Page 27 - MetalForming September 2017

signals, which required complex point- to-point wiring for axis control and status signals.”
One of the most complex tasks involved programming the motion controller to keep the axle centered during the bearing-press operation as a net force of up to 100 tons was applied.
“The Delta controller greatly sim- plified the programming to center the axle to achieve this specification,” says Heinrich, who made full use of the many features of Delta’s RMCTools motion-control software package. These include Plot Manager, which captures and plots all key motion parameters during a move operation, enabling the comparison of the actual motion with the desired motion profile.
The goal in tuning the motion is to make changes to the closed-loop gain parameters to reduce the error between actual and target profiles. The tuning process is further simplified by a Tun- ing Wizard feature, also included in the
RMCTools package. Heinrich did most of the programming and tuning and was assisted by Delta’s field engineer during system tuning.
Uploadable Data-Acquisition Parameters
As mentioned previously, one of the key requirements imposed on railway wheel-and-axle assembly manufacturers is the need to keep detailed per-assembly records of the pressing process. The apparatus for doing this in the old system was complex, and using the Delta con- troller in the new system implementa- tion is much simpler.
“With the old system, we had to duplicate the analog signals coming from the hydraulic control unit and send them to another piece of hard- ware,” says Heinrich. “We split the analog signals and ran one set to the PLC for control purposes and the other to the press recorder for charting.”
In the new system, wiring and setup of the data acquisition function
are simplified because the PLC can download all motion programs into the Delta RMC via Ethernet. The press data recorder can upload all motion parameters from each press operation directly out of the Delta RMC data registers, using a register-mapping feature, via the controller’s built-in Ethernet interface.
A Simplified Design and Development Process
By using a powerful motion con- troller, with built-in support for pres- sure/force control and position control, Mittler Brothers was able to streamline the motion controls of this multi-stage press. Data acquisition also was made easier by choosing a motion controller that facilitates data acquisition for the motion operations.
“Using the new controller,” says Heinrich, “saved us development time and provided a controls platform that will be easier for us and our customers to maintain for years.” MF
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