Tech Briefs Magazine - August 2024 - MD-2

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INSIDE STORY
At the center of Yaskawa's iCube Control™ platform is the iC9200, an EtherCAT-based
machine controller providing control for motion, logic, safety, security, and more. Powered
by the Triton processor, the iC9200 series is designed by Yaskawa specifically for demanding
machine control applications, including multi-axis synchronized motion. The controller supports
multiple modern field buses and provides a feature set that can be tailored to meet your
specific requirements. In this interview, Yaskawa discusses the advances and benefits of
EtherCAT-based machine controllers.
Motion Design: There are several real-time industrial network
protocols to choose from. Why did Yaskawa choose to
use EtherCAT for their next-generation control platform?
Yaskawa: Although there are other
protocols available, including ones that
have been used specifically for motion
control, the benefits of EtherCAT are
clear. The speed and efficiency of an
EtherCAT network, along with its ability
to synchronize the devices on the
network, make it ideal for machine control
applications where motion control
needs to work with a wide variety of
I/O. This allows the remote I/O modules that may be mounted
on distant parts of a machine to perform just as well as the I/O
modules that are mounted directly to the side of the controller.
Using third-party devices is as easy as importing an ESI file and
scanning the network. The iCube control platform is Yaskawa's
first global control product line, and EtherCAT is accepted globally
now. It has a strong foothold in Europe, is rapidly growing in
the Americas, and emerging in the Asian markets.
Motion Design: The controllers in the iCube family use
something called a Triton processor. What is that, and why
is it special?
Yaskawa: The Triton processor is a Yaskawa-developed ARM
processor. Yaskawa looked at what was available in the market
and decided to develop our own chip that is optimized for
our applications. This also gives us control over the life cycle
of the processor. The Triton is a 3-core processor running
at 1.26GHz. It supports large amounts of memory with fast
access to that memory. Built-in functionality includes Gigabit
Ethernet that is TSN-ready, and support for EtherCAT and
PROFINET. The built-in SliceBus controller allows the local I/O
modules to be synchronized with the EtherCAT and motion
scans.
Motion Design: The iCube platform is built on the PLCnext
platform from Phoenix Contact. How does that benefit the
user?
Yaskawa: There are many things built into the Linux-based
PLCnext platform that made it an easy choice for us. Yaskawa
takes the PLCnext platform and adds in what we do best:
motion control. PLCnext incorporates the ability to program
machine control applications using IEC61131-3 languages, but
also allows the creation of custom function blocks using C#.
Since it is Linux based, C++ applications can be made to run on
the iCube platform and have access to the IEC61131-3 memory
area. These apps can be made by the user, third-party developers,
or Yaskawa. Yaskawa's first offering is our WebVisu app
which allows HMI projects developed with our new HMI Designer
software to be hosted on the controller and accessed using
any HTML5 compliant web browser. With the recent increase in
cyberattacks on industrial installations, IEC62443-2 compliant
applications can be created. These security functions include
user management and authentication that allow different roles
and levels of access to be assigned to different users. Secure
communications play a key role, and the OPC UA Server, Client
and PubSub interfaces allow those secure communications to
happen. This could be as basic as the comms to the machine's
local HMI, or to a cloud-based service that is logging and analyzing
machine data.
Motion Design: Yaskawa is offering an " FSoE " version of
the iC9226M controller. How is that different from the " EC "
version?
Yaskawa: The FSoE version of the controller has all the same
components and functionality that the EC version has but adds
Functional Safety over EtherCAT (FSoE). From a hardware point
of view, another controller with dual processors is installed
within the same case. This safety controller is independent of
the Triton controller and runs an independent safety program.
The Safety programming area of the iCube Engineer development
environment has its own password. In addition to the
Safety project password, the Safety controller itself requires
a password to connect to it. FSoE compatible devices can be
added locally to the controller or on the EtherCAT network. For
instance, safety-rated digital I/O can be used to monitor E-Stop
buttons, light curtains, etc. and Advanced Safety Modules can
be added to our SERVOPACKs to implement safe motion functions
like Safe Limited Speed, Safe Position, and others. The
logic is written by the programmer, but a library of certified
safety function blocks is available to give the programmer a
head start. Safety variables that are part of the Safety program
can easily be used within the non-safe program via a shared
memory area.
For more information, visit www.icubecontrol.com.
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Motion Design, August 2024

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Tech Briefs Magazine - August 2024

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