HomeJames R. KoelschAutomation World Contributing EditorHomeDecentralized motion, driven by intelligencePower conversion and control/communication issues drive the choice for distributed motion control. But is this popular approach right for all machine builders and every application?HomeMotion: how to decide when to distribute controlAlthough automation vendors tend to urge users to consider decentralizing drives and distributing as much intelligence as possible throughout their machinery, most readily admit that it’s not for every application. The centralized approach is still valid for many applications.HomeJust what is distributed motion?With the proliferation of networking technology, many automation vendors are devising ways to deploy it to distribute motion control architecture throughout machinery. A set of three schemes for doing this exploits intelligence in drives to offload some of the computing burden from the equipment’s controller.HomeOEE: A Controversial FigureThis performance metric takes center stage as a growing number of users turn to it both to boost the efficiency of their equipment and to compare the performance of machines and production lines. But is this increasingly popular metric really this versatile?
