Trio Motion Technology adds expansion flexibility for its MC464 Motion Coordinator motion and machine controller range with the launch of its new EtherCAT Master drive interface module. The module provides tightly synchronised control for up to 64 slave axes on the MC464 – up to seven modules may be added, each providing eight 100 nanosecond registration inputs which can be mapped to any axis. Trio's MC464 Motion Coordinator is based on the 64-bit 400MHz MIPS processor with 64-bit position registers and double floating point maths for exceptional servo precision. With multitasking TrioBASIC programming, the central control unit includes analogue and digital I/O, status display, SD card memory expansion, axis synchronisation and programming ports with a wide choice of half- and full-height expansion modules for drive technology, I/O expansion, factory and fieldbus communication. Users can choose a 4- or 8-axis module for stepper, analogue servo or piezo motor control with several choices of absolute or incremental feedback, and can freely mix modules that support third party drive technologies including SERCOS II, Panasonic RTEX, SLM and now EtherCAT.
