Development time for robotic gripper down by half thanks to integrated hardware-based field-oriented control and IO-Link communication
Designed to fit within the standard form-factor used for industrial robotic end-of-arm tooling (EoAT) grippers, here’s presenting the TMCM-1617-GRIP-REF reference design by TRINAMIC Motion Control GmbH & Co. KG (now part of Maxim Integrated Products, Inc). It is an open-source design and integrates hardware-based field-oriented control (FOC) along with three communication ports to shrink the design size of electronic robotic grippers by three times while reducing development time by half.Â
The TMCM-1617-GRIP-REF supports industrial EtherCAT, IO-Link or RS-485 communication, provides software-programmable analogue and digital input/outputs, and can be configured using the Trinamic Motion Control Language Integrated Development Environment (TMCL-IDE). The reference design also features MAX22000 high-precision configurable analogue input/output and MAX14906 quad-channel digital input/output to adjust the multiple modes of the TMCM-1617 single axis servo driver.
Key Advantages
- Speed Time to Market:Â The open-source EoAT gripper reference design is a fully integrated, intelligent hardware platform that provides motor control algorithms as well as protocol stacks to reduce end of arm tooling development time in half.
- Reduce Size:Â The reference design integrates hardware-based FOC, software-configurable input/outputs and three communication protocol stacks into a compact solution size that measures 4,197 mm2.
- Increase Productivity:Â Real-time adjustment of the various TMCM-1617 servo drive modes, including gripper position and gripping force, boost flexibility for higher factory throughput.
“There’s a need for industrial automation engineers to rely on a toolkit that simplifies the development and commissioning of robotic EoAT solutions,” explains Jeff DeAngelis, Vice President of Industrial Communications at Maxim. “The TMCM-1617-GRIP-REF reference design simplifies the tooling development process, allowing automation engineers to focus their time on developing advanced, real-time EoAT solutions that embody the true meaning of delivering intelligence at the edge.”
“The TMCM-1617-GRIP-REF reference design eliminates the burden of implementing motor control algorithms, as well as protocol stacks for end-of-arm tooling,” said Jonas Proeger, Director of Business Management at Trinamic. “With state-of-the-art bus options, control algorithms, and diagnostics provided in a single solution, the reference design boosts productivity on the factory floor and drives intelligence to the edge.”
The TMCM-1617-GRIP-REF reference design is available now from Trinamic authorised distributors. The design CAD files for the TMCM-1617-GRIP-REF are freely available on Trinamic’s GitHub repository.
