Robots with changing tools or rotary tactical tables place high demands on electrical connection technology. Wearing contacts and Connectors require short maintenance intervals or even lead to machine downtime. Turck offers for this inductive data transmission with Couplers as an alternative to classic connection technology: The NIC couplers are wear-free compared to slip rings or those that are subject to high mechanical stress Connectorsn.

Contents

• Inductive couplers with high shock resistance
• Inductive data transmission based on contactless couplers
  • Wear-free inductive data transmission
  • Inductive couplers without amplifiers

Inductive couplers with high shock resistance

November 06.11.2023, XNUMX | Turck has his inductive ones coupler-Sets reissued and presented at the PLC 2023. In addition to better performance, they are equipped with new functions such as selective pairing. The NIC couplers have a 600 ms start-up time, enabling shortened production cycles and increased productivity. Equipped with IO-Link COM3, the NIC couplers support a maximum data transfer rate of 230,4 kBit/s.

The robust inductive couplers can withstand high shock loads. They transmit 18W of power over a 7mm air interface. As contactless Connectors They are absolutely wear-free and permanently sealed with protection class IP68. The tolerated angular misalignment is up to 15°. Together with the parallel offset of up to 5 mm, the couplers offer a high degree of freedom of installation. The diagnostic function detects the existing secondary part and any metal objects in the air gap.

The measured values can be transferred to a PC via the bidirectional communication technology Actuators can be controlled and sensor signals collected. In addition to coupling any primary and secondary parts (dynamic pairing), the couplers support “selective pairing”, which is unique on the market. Here, a primary part only communicates with selected secondary parts. The device can be addressed directly via IO-Link. Typical areas of application for NIC couplers can be found in changing tools, rotary tables or driverless transport vehicles.

Inductive data transmission based on contactless couplers

March 26.03.2014, XNUMX | There's still something magical about placing a smartphone on a contactless charging station. Power transmission without cables? This is technically behind it Principle of inductive coupling. The technology is not really new, but the mass use of components in the consumer sector is still a long time coming. The charging function for electric toothbrushes and cordless telephones remain the only mass applications to date.

The strengths of inductive coupling for power transmission are more likely to come into play in niche markets. For example, cardiac pacemakers and other medical implants are often inevitably equipped with the option of contactless power and signal transmission. The advantage here is obvious: the very idea of ​​a USB port on the chest for charging the pacemaker is more reminiscent of horror or science fiction films than serious ones Medical Technology.

Wear-free inductive data transmission 

A major advantage of the inductive coupling for signal and energy transmission hardly comes into play in these examples: Inductive coupling is absolutely wear-free. This advantage is seldom particularly important in private use, but may be a key decision criterion in industrial use. Ultimately, the resulting longer maintenance intervals, shorter downtimes and higher machine cycle rates are for buyers and production planners powerful arguments.

Wear is a major problem, especially in applications in which contacts have to be inserted and released very often - and thus a decisive cost driver. If manufacturers of connection technology go to gold-plating solutions via contacts, the real need will be wear-free solutions clearly. Nobody would think of using gold for decoration alone. Even if the precious metal minimizes wear on the contacts, it cannot prevent the process. Applications with highly stressed connections, whether due to vibration or frequent closing and disconnecting of a connection, are therefore very suitable for a 'non-contact plug connection'. Robots with changing tools or rotary tables are examples of such applications.

Inductive couplers as contactless Connectors also impress with the freedom of movement that they allow the coupled components: for example in robots with rotating tools or in shafts from which sensor signals have to be sent. A contactless connection of the interface is a great advantage here. The slip ring as an alternative solution is established in the industry, but is little appreciated due to its wear and tear. Other applications of inductive couplers are electric suspension tracks, as they are often used in the automotive industry.

Inductive couplers without amplifiers

Turck poses with his NIC system now presents a family of inductive couplers that can master the challenges of the applications mentioned. The coupler sets each consist of a primary part on the control side and a secondary part on the sensor / actuator side of the connection. The NIC couplers transmit up to eight PNP switching signals and currents of up to 500 mA with a power of 12 W.

With that you can Sensors and actuators such as light curtains, piezo valves or smaller valve islands without the need for an additional amplifier on the secondary side. The primary parts are connected via a four-pin M12 connector or a 30 cm pigtail with a twelve-pin M12 connector. The secondary part has a 30 cm pigtail with a four-pole M12 connector. With a length of 80 mm, these couplers are among the most compact devices in the M30 housing.

Three variants with IO-Link

The inductive couplers can Connect as easily as a plug connection. A sensor or other signal source is connected to the secondary part (NICS-M30-IOL2P8-0,3-RKC4.4T); the primary part (NICP-M30-IOL2P8X-H1141) is positioned opposite and connected to a controller or a fieldbusdevice connected. This basic system can transmit two PNP switching signals without contact using a simple VB2 splitter behind the secondary coupler. The air interface can be up to 7 mm wide.

With the same system of primary and secondary coupler, signals from measuring IO-Link capable sensors transfer. The primary coupler only needs to be connected to an IO-Link master. On the secondary side, the user connects an IO-Link sensor or any other IO-Link-capable device. These combinations even allow bidirectional IO-Link communication including all IO-Link features such as parameterization and diagnostic data. If the I / O hub (TBIL-M1-16DIP) for 16 digital PNP inputs is connected on the secondary side, the system can also be used for identification, for example on interchangeable tools. The hub transmits a unique ID to the controller via IO-Link.

The third solution variant is used when more than two signals are to be transmitted: In this case, the IO-Link protocol is used to transmit up to eight switching signals used. Eight PNP signals can be transmitted with a primary and secondary part as well as an I / O hub. The twelve-pole primary coupler NICP-M30-8P8-0,3-RSC12T used here acts as an IO-Link master, the I / O hub as a slave. The primary part is connected to conventional PNP inputs of a fieldbus device using an M12-12-pin connector, so that the user does not even notice that the system is working internally with IO-Link technology.

Diagnosis with metal detection

In addition to the eight PNP sensor signals, the system provides two pins for Diagnostic signals to disposal. One signal indicates the presence of the secondary part, the second is used for 'Foreign Object Detection'. If there are foreign objects made of metal such as iron filings between the primary and secondary coupler and thus reduce the transmission quality, the error signal is sent to the controller so that the source of the error can be located directly. The primary coupler with 4-pin connection shows this diagnosis directly on site via status LEDs that are visible all around. If an IO-Link device is connected, the diagnostic data is also available in the controller.

Air interface and operational readiness

The inductive couplers achieve with one maximum air interface of 7 mm and 12 W power transmission, the greatest distance of all inductive couplers in this design. In addition, the devices are immune to vibrations and twisting of the primary and secondary parts. If the primary and secondary parts are positioned directly opposite each other at the nominal distance, a lateral offset of up to 5 mm is possible.

If the application makes a linear assembly of the two coupler parts impossible, the coupler systems also angled be assembled to each other. An angle of up to 5 ° is possible with a distance of 15 mm from one another. The signal does not break off immediately, even on steep slopes. The performance then becomes increasingly weaker, but can still be sufficient depending on the application.

In many applications with frequently changing connections, the standby time of the Abutment a role. The cycle times that can be run with the connection solution are a key decision criterion, especially for changing tool robot applications. The secondary part of the Turck coupler is ready for operation in less than 10 ms. The fixed primary part is permanently supplied anyway. With this start-up time, the system is one of the fastest on the market.

Of course, primary parts can be combined with any number of secondary parts and vice versa. With 'Dynamic Pairing' even complex applications with multiple primary and secondary parts can be solved problem-free.

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