B&R launches PLCopen function blocks for conveyor belt tracking

An increasing number of processes in production lines require synchronisation with conveyor belts. Ensuring the high levels of speed and precision needed to accomplish this used to require highly complex control systems. Production lines with conveyor belt tracking have an advantage. Since the production process never comes to a stop, they can achieve higher production volumes.

The complexity of these systems is constantly increasing, with the presence of robots becoming more and more common. Their tasks range from simple sorting to complex product processing on running conveyor belts. The PLCopen function blocks from B&R can be used for all types of robot kinematics and even allow robots to be synchronised with multiple conveyor belts. The interfaces are also well suited for integrating HMI applications for all types of kinematic systems.

During the synchronization phase the robot can move freely, which also enables complex product manipulation. A special feature of the B&R system is that the conveyor belt is fully integrated in the application. An external sensor that supplies information about the current position of the conveyor belt is all that is needed.

The conveyor belt tracking system from B&R is hardware independent, which allows the use of different drive systems with different kinematics. The application can be created quickly and easily upgraded at a later time. The robot can be replaced or the conveyor belts can be upgraded at any time without a significant amount of application engineering work. A large portion of the software can be used as-is.

For more information about the PLCopen function blocks please visit www.br-automation.com.