Trio Motion is introducing a new machine controller called Flex-7 at the SPS exhibition in Nuremberg, Germany in November 2024. The Flex-7 can control up to 128 servo drive and robot axes using high-speed EtherCAT technology. It has a quad-core design that enhances machine automation capabilities by improving network connectivity and data processing power, while maintaining flexibility and a compact size.
The Flex-7 dedicates specific cores for high-performance communications and motion control. This single controller is suitable for a wide range of large-scale manufacturing, packaging, and material handling applications that require advanced motion coordination and integration with broader automation systems.
The Flex-7 offers powerful machine control with its high-speed Ethernet capabilities, enabling fast and reliable data exchange for optimized communication with wider controllers and networks. It features two 1Gbps Ethernet ports compatible with industrial Ethernet protocols like Ethernet/IP and Modbus TCP.
The Flex-7 increases control up to 128 servo or robot axes, delivering the high-precision motion coordination that Trio is known for. It achieves EtherCAT update rates as fast as 125μs for up to eight axes, and the full 128 axes are coordinated with update rates down to 4ms. Ensuring consistent motion synchronization for large machines, the Flex-7 features less than 5μsec jitter and can control a wide variety of EtherCAT devices, including servo drives and I/O.
Staying true to the compact design of Trio’s Flex controller range, the Flex-7 measures just 51mm wide, 147mm high, and 107mm deep, making it easy to integrate and install on a DIN rail. Machine control functionality can be added directly with Trio’s Flexslice I/O modules, which communicate with the Flex-7 using EtherCAT via the Ebus interface, providing machine builders with flexible and space-saving solutions. Trio’s Motion-iX is a motion engine that provides commands for controlling servo and robot axes, including coordinating multiple axes in various dimensions, and supports numerous kinematic models for robotics.
This engine can be accessed through Trio’s Motion Perfect software, which allows programming in Trio Basic (an English-based language) as well as IEC languages like ST and LD, and PLCopen. Trio’s Motion Perfect software enables quick setup of servo drives and robots, and it is the central platform for machine control integration, making it easy to manage peripheral devices and network connections. Trio offers a range of controllers, servo drives, motors, and I/O systems, and can also provide turnkey automation solutions, including HMI and SCARA robots, to support machine builders.
Trio’s approach to machine control provides a motion-centric automation solution. The Flex-7 system extends this capability to high axis count machines, giving machine builders flexibility over control functionality along with fast and powerful data processing and communication.