Entertainment Electric Actuation
ProCommander® X-Series controllers, as well as select Pro I/O™ modules are capable of directly controlling digital motor drivers through a variety of interfaces such as RS-485 (half/full duplex), CANopen, Network and more. These drivers not only provide realtime position information for the drive from Showforge® or Conductor timelines (16-bit/high update rate) but can map certain motor parameters to Weigl variables or direct PLC parsing for upstream monitoring and reporting (reporting and feedback may vary by manufacturer).
A unique console reporting system also allows human readable feedback information on certain motor drive types. Eliminate cabling and points of failures throughout your entertainment motion control system with Weigl Control.
Over 25 publicly available motors are currently available with new manufactures continually being added. If your chosen motor or drive is available, simply select it from Configurator and your motor ID maps to the Analog value throughout the Weigl ecosystem. Motors can additionally be mapped to DMX or Art-Net values and recognize end points, ease-in and most WEM | Script™ command structures.
Pro I/O™ CAN
CANOpen Master controller for 16-axis control through select motor drivers. Send position and gather feedback.
WEMLink™
Allow for motion profile data and automation process control information exchange with EtherCAT® systems.
Pro I/O™ Servo
16 switched PWM outputs and full duplex 485 driver based output for motors such as ROBOTIS/Dynamixel.
Communications Options
Choose from industry standards
Weigl controllers can connect with digitally controlled motors in a variety of methods. The simplest being of course 0-10vdc via the analog input on the motor drive. When it comes to precision control with real-time feedback of status, RS-485, CANOpen and industrial Ethernet protocols all provide additional control options.
Program movements directly in Showforge® or Conductor and export to any ProCommander® device for playback. Need PLC integration, AC drives or more? Use our WEM-Link modules to connect directly to the bus and integrate further with industrial control architecture.
PLC and Industrial Applications
Connect to EtherCAT systems and More
Complementary to the Pro I/O™ series, WEMLink allows next generation third-party integration to our award winning motion and interactive control architectures, while allowing seamless communication to industrial motion control architectures. Using standard networking or local WEM-Net connections, the WEMLink modules can provide easy, full resolution, low latency motion control expansion to PLCs without additional setup. Analog channels within Weigl pass through easily to PLC applications and hardware.
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- 100 channels of streaming motion data via native EtherCAT
- 100 variables can be routed to any ProCommander®
- Full Weigl logic integration
- Use familiar Weigl timeline software
- Minimum 100fps resolution (Showforge®/ Conductor)
- Extremely low latency (~1ms at 100fps – application dependent)
- Custom applications available, contact us for additional information
- Works with any ProCommander® device
- Works direct with Conductor / Showforge®
Realtime Digital Motor Control
Connect to HD-IDT, Dynamixel & other common drives
CANOpen Master & RS-485 Support
All Weigl X-series ProCommander® controllers include full support for direct control of over 25 motor types. Connect a variety of CANOpen, RS-485 or other motor drive types directly to an X-series controller and utilize software specific controls to your motors. Homing, position and other operational commands can be handled real-time, in our traditional timeline fashion with Showforge® and Conductor software and later downloaded for stand-alone playback.
Position and record movements in real-time direct to these supported motors, or overlay key movements in our unique interactive plot mode (Showforge® only), allowing for precise, high frame rate positioning between actuators.
Real-time motor feedback is available on select motors and managed homing, position and HMI support can be provided when supported motors are connected to a Pro I/O™ device or ProCommander® device in Pro I/O™ mode. Alcorn McBride also provides direct access to all motor parameters within their controllers and software for further monitoring and automation. Motor parameters can be passed through to EtherCAT® systems via the WEMLink gateway device.
ProCommander® X-Series units can also serve as ‘smart,’ Pro I/O™ devices when using digital motor drivers. Allow ASCII scripting and card playback to home motors and report status information, then transition to received commands from another ProCommander® or third party master device. It’s even possible to use the devices as a CAN Master, while accepting position commands from such entertainment standards as Art-Net, sACN, DMX and more.
Currently supported RS-485 devices:
- Nanotech
- Dynamixel MX106
- Dynamixel MX64
- Dynamixel Pro54
- Dynamixel Pro42
- Dynamixel MX-28
- Dynamixel Generic 10-Bit
- Dynamixel Generic 12-Bit
- Dynamixel XM430
- Applied Motion (485/CANOpen)
- IAI
- HiTEC (extended PWM Servo control)
If your desired motor type is not available via Weigl Configurator, contact us, or request a driver be added to the Weigl Digital Motor Library. Information contained herein is subject to change at any time without notice. Contact Weigl Control for additional information regarding digital motor driver library support).
Currently supported CAN/Ethernet devices:
- Nanotech Integrated Drives (PD4)
- Applied Motion (485/CANOpen)
- Kollmorgen (D700 series – AKD via absolute encoders only)
- Cool Muscle
- Harmonic Drive (Integrated Drive/IDT) via CANOpen)
- Harmonic Drive (DDP/DEP external drive via CANOpen)
- IAI
- Maxon
- Copley
- Elmo
- Exlar (Tritex II)
- Festo
- EtherCAT® via WEMLink
Not all devices support full functionality in all modes. Some limitations apply. Showforge® or Conductor or required for full resolution. Designed to be used with X-Series controllers or select motors via Pro I/O™ CAN. Interactive plot mode only available for Showforge®.
Quick Start Guides
Many of the motors seen here are or were originally designed to be used with industrial control applications and in more rigid environments. Weigl makes these powerful motors easy and fast to setup and control in real-time, many with full feedback and position information being passed through to local Weigl WEM | Script™ logic or upstream systems.
Examples of many CANOpen motor setup guides can be found here:
- Copley Drives
- Elmo Drives
- Exlar Drive (Tritex II)
- Harmonic Drive (DDP/DEP)
- Kollmorgen Drives
- Maxon Drives
- Nanotech Drives
Additionally, Weigl has a strong partnership with ROBOTIS and provides extended support to help new users get started quickly. Below are direct links for both MacOS (Showforge®) and PC setup (Conductor).
