In This Issue...
News
- Freedom of the Press: Closed Loop Control for Servo Valves
- RMC Controller Empowers Quality Battery Cell Manufacturing
- Swedish Sawmill Upgrades Edger with RMC Motion Controller
Distributor Highlight
People at Delta
Tech Tip
Trade Shows & Conferences
Learning More About Delta
- Education & Training
- Useful Links
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Freedom of the Press: Closed Loop Control for Servo Valves
By Jason Palmer in Fluid Power Journal
Advanced Foundry Specialists traces its roots back nearly 30 years, and it shares the same mission as its sister organization, Advanced Tooling Specialists: to provide “the most competitive, high-quality, and innovative finishing room automation solutions available.” AFS services the foundry industry, and its trim presses process castings across a host of applications, many of which can prove vitally important.
AFS vice president and general manager Brian Luebke said in an interview that some of the top automotive manufacturers in the world use customized AFS hydraulic trim presses. These presses help finish parts as they emerge from molding. There is no room for error in the trim process, as customer quality controls are understandably stringent. Faulty parts – cracked brake calipers, for example – could cost lives. The company made a significant leap forward in its hydraulic trim press accuracy and speed when it adopted Delta Computer Systems’ motion controller solutions.
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RMC Controller Empowers Quality Battery Cell Manufacturing
Challenge: Lithium-based batteries must have consistent layers of anode and cathode material. Inconsistent and inhomogeneous layers cause poor cell performance, premature expiration, or catastrophic failure.
Solution: Precision hydraulic motion control that seamlessly transitions between position and force control of press rolls.
Result: Layer thickness control within a few microns, while exerting approximately 6000 lb-f/in2 with material traveling 5.5 ft/sec.
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Swedish Sawmill Upgrades Edger with RMC Motion Controller
Editorial Staff in International Forest Industries
"The edger controls failed at the worst time - in the middle of the pandemic's high lumber demand and shortage of electronic controls"
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People at Delta
Gan Li, Retired Asia-Pacific Regional Sales Director
Delta's former Asia-Pacific Regional Sales Manager and Senior Business Consultant, Gan Li, fully retired in December. During the last several years, Gan was working part-time, focusing on video content production and editing. Gan joined Delta in the Summer of 2012, taking on the challenge of building Delta's motion control sales in China. He laid the groundwork for Delta's success in the region, adding distributors like Wuxi Forever.
After passing on his RSM duties to Phil Lin in 2017, Gan continued to consult and provide special projects assistance to Delta on a part-time basis. Gan produced and edited Delta's Introduction video, providing several version edits through the years and adding closed-captioning in several languages. Gan and retired Delta President Peter Nachtwey have a regular table tennis appointment several evenings a week, and have no plans to stop playing anytime soon!
While we are sad to see Gan go, we extend our whole-hearted gratitude for the excellent development work he has done over the years. The Delta team wishes Gan the best in his retirement and hope that he has many happy years pursuing his hobbies. Thank you Gan!
Gan Li and CEO Steve Nylund |
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Tech Tip
Modbus/TCP Addressing
The Modbus/TCP Ethernet communications protocol is a simple, mature, well-established, and open standard protocol; in fact, the Modbus/TCP website publicly distributes the standard at https://www.modbus.org. Chances are that you can establish communications with any type of master device and an RMC using the Modbus/TCP protocol.
The open nature of the standard does mean that confusion can crop up in the implementation. There are two specific addressing problems that occur frequently: 32-bint word order and 0- vs. 1-based addressing.
32-bit Word Order
Modbus/TCP holding registers are defined as 16-bit words, with an address for each holding register. 32-bit words are simply composed of two individual 16-bit holding registers. Let's look at an example below, where "0000" and "1111" represent the two 16-bit words.
The full word is 32 bits long, split into two 16-bit "sub" words.
The RMC controllers expect the Least Significant Word to be contained in the first 16-bit word, but this is not consistent across the industrial automation industry. Most Modbus/TCP master devices will give you the option to specify whether the least significant word comes first or second in the word order. One common mistake is to swap the positions of the 16-bit words in the master vs. what the RMC is expecting.
When this happens, the data from the master (like a PLC) will appear in the RMC's registers, but it will not be correct.
0- vs. 1-based Addressing
The second common issue is that some master devices make the user register addresses 0-based, while the Modbus/TCP protocol expects the register addresses to be 1-based. If your master addresses the registers as 0-based, the data you are sending will be shifted by one 16-bit word, as shown in the diagram.
 The RMC will see the least significant 16-bit word as the last 16 bits of the previous 32-bit word, and the most significant 16-bit word will become the first 16 bits of the next word.
One method to diagnose both of these problems is to set three consecutive variables in the RMC's Variable Table as DWORD types, and then write a hexadecimal value such as 16#11223344 from the master to the second of the three variables. Observing the variables in the Monitor tab of the RMCTools Variable Table will quickly show if there is a Word Order error or a 0- vs. 1-based addressing error.
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Tradeshows & Conferences
Upcoming Trade Shows
Please check Delta's Trade Shows page regularly for updates. We hope to see you at these events in 2023. International Fluid Power Exposition - Las Vegas
 Hannover Messe - Hannover
Space Tech Expo - Long Beach
Instrumentation, Analysis & Testing Exhibition - Silverstone |
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Learning More About Delta
Education & Training
Delta's in-person Classroom Training is a fantastic way to learn RMCTools software and how to configure and program RMC controllers. Self-Paced, Live Online and Custom training courses are also available depending on your needs. Please check Delta's Internet Training page frequently for schedule updates and added classes. You may also contact Delta by phone at (360) 254-8688, at technicalsales@deltamotion.com, or reach out to your Regional Sales Manager.
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Self-Paced Learning
Delta also offers self-paced training options, as well.
- Video Tutorials An easy way to get up to speed on the RMC's features with easy to follow video guides.
- Online RMCs Try RMCTools or custom RMCLink programs when you don't have a physical RMC to test with.
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Discussion Forum
Delta's Discussion Forum is a place for users to share ideas about User Programs, unique applications, or third-party equipment that works well with the Delta RMC Motion Controllers.
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Distributor Only Website
If you are a Delta distributor and need a password or user ID, email us or call Delta at (360)-254-8688.
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Delta Computer Systems, Inc.
1818 SE 17th St. - Battle Ground, WA USA 98604-8579
P: 360-254-8688 - F: 360-254-5435
Delta Motion Ltd.
101 Rose Street South Lane - Edinburgh, EH2 3JG, United Kingdom
P: (+44) 0131 447 7924
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