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Mission-critical & mobility

Antenna and Satellite Positioning

Precise azimuth and elevation tracking against wind load.

  • Typical axes3
  • NetworkEtherCAT · Modbus RTU
  • Control modeCSP · PP
  • Recommended seriesSDU3 · SM13 · SD-LP · SM06
Start Product Selection See the solution
01
The sector at a glance

Antenna and Satellite Positioning

Antenna and satellite positioners move the dish slowly but very precisely in azimuth and elevation. Wind load is a constant disturbance torque; the gearbox, absolute feedback and the brake decide how reliable the system is.

Three things that decide it on the shop floor

  1. 01

    Wind load

    The constant disturbance torque enters RMS and the brake choice.

  2. 02

    Backlash

    A low-backlash gearbox and the right ratio set accuracy.

  3. 03

    Absolute position

    A multi-turn absolute encoder removes homing in the field.

02
Our advantages

Why SMB TECHNICS?

One set, controller to cable

Controller, drive, motor, cable and connector arrive checked against each other; interface problems are solved at the desk, not on the shop floor.

Open standards

EtherCAT, CANopen, Modbus RTU, CODESYS and CiA 402: your machine is not tied to a closed ecosystem.

Engineer-to-engineer support

The same team from sizing to commissioning, on site and remotely.

Documented products

Manuals, CAD, ESI/EDS and firmware in the Document Centre; every product you choose comes with its documents.

Our application know-how for this sector
  • Holding and tracking tuning against wind load
  • Homing-free operation with multi-turn absolute encoders
  • Gearbox and backlash analysis
03
How we build the system

From control chain to commissioning, which product goes where

3.1

The control chain and the recommended products

How the machine is driven and the SMB products we choose for it.

Antenna and satellite positioners move the dish slowly but very precisely in azimuth and elevation. Wind load is a constant disturbance torque; the gearbox, absolute feedback and the brake decide how reliable the system is.

Tracking accuracy starts with holding an axis that the wind is pushing.

The control chain

The azimuth and elevation axes are driven by geared servo motors: SD-LP with SM10 at medium power, SDU3 with SM13 on large dishes. A MAT-LC CPU runs the tracking program; the absolute encoder keeps the position through a power loss.

What decides the result

  • Wind load. The constant disturbance torque enters the motor RMS torque and the brake choice.
  • Backlash and reduction. A low-backlash gearbox and the right ratio decide pointing accuracy.
  • Absolute position. A multi-turn absolute encoder removes homing in the field.

Sizing it

We need dish inertia, wind load, tracking speed and acceleration and the reduction ratio. The sizer confirms the motor.

Select the products for this machine Enter power, torque and network; compare compatible drives and motors and add them to your basket. Selection guide
3.2

The architecture: which product goes where

The boxes show the real products; click one to open the series.

EtherCAT Operator panel HMI-R9 Controller · CODESYS MAT-LC CPU I/O and sensors MAT-LC I/O · PNP / NPN Safe stop STO · brake Supply protection EMI · braking resistor Azimuth Drive · SDU3 CSP · EtherCAT Motor SM13 Elevation Drive · SDU3 CSP · EtherCAT Motor SM13 Polarisation Drive · SD-LP PP · Modbus RTU Motor SM06
  • EtherCAT
  • Ethernet
  • Power and feedback
  • Safety
Where this machine sits on the full SMB system map
CPU / PLC & Motion Control 3 series Expansion Rack / IO 10 products Ethernet switch Ethernet Operator Panels 3 series Sensors 3 series EtherCAT Servo Drives 17 products CANopen Servo Drives 6 products Modbus RTU Servo Drives 4 products Servo Motors 6 series Power and Encoder Cables 2 series CODESYS IEC 61131-3 PLCopen Motion Control CiA 402 Drive profile
EtherCAT Ethernet CANopen Modbus RTU Digital I/O Power and feedback

CPU / PLC & Motion Control

Expansion Rack / IO

Ethernet switch

The industrial switch distributes Ethernet traffic between the controller, the operator panel and the engineering PC. It is part of the architecture, not part of the SMB catalogue.

Operator Panels

Sensors

EtherCAT Servo Drives

CANopen Servo Drives

Modbus RTU Servo Drives

Servo Motors

Power and Encoder Cables

CODESYS

SMB controllers are programmed in CODESYS: the IEC 61131-3 languages, integrated motion and a single project covering both machine logic and the axes.

PLCopen

PLCopen Motion Control function blocks give every axis the same standard interface, so proven machine code carries over from one project to the next.

CiA 402

SMB servo drives implement the CiA 402 drive profile: the same state machine and the same operating modes over EtherCAT and over CANopen.

3.4

The build, step by step

From requirement to support; the SMB products and tools each step uses.

  1. 1

    Requirements and sizing

    The motion profile, load and cycle time of every axis are collected; torque, speed and inertia ratio are calculated per axis.

    • Peak and RMS torque, top speed
    • Load-to-motor inertia ratio and gearing
    • Supply: 220 V AC, 380 V AC or 24–70 V DC
    Sizer Selection guide
  2. 2

    Architecture and product choice

    The network (EtherCAT, CANopen, Modbus RTU), the controller and the drive–motor pair per axis are chosen; the safety and power side is drawn at this step.

    • EtherCAT for synchronised axes, CANopen for independent ones
    • Drive current covers the motor peak current
    • STO and braked motors come from the risk assessment
    SD-LP-04-D1-M SM13-DIN13-150B0 MAT-LC-C06 MAT-SDU3-MP-300-D3-E
  3. 3

    Cabinet, cabling and EMC

    Power and encoder cables run in separate ducts with their shields bonded 360°; an EMI filter goes at the drive input and a braking resistor where the load regenerates.

    • Flexible cable for the cable chain
    • Shields are earthed at both ends
    • The braking resistor is sized from the braking energy
    Power / Motor Cables Encoder Cables SMKP Power Connectors SMKE Encoder Connectors EMI Filters Braking Resistors
  4. 4

    Software and network

    In the CODESYS project the axes are defined with PLCopen blocks; the drives join the network through their ESI/EDS files and run the CiA 402 state machine.

    • IEC 61131-3 languages and PLCopen Motion Control
    • ESI (EtherCAT) and EDS (CANopen) in the Document Centre
    • EtherCAT coupler for remote I/O
    MAT-LC CodeSys CPU MAT-LC I/O Modules MAT-LC System Modules
    CODESYS FAQ Document centre
  5. 5

    Commissioning and tuning

    After wiring and direction checks the gains are tuned and the axes homed; the operator panel carries the machine recipes.

    • Direction, limit and emergency-stop tests
    • Speed and position loop gain tuning
    • Backing up the parameter sets
    HMI-R9 Series
    Commissioning FAQ Troubleshooting
  6. 6

    Support and lifecycle

    Alarm codes, spare parts, firmware and training, from the same engineering team.

    • Alarm-code and troubleshooting guides
    • Manual, CAD and firmware downloads
    • Remote and on-site support
    Technical support Document centre
3.5

The solution package: what comes with the product

Hardware, software, engineering and lifecycle.

02

Software and know-how

The CODESYS project, PLCopen motion blocks and know-how specific to this machine.

  • Holding and tracking tuning against wind load
  • Homing-free operation with multi-turn absolute encoders
  • Gearbox and backlash analysis
03

Engineering support

Sizing, architecture, commissioning and tuning, on site and remotely.

  • Motor and drive sizing per axis
  • System architecture and network choice
  • Commissioning, gain tuning and homing
04

Lifecycle

Manuals, ESI/EDS files, spare parts and training.

  • Document Centre: manuals, CAD, firmware
  • ESI and EDS files, parameter backups
  • Spare parts and user training
Engineering knowledge base

Commissioning this application

The topics engineers in this industry ask about most, each with answers, checklists and troubleshooting steps.

Servo commissioning & tuning Machine mechanics EtherCAT System design

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