Motion Control used to be its own unique domain in the control world. People tended to leave you alone. Few understood it. And because there were so many problems, many avoided it. Don’t get hooked up with to it.
So control most of the major technologies grew up on their own. CNC’s first developed in the 1950’s were definitely their own thing. Very complex math engines that were used to manage metal cutting operations to make complex strucutres. Modern aircraft would be pretty much impossible without the incredible precision available through CNC’s.
Process Computers were full mainframe computers with totally unique hardware for operating chemical refineries. Wire trays with miles and miles of wire running through process plants with ever increasing demands for information.
PLC’s are relatively recent control platforms that gained great popularity since my introduction to them in the 1980’s. And they have migrated dramatically since then. Equipment that used to fill relay racks, like their process control cousins, is now available in a lunch box style rack.
And variable frequency drives, also a relatively recent technology, have seen cost and size improvements that are astounding. Today’s 1HP drive is available from Asia at $100 selling price and they are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.
Enter the personal computer. Once the domain of early information systems programmers, now are the platform for the control systems they once monitor data from. The top CNC’s of today are shipping on PC processors.
Process control on PLC? Never! Really? Honeywell migrated its process controller platform to the Rockwell Logix platform a few years ago. Motion Control on a PLC 20 years ago would have been unheard of. Now, everyone claims to be able to do motion in the PLC.
So where is all this going? Processor technology is getting cheaper. Any application will be fair game for a less expensive processor with much greater capability. Soft motion? Soft PLC? Sure!
What we need to consider is the value that control industry products bring. Not the hardware specs, but what the product does for the customer. The customer’s value.
That’s what industry professionals bring to the relationship, seeking the customer’s best value. That’s how we win, now and in the future.
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