The difference between motion control card and plc

In a nutshell, the difference between a motion control card and a PLC is that they are all controllers, and they are primarily responsible for motion axis control and input and output signal control in an industrial automation system. So, what is the difference between motion control card and PLC?

(1) PLC: The primary function is to logically control the switching value,


It also has simple motion control (linear track control), calculation, data processing and other functions. Generally, a touch screen is used as a man-machine interface. It has the advantages of reliable operation, simple programming, etc., but its motion control function is relatively simple, and it can not be satisfied with messy and precise occasions. During the operation of PLC, PLC+HMI is passed first, which leads to a great limitation on the visual interface. The biggest problem in the actual application process is the inability to complete the map function; now because of the vigorous development and application of machine vision, PLC and machine vision The combination is very difficult.


(2) Motion control card: It is a pulse-type motion control card with high integration and high reliability according to the PCI bus, which can control multiple stepper motors or servo motors. The motion control card is a high-function stepper/servo motor motion control card based on the PC bus, using a high-function microprocessor (such as DSP) and large-scale programmable equipment to complete the multi-axis harmony control of multiple servo motors. strong.


Why choose a motion control card?


The primary advantage of the motion control card is to use the powerful functions of the PC, such as the CAD function, machine vision function, high-end software programming, etc.; use the FPGA + DSP / ARM + DSP chip to complete high-precision motion control (multi-axis linear, circular arc) Interpolation, etc., motion follow-up, PWM control, etc.). Use high-end programming language C++, C#, VB, VB.net, labview and other programming languages for development; use the control card API interface function provided by the motion control card manufacturer in programming to complete the use of control card resources; the motion control card is sent The pulse method controls the servo or stepper driver to control the servo motor or stepper motor, and reads the input signal and controls the output signal to complete the control of the relay, sensor, cylinder and other IO.


It can be said that the motion control card is specially designed to solve the motor movement. It packs a lot of the details of the movement and leaves the user with more simplified interfaces and instructions. It will feel more convenient to use.