Motion Control and Motor Drives

cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

What modules are recommended for new development? (Everything online is "not recommended for new development")

Solved!
Go to solution

I was looking through the available modules and drives online today, and all of the Softmotion hardware is listed as "Mature", and many devices have a Last Order Date of 6/30/2020 (for example, the motor drive modules, integrated stepper motors, and stepper/servo drives).

 

I don't see any new devices. NI says that they do not recommend "Mature" devices for new development, but there aren't any "Active" motion control devices anywhere on NI's website. The 74xx's are now totally obsolete as well. I can't find anything PXI relating to motion control *at all*.

 

What is the current state of SoftMotion? Does NI still plan on doing motion control? Is it just the dedicated devices that are going away? Do we need to just use dedicated digital I/O devices for step and direction, allowing the built-in FPGA and RT processor to do the actual motion control work?

 

I have two projects coming up that both need some degree of motion control, and I don't want to pitch a new project that uses cRIO cards I can't buy after June.

Message 1 of 11
(4,664 Views)

I didn't notice the situation. It's surprised us and we would have a same concern.

As BertMcMahan said, I'd also like to know the load map.

Certified LabVIEW Developer
There are only two ways to tell somebody thanks: Kudos and Marked Solutions

GCentral
0 Kudos
Message 2 of 11
(4,639 Views)

Hello, In their obsolescence notice, NI states, "Unfortunately NI does not have a direct replacement for the PXI and PCI motion boards.  Please contact NI about other possibilities." (https://www.ni.com/en-us/support/documentation/supplemental/17/obsolescence-planning-for-several-leg...). You could try contacting NI for support with replacements.

 

Another option is to purchase the motion control devices you need for your system from a reseller.

Purchasing Agent for Apex Waves
Apex Waves
0 Kudos
Message 3 of 11
(4,609 Views)

@Nichole wrote:

Hello, In their obsolescence notice, NI states, "Unfortunately NI does not have a direct replacement for the PXI and PCI motion boards.  Please contact NI about other possibilities." (https://www.ni.com/en-us/support/documentation/supplemental/17/obsolescence-planning-for-several-leg...). You could try contacting NI for support with replacements.

 

Another option is to purchase the motion control devices you need for your system from a reseller.


The obsolescence notice is for the old NI-Motion 74xx plug-in motion controller boards, which were replaced by the Softmotion devices, and are totally unavailable and no longer supported past NI Motion 2018.

 

Unfortunately, the Softmotion dedicated devices seem to be past their Active status as well, though there has been no obsolescence notice or any other documentation that I've seen.

 

You can run the Softmotion programs with simple digital and analog I/O (I've done it) so you don't *have* to have the dedicated motion card devices, but the fact that ALL of them, AND the servo controllers from Kollmorgen, are listed as "not for new designs" makes me worried that Softmotion is going away altogether. If that's the case, I won't use it for my new designs coming up.

0 Kudos
Message 4 of 11
(4,601 Views)
Solution
Accepted by topic author BertMcMahan

Update for those reading this: I spoke with NI support and they told me that NI is not planning on making replacements for these devices, and that they indeed to not recommend starting brand new designs based on this platform. They did tell me that they have reached out to existing customers already to help them transition, but if you're like me and have no existing systems you should not start new projects using this hardware as it will not be replaced when it reaches End of Life.

Message 5 of 11
(4,560 Views)

Hi Bert, thanks for sharing the information!!

It surprises us but we understood the situation : )

Certified LabVIEW Developer
There are only two ways to tell somebody thanks: Kudos and Marked Solutions

GCentral
0 Kudos
Message 6 of 11
(4,551 Views)

I was surprised too. For what it's worth, I did clear it with NI that I could report what I did (that they're not replacing those modules). The agent I spoke with acknowledged the website wasn't super clear on it, but that they'd been reaching out manually to their existing motion control customers and trying to work through it.

 

On that note, if anyone has any suggestions for some solid stepper and/or servo drives with good LabVIEW support, I'll be in the market for one soon 😉

Message 7 of 11
(4,549 Views)

Some years ago I used drivers from :

for which LV drivers exist.

 

Now, I generally use drivers from Infranor with a CANopen LV driver I wrote myself.

Message 8 of 11
(4,538 Views)

Hi guys,

 

Honestly this is a gap we see in NI's portfolio ... motion control is an essential part of any automated test system.  However, our company has been working on solutions to fill this gap.  For PC-based motion control, we offer USB (4-axes) or Ethernet (12-axes) solutions, all with LabVIEW drivers.  For sbRIO-based motion control, we also have a modular design (GECO) that can go up to 16-axes.  Feel free to check it out. 

 

Product: http://www.wpc.com.tw/36939212051.html

Specs: http://www.wpc.com.tw/uploads/2/5/6/6/25663802/wpc-mcx-h-m_manual_r8b.pdf

 

WPC is a NI alliance partner based in Taiwan, we will be setting up our English website soon.  Let me know if you need more info, and I will be happy to provide.

 

-Jason

WPC Systems

Message 9 of 11
(4,219 Views)

Hi Jason_130, thank you so much for letting us know the information.

Currently, I don't have a project which uses Motion Control but your information is very helpful.

 

I have one question. Does WPC offer the product to all over the world?

United States, Europa, Japan....?

Certified LabVIEW Developer
There are only two ways to tell somebody thanks: Kudos and Marked Solutions

GCentral
0 Kudos
Message 10 of 11
(4,207 Views)