Case Studies
Cello Servo Drives in Meat Cutting Application
Cello servo drives in a CANopen network to facilitate motion controlElmo Motion Control has streamlined an application for trimming and cutting meat
in a sophisticated machine that incorporates a 3D laser scanner and water jet robotics. The Elmo solution uses Cello servo drives in a CANopen network to facilitate motion control over up to eight separate axes. |
The ChallengeIn beef, poultry and
fish processing applications, a complex series of tasks is required in order to analyze each piece
of meat and subsequently trim and cut it into clean units of similar size or weight. Elrad Ltd. has
implemented a solution using its CompuScan 300 robotic water-jet system, which uses a 3D laser scanner,
powerful computerized analysis programs and an X-Y robotic water-jet cutter to trim and cut the meat.
The system processes fish, beef, pork and turkey, trimming and cutting through bone, fat and tissue.
The actual machine . custom tailored to each specific application . processes meat on a moving conveyor belt. |
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| Elrad meat processing line configured with Elmo Cello servo drives |
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| Each piece is first imaged by a triple-CCD camera head, and subsequently analyzed
in order to determine the shape and topography of the piece, including locating fat lines and blood spots. From this information,
a central processing unit interpolates the shape and the motions required to trim and cut the meat into sections of similar size
or weight. Water jets mounted on linear slides assembled above the conveyor belt perform the actual slicing according to the
processed information.
To operate the many axes of the system, a multi-axis controller was originally used in a centralized system to send analog current commands
to current mode amplifiers on the axes. This scheme, while successful, required a mass of wires and connectors for the many encoders,
current commands, Enable/Disable commands and various I/O commands, resulting in a very rigid and costly system. An attempt to streamline this configuration using RS-232 communication was thwarted by the need to multiplex up to eight ports and increase communication speed. It also was unable to support advanced motion requirements.
A solution was required to manage six to eight different axes with fast communication, while reducing the amount and complexity
of the cabling, and providing flexibility in design for upcoming customer applications. |
| Elmo’s Solution
Elmo Cello digital servo drives were configured to control the back-and-forth operation of each water-jet slicing
head mounted above the conveyer. An additional Cello controls the motion of the motor of the conveyor transporting
the meat. The optical head that executes the 3D visualization is connected to the PC that performs vision analysis,
determines the motion trajectory and manages the man-machine interface. In order to streamline and improve communication
to the axes of the conveyor and robotics, Elmo Motion Control assisted the Elrad system designers. in implementing
a CANopen access layer for distributed networking, installed on the same control-and-analysis PC. Implementing the Elmo Interlude API, with its field-proven CANopen communication libraries, helped reduce the time to full operation to one single week. |
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the processed information. Items are sliced into uniform units weight or shape) |
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Fast and Flexibility Using Elmo’s innovative multi-axis networking solution together with Elmo
Cello digital servo drives, the Elrad food processing system has been streamlined for a boost in speed, flexibility and cost
savings. The CANopen network has solved the communication speed problem, while providing tremendous adaptability to new configurations,
which may include added axes and different I/O requirements. Control of single axes is direct and highly efficient, as is
interpolation of motion between multiple axes.
Replacing the “bulky” multi-axis controller with CANopen networking has done away with the complex maze of wiring, which
translates into cost savings in hardware as well as in the entire time-to-build process. The configuration of Elmo Cello servo
drives and the Elrad Compuscan, integrating CANopen, has proven to be an extremely successful solution. |
Elmo’s Cello Digital Servo Drive
The Cello series of
fully programmable servo drives for brush and brushless
motors brings high performance to sophisticated, automated machinery. It incorporates an analog current loop, and digital velocity and position loops with trapezoidal commutation. The Cello accepts 10 to 200 VDC as input and delivers up to 3 KW of output power. Standard feedback to the Cello is incremental optical encoder and Hall sensors.
The Cello can operate in a network using RS-232 or CANopen communication. It features analog inputs and digital
inputs, and digital outputs. It is supported by Composer software suite, which features Elmo’s proprietary
auto-tune function for automated setup, analysis and programming. |
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Cello Digital Servo Drive |
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