Motion control for industry 4.0.

Intelligent motion is the first step toward flexible, networked production systems that are capable of fully embodying the promise of Industry 4.0. This is the key contribution of motion control solutions, which enable automation of a task for improved productivity, reliability, and safety.

Data and digital tools are the engines driving the fourth great industrial revolution. The aim is to achieve ever more advanced interconnection between the different systems that make up a production unit. Supported by the arrival of IoT and the development of new machine-to-machine communication standards, Industry 4.0 opens the door to new applications like predictive maintenance and real-time control of production flows.

The transformations that it entails are aimed at meeting the challenges of business competitiveness, but also keeping pace with changing patterns of consumption. For instance, specific parameters of an automated production process could be modified to suit a customer request. 

Motorization: the driving force of intelligent automation

To realize the promise of Industry 4.0 in the short to medium term, a robust and reliable production system is essential. That, in turn, requires the use of trusted, high-performance mechatronic technology. More than ever, motorization and motion control are central to the challenges that industry faces.

The solutions applied will impact not only the assembly of the final machines, but also their power consumption, reliability, and rates of operation. Consequently, they directly contribute to both productivity and also quality, since successful automation ensures the compliance of production with the instructions given by the design engineers. They also contribute to the evolution of skills by redeploying the human operators to tasks with greater added value.

Motor with integrated electronics – power at your fingertips

A new arrival in the maxon range, the IDX motor with integrated electronics offers significant advantages. The IDX is not only easy to use, with automatic settings, quick startup, and simple maintenance, but also features high performance. This brushless motor with integrated positioning controller offers maximum continuous torque and high torque density (20% higher performance compared to other available products of the same size). Additionally, its reduced size makes the IDX more cost-effective than the alternatives currently available on the market. The high-end design includes an IP 65 rated enclosure. You can find all the details about the IDX on its dedicated website.

New range of Parvalux geared motors

In order to expand our motorization offering for industrial automation, maxon France has included the Parvalux range of geared motors in our range since late 2019 (after Parvalux was acquired by the maxon Group in that year). maxon France now has a range and a dedicated team to help you in selecting motorization for belt conveyors, automatic doors and shutters, packaging, and much more. Find out more about the Parvalux range available in France at the dedicated website or by contacting the maxon France team.

The MDP range offers direct-drive motors (including roller or rotary table) that can be supplied as frameless units, together with their circuit board, for integration into an automation system. They are also supplied in package form, with various options for assembly (stainless steel) and certification (IP65).

Multi-technology motors, automation, and HMI

The MDP range for intelligent motion encompasses a wide variety of standard and custom solutions for motion control that are then adapted as required.

Throughout your project, you will have the assistance of our dedicated design department, whose task is to help you with everything relating to designing the solution or validating specifications. Their role is to assist you in determining the system that can modernize your operations at optimum cost, so that you can benefit as much as possible from the potential for short-term return on investment.

Tell us the characteristics you want your motorization to have (such as number of axes, desired motor technology, integrated electronics), and also the automation parameters (servo, bus, encoder type, etc.). We will then help you identify the best combination of components to meet your needs.

As an example, a brushless geared motor with encoder on a 30 W spindle, together with its positioning board and 7-inch HMI screen (Human Machine Interface), is offered at about 6600 euros (excl. VAT), including start-up support, programming support, training in maintenance management, and on-site visits.

Another, more complex motion control project involving four stepper motors with integrated electronics and a dedicated PLC amounts to an expenditure of about 10,000 euros (excl. VAT), again with start-up, programming, and maintenance training.

In both cases, the programming element is supervised by a project manager whose mission is to describe and analyze your needs, create the wiring diagram, assign the I/Os, create the HMI interface in Codesys, test, debug, and compile the documentation. Our integrated design department also oversees the tests and design verifications on our test platform before start-up. If necessary, it can develop customized driver solutions.

A complete motion offering from an automation specialist

To provide a complete offering, maxon France selects PLCs, drivers, and HMIs from its partners, who are among the best specialists in the market. We can thus adapt our provision to suit each request, enabling all SMEs to benefit from the advantages of Industry 4.0.

Experience acquired from more than thirty years of integrating complex systems allows us to offer turnkey motion control solutions. maxon France takes care of everything required for the implementation of the solution. Depending on your needs, we can assist you in tasks such as electrical engineering, the configuration of cabinets, the layout of wiring, or the connection to fieldbuses.

The multi-technology, plug & play MDP range from maxon France is used today in a wide variety of sectors: packaging, food processing, textiles, plastics, printing, semiconductors, medical, robotic rovers, and aerospace. It is found anywhere where automation requires power, precision, and reliability.