SERCOS to link with ethernet for its third generation

Abstract

The SERCOS interface originated in the mid-1980s, as a result of the initiative of the German organisations ZVEI (Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association) and VDW (Automotive Industry Organisation). The industry consortium formed at that time designed an open interface to convert analogue drive technology to digital. The first generation of the SERCOS supported transfer rates of 2 and 4 Mbit/s and at first was primarily used for demanding machine tool applications. In 1995, it was accepted as IEC 61491. The second generation of the SERCOS followed in 1999. The transfer rate was increased to 8 and 16 Mbit/s and the service channel, used for the transfer of asynchronous data, was expanded. The SERCOS interface has revolutionised whole machine-building industries. Though its original concept was simply as a drive interface, today the SERCOS interface is known as a universal "motion control" interface. The SERCOS interface not only defines a real-time communication system, it specifies over 400 standardised parameters that describe the collaboration of controls and drives with semantics that cover any manufacturer's products. The SERCOS interest group will combine SERCOS interface mechanisms with the advantages of Ethernet structure.