Siboni Servo Motors Upgraded Using CoreTigo IO-Link Technology

CoreTigo, a technology company specializing in wireless automation solutions for industrial applications, has recently announced its continued partnership with Siboni, a company that produces servo motors and drive systems. The partnership meshes the communication ability of CoreTigo’s IO-Link Wireless technology with the robust reliability of Siboni’s servo motor lineup.

The new low-voltage brushless motors with integrated electronics offer users a compact solution. Image used courtesy of Siboni

The combination of each company's unique skillset led to the creation of the PL4 series electronic drive brushless motors. The motors are Siboni’s, and the wireless technology in them comes from CoreTigo. The motors feature a wireless planetary gearbox, creating a highly energy-efficient, low-voltage, compact solution. They can offer users in the industrial sector precise control for applications that require it.

Functionality

The PL4 series was developed by embedding an IO-Link Wireless system-on-module directly into the servo motor, allowing it to connect with the IO-Link Wireless master at the field level. At the control level, the IO-Link Wireless master interfaces with the PLC using multiple Industrial Ethernet protocols and connects to enterprise applications through the TigoEngine software.

The ability to see and use control data from the bottom up allows users to better integrate into Industry 4.0 practices, where full control and visibility are available for use from the factory floor up to the head of the company. The duo has focused on several aspects of the PL4 series, including a simplified installation process, better flexibility, multiple I/O options (with future added abilities anticipated), and a maintenance reduction with far less clutter from cables.

Siboni’s IO-Link Wireless enhanced motors were made for a range of applications, including packaging machines, rotary tables, industrial robotics, logistics, mobile solutions like AGVs and LGVs, and smart transport systems.

Features of the PL4 Series

CoreTigo and Siboni have managed to fit some significant features into the PL4 series. The motors feature wireless control, greatly simplifying the installation process by reducing the number of leads that attach to them. The wireless technology used to control the servos has a 5 ms latency, a response time similar to that of wired technology, so users don’t have to sacrifice performance for simplicity. Wireless connectivity is available to fit into almost any automated system with several industrial communication protocols, like PROFINET, Ethernet/IP, EtherCAT, and OPC UA.

The system helps to reduce downtime through continuous monitoring. IO-Link Wireless facilitates this seamless and integrated monitoring without the need to halt the production line for analysis. It enables the sensing, transmission, and analysis of data from various sensors, such as temperature, vibrations, and humidity, which users can integrate into their optimization and predictive maintenance regimes.

An example of an operational servo motor setup. Image used courtesy of Siboni

Pre-processing algorithms are embedded in the motor to reduce data payloads, ensuring that only essential information is sent to the PLC. This helps prevent traffic overload on the PLC while still allowing comprehensive data to flow from IO-Link devices to cloud and enterprise applications for collection. Advanced analytics and intelligent insights can be obtained using algorithms specific to certain scenarios, such as RMS, Variance, Kurtosis, and FFT.