Evolution in Motion

Overview:

The Machine Automation Controller (MAC) Meets Market Needs More Effectively than Previous Controller Solutions

To paraphrase Albert Einstein, the opportunity for development is directly related to the potential for value. This is particularly relevant to technological development, where market forces establish need and value, and then science and engineering are applied to meet them.

Case in point: Look at the use of machine control hardware for automation. During the past 50 years there has been a powerful and dramatic development of controllers: Distributed Control Systems (DCS), Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), Industrial PCs (IPC), and Programmable Automation Controllers (PAC).

The explosion of industrial applications continues to challenge the functionality of those controllers, fostering further innovation. The need to combine the capabilities of traditional process/discrete industrial control has led to adaptations or extensions of existing technology. The efforts to evolve resulted in underperforming machine automation due to limitations in architecture and a lack of cross-discipline expertise.

Today we see the emergence of a new controller type: a Machine Automation Controller (MAC). A MAC resolves the integration of control technologies without sacrificing performance. Only after painstaking development from the ground up--specifically for high-speed, multi-axis motion control, vision, and logic--has the MAC emerged. Let's revisit how this point was reached.