sanitized application combining these systems.
Implemented through TwinCAT and EtherCAT, which form the base for LabVIEW, this setup allows motion, measurement, and safety to converge seamlessly. I will showcase real hardware representative of the deployed solution, illustrating how EtherCAT via TwinCAT enables measurement through Beckhoff and NI hardware on the same bus as motion and safety operations. Attendees will gain insights into EtherCAT’s role as the backbone of our integrated system and appreciate how TwinCAT simplifies complex tasks, fostering innovation. The talk will focus on the underlying technology and the LabVIEW interface, demonstrating seamless transfer of measurements, motion feedback, and safety status. We’ll discuss best practices for interfacing with LabVIEW, ensuring smooth data flow, converting TwinCAT types to clusters, and visualizing data effectively for users.
Additionally, I will cover how these controls leverage the TwinCAT/EtherCAT backbone to perform motion tasks, control motors, and manage safety operations over the same fieldbus.