Product Introduction
1040-0011 Revision 7
3 PRODUCT INTRODUCTION
3.1 SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
The SMC is a self-contained controller that provides advanced hardware and software control
technology to drive laser scanning systems. The Ethernet-connected SMC board is designed to permit
remote embedding and control of a scan head and laser system. It is capable of controlling two scan
heads with up to three motion axes each with concurrent laser timing control. It also provides
integrated synchronization I/O for connection to factory automation equipment.
Connection to a PC for job download and administrative control is made via Ethernet® network using
industry standard TCP/IP protocols. In addition to Ethernet connectivity, the SMC provides external
USB connections to support job file distribution via industry standard USB Flash drives. RS232 and
RS485 Serial I/O is also provided for, laser control, external automation control, and diagnostic
access.
In a typical installation, the SMC is a “smart controller” device, which can be installed remotely in a
laser scanning system. Positioning vectors are organized as packets which represent an entire job, or
sequential parts of a job. These packets are then sent from a networked PC to the SMC for local
processing. The SMC sequentially processes these vectors in real-time and sends them to the laser
steering galvo servos as digital signals. Alternatively, the job packets can be saved to FLASH memory
on the SMC and the loaded for execution from there.
There is no requirement to dedicate a full-time host PC to a laser scanning system, as the SMC can
process vectors while the PC is used for other purposes. In fact, one PC can support multiple SMC-
based scanning systems with no loss in performance. This is due to the large amount of buffer
memory available on the controller, the use of a separate supervisory processor on the controller to
handle network communication processing, and the complete off-loading of time-critical tasks to a
second real-time processor on the SMC.
Direct cabling for scan head communication to the SMC is possible for both XY2-100-based scan
heads and Novanta LightningTM II scan heads. Laser interfacing is done through a standard 0.1” 50-
To Next Page
Loading...
Need help?
General