SERCOS responds to OMAC challenge

The Packaging Machinery Working Group of the North American OMAC Users Group published a recommendation in November 2001 to use SERCOS interface (IEC 61491) as an open drive interface for packaging machines. In this context, the group challenged the SERCOS organizations to further improve the multi-vendor interoperability of servo controls and drives on the basis of a packaging profile. The SERCOS organizations created a packaging profile that defines a subset of the 500 SERCOS interface parameters that are applicable to packaging machines. Existing SERCOS function groups and the corresponding parameters have been mapped into profiles for three of the six OMAC-defined application classes. The profiles consist of mandatory and optional parameters for simple servo drives and frequency converters, and also for intelligent drives, which can be commanded by any of position, velocity or torque values. The published Pack Profile specification and a White Paper on the subject are available on the SERCOS web site at http://sercos.org. A number of major servo control and drive vendors announced their support for this initiative. A Pack Profile interoperability demo, with controls and drives from multiple vendors, will be presented at Pack Expo 2004, Nov. 7-11, in Chicago.