Technical data
22
A drive with a PLC built in
ModernPLCsareextremelyevolveddevices
with high calculation and interface capacities.
The problem is that they need qualified, expert
personnel to convert the needs of the machine
into sequences of PLC instructions. These may
even have to be encoded according to different
proprietary programming standards.
The inverter is becoming one type of actuator to
which PLCs can delegate the dynamic control of
an axis in synchronisation with other parts of the
machine.
Agile drives guarantee efficient motor control
and incorporate a programmable logic controller
that can be used to complement or replace a
conventional control panel PLC.
In the heart of every Agile drive is a PLC capable
of performing multiple logic operations (AND, OR,
XOR)andfunctions(counters,timers,comparators,
multiplexers, decoders, oscillators, etc.). These
can be combined using a graphic editor to create
complex functions. The result is an intelligent
local controller capable of handling the drive’s
own internal variables (currents, frequencies,
machine statuses, etc.), I/O signals to and from the
terminals, and multiplexed data exchanged over a
field bus.
The intuitive graphic editor allows even non-
expert users to program the PLC of an Agile drive
without having to learn complicated programming
languages that very few can master. Agile users do
not have to rely on others to program their drives.
Agile drives are powerful and intelligent and, by
relieving the main control panel PLC of local tasks,
conform perfectly to the concept of distributed
logic.
The Agile PLC recognises and handles 120
different functions, which can be used within 32
programmable functional modules (indexes).
Each module has a maximum of 4 inputs, 2 outputs
and 2 configuration parameters. When the drive
is switched on, its operating system indexes all the
active modules in sequence, taking only 1 ms per
module. Each module is implemented by running
all its instructions in sequence. When one module
has been completed, the OS moves on to the next,
and so on.
Internal PLC
Function Block
Routine
Software
Outputs
Inputs
Function
selector
Parameters