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Machining & forming

Laser & Plasma Cutting

Contours that hold their speed at the corners, on a noise-proof system.

  • Typical axes4
  • NetworkEtherCAT
  • Control modeCSP · PP
  • Recommended seriesSDU3 · SMR · SD24-LP · SM06
Start Product Selection See the solution
01
The sector at a glance

Laser & Plasma Cutting

In laser and plasma cutting the gantry must follow the contour at speed, even at corners and despite electrical noise.

Three things that decide it on the shop floor

  1. 01

    Speed at corners

    A jerk-limited profile balances contour error against cutting time.

  2. 02

    Electrical noise

    Plasma ignition can disturb the encoder and network lines.

  3. 03

    High acceleration

    A low-inertia motor and the right inertia ratio set the dynamics.

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
  • Jerk-limited velocity profile and corner optimisation
  • EMC and shielding around plasma
  • Gantry sync and head-height following
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.

On laser and plasma cutting machines, cut quality depends on the gantry following the contour without losing speed, even at corners. Motion control balances speed against precision with acceleration and jerk limits.

In sheet cutting, speed, contour accuracy and a clean electrical environment have to meet in one machine.

The control chain

A CNC controller interpolates the contour; SDU3 or SD24-LP drives on EtherCAT move the gantry axes, and low-inertia SMR motors carry the high acceleration. The catalogue's Panel PC CNC controller offers that chain as one package.

What decides the result

  • Speed at the corner. A jerk-limited profile slows the machine at a corner without shaking it; the trade between contour error and cutting time is made here.
  • Noise on plasma. Plasma ignition is a strong source of electrical noise; shielded cable, a 360° shield connection and separating power from signal prevent encoder and network errors.
  • Gantry sync. A dual-motor X axis must be commanded in the same cycle; EtherCAT with Distributed Clocks does that.

Sizing it

We need the gantry and head mass, the top cutting and rapid speeds, the target acceleration and the transmission type. The sizer and the selection guide start there.

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 Panel PC CNC I/O and sensors MAT-LC I/O · PNP / NPN Safe stop STO · brake Supply protection EMI · braking resistor X gantry (dual motor) Drive · SDU3 CSP · EtherCAT Motor SMR Y axis Drive · SD24-LP CSP · EtherCAT Motor SMR Z / height Drive · SD24-LP CSP · EtherCAT Motor SM06 Shuttle table Drive · SDU3 PP · EtherCAT Motor SM13
  • 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
    SDCE0101-H MAT-SDU3-MP-300-D3-E MAT-SMR10-JS-D540S30-MT16ST23-200B0 MAT-PC12R-CS-CNC64-EX-32DI-32DO
  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.

01

Hardware

Controller, servo drive, motor, cable and connector: one set, checked to work together.

02

Software and know-how

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

  • Jerk-limited velocity profile and corner optimisation
  • EMC and shielding around plasma
  • Gantry sync and head-height following
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.

EtherCAT Cables and EMC Servo commissioning & tuning Machine mechanics

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