XPlanar controllable via several industrial PCs

Multi-computing for handling floating product transport on a colossal scale

The Beckhoff XPlanar planar motor system for floating product transport with up to six degrees of freedom was launched on the market in 2018 and its functionality has been continuously expanded ever since. Available through a simple software update, the new multi-computing functionality now enables modularization of the overall system – and thus an even greater number of tiles and movers per system – for handling applications on a huge scale.

With XPlanar multi-computing, the overall system can be divided into individual subsystems, each controlled by a sub-IPC, to implement particularly large and modular XPlanar systems. This allows computationally intensive tasks to be optimally distributed to the corresponding system segments. The dynamic handover of a mover between two subsystems is ensured by the communication between the sub IPCs, while the superordinate main IPC controls the operation of the entire system. It is also centrally responsible for application programming and diagnostics – i.e., for using the familiar functionalities of TwinCAT 3 XPlanar (TF5890). Access from the application to the subordinate sub-IPCs is not required for this, nor is it necessary for the mover transfer during segment changeover, which makes application creation and system operation just as simple as before.

With XPlanar multi-computing, the number of XPlanar movers and tiles within an overall system can be conveniently increased to a practically infinite amount. Beyond the basic system enlargement, further optimization possibilities result from a modularization of the machine, with the ability to mechanically couple new subsystems to the existing system if required. What’s more, the subsystem can be easily integrated into the overall system process by simply adjusting the program in the main IPC.