Industry News

Motion network will be based on CIP

Feb. 18, 2005

ork has begun on a distributed motion networking technology that will provide real-time, deterministic, closed-loop motion control for multi-axis, controller-to-controller synchronisation and controller-to-drive communications. At its annual conference, late last year, ODVA -- the organization formerly known as the Open DeviceNet Vendors Association -- decided to expand the work it is doing with ControlNet International to develop standards for commissioning and maintaining distributed motion applications.

ODVA executive director Katherine Voss

A working group formed by the two organizations is developing standards based on synchronization services carried over CIP -- the Common Industrial Protocol -- which is the upper-level networking protocol shared by DeviceNet and EtherNet/IP. The group aims to specify objects for demanding motion applications, such as electronic line shafts and cams, that require time synchronization. The objects will use CIP Sync, a standard for precision time synchronization, based on IEEE 1588, that ODVA adopted in 2003. The group is also working on a CIP-to-Sercos gateway.

At its November meeting, ODVA decided to expand the motion group's work to encompass a complete CIP Motion system by extending CIP Sync to demanding motion applications and to controller-to-drive communications. Explaining the recent developments in London last month, ODVA's executive director, Katherine Voss, said that "the work paves the way for a complete motion solution with the ability to run I/O, HMIs, and motion on the same network. You can never have enough I/O."

CIP Motion is expected to have its first public demonstration at the SPS/IPC/Drives exhibition in Nuremberg this November, with the first products going on sale during 2006.