Motion Control Software communicates with intelligent drives.
Press Release Summary:
SoftMotion Controller allows engineers to use LabVIEW graphical development environment to create distributed motion applications. IEEE 1394-based ServoWire SM drives from ORMEC, and CANopen-based Accelnet and Xenus drives from Copley can be programmed with NI-Motion API in LabVIEW. Programmable automation controllers can be used to incorporate vibration monitoring, web connectivity, and high-speed analog I/O into distributed motion applications.
Original Press Release:
National Instruments Introduces LabVIEW to Distributed Motion
New NI SoftMotion Controller Communicates with IEEE 1394 and CANopen Intelligent Drives
AUSTIN, Texas - June 7, 2005 - Engineers now can use the National Instruments (Nasdaq: NATI) LabVIEW graphical development environment to create powerful distributed motion applications with the new NI SoftMotion Controller for Copley CANopen and ORMEC IEEE 1394 intelligent drives. The NI SoftMotion Controller is a soft motion interface between NI-Motion driver software and distributed intelligent drives. Engineers now can program IEEE 1394-based ServoWire SM drives from ORMEC, and CANopen-based Accelnet and Xenus drives from Copley with the easy-to-use NI-Motion API in LabVIEW. They also can rapidly prototype their distributed motion application using NI Motion Assistant.
With these new controllers, engineers in semiconductor, biomedical, textile, packaging and other industries can use NI programmable automation controllers (PACs) such as industrial PC- and PXI-based hardware for their distributed motion applications. A distributed motion architecture offers many advantages over centralized motion, including simplified cabling with lower setup and maintenance costs. With the NI SoftMotion Controller, engineers also can use NI PACs to incorporate vibration monitoring, Web connectivity and high-speed analog I/O into their distributed motion applications.
The NI SoftMotion Controller runs on LabVIEW Real-Time ETS for Copley CANopen drives and LabVIEW Real-Time RTX for ORMEC ServoWire drives. The NI-Motion 7.0 driver interfaces between the NI SoftMotion Controller and the development environment on Windows 2000/XP. In addition to using LabVIEW with NI Motion Assistant, engineers can program the NI-Motion 7.0 driver in LabWindows/CVI, Microsoft Visual Basic and C programming environments.
About National Instruments
National Instruments (www.ni.com) is a technology pioneer and leader in virtual instrumentation - a revolutionary concept that has changed the way engineers and scientists in industry, government and academia approach measurement and automation. Leveraging PCs and commercial technologies, virtual instrumentation increases productivity and lowers costs for test, control and design applications through easy-to-integrate software, such as NI LabVIEW, and modular measurement and control hardware for PXI, PCI, USB and Ethernet. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has more than 3,500 employees and direct operations in nearly 40 countries. In 2004, the company sold products to more than 25,000 companies in 90 countries. For the past six years, FORTUNE magazine has named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in America. Readers can obtain investment information from the company's investor relations department by calling (512) 683-5090, by e-mailing nati@ni.com or visiting www.ni.com/nati.
CVI, NI SoftMotion, LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI, ni.com, and NI Motion Assistant are trademarks of National Instruments. Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.
