An MR-MQ100 single axis motion controller from Mitsubishi has been used on an innovative modular duct forming and stacking machine which is to be exported to Oman.
High on the agenda for the engineers at Firmac, which had decided to open up new markets by supplying machinery to the Middle East, was the development of the 1500mm flying shear, which had to offer high levels of performance yet be robust and simple for local assembly. For this application, Gary Hatfield from Mitsubishi Automation suggested the single axis controller, which could synchronise shears to a separate encoder or virtual axis with no additional controller hardware.
The MR-MQ100 offers a complete range of essential functions, including encoder and virtual axis synchronisation, registration, point to point positioning and user defined cam profiles. In addition, the hardware complements these powerful software features with built-in I/O and SSCNET III motion networking capability as well as an Ethernet port. With SSCNET III, Mitsubishi’s simple but rugged optical fibre motion network, a single connection provides full communication and control over all functions of the MR-J3B servo amplifier, regardless of capacity.
An additional benefit was provided by the intuitive MT Developer 2 software that replaces abstract programming with graphical models of the actual mechanical system.
Firmac also used Mitsubishi drives on other concepts of the machine. An inverter controlled Infeed drive provided the decoiling and levelling of the sheet metal before a transfer table, placed after the flying shear, moved the notched ducts to a two-axis servo controlled stacking unit.
Mitsubishi Electric Europe
