Excellent motion control, advanced detection and deterministic connectivity make intelligent manufacturing possible

Intelligent motion control is the core building block of intelligent manufacturing, enabling highly flexible and efficient manufacturing. Intelligent motion control combines precise feedback, advanced perception, high-performance control and seamless connectivity technologies to deliver deterministic motion solutions.

Motion control solutions have evolved from basic on/off fixed-speed motors to complex multi-axis servo drive solutions in robotics. The need to provide higher levels of performance and autonomy in intelligent manufacturing has made automation technology increasingly complex, which has facilitated the development and evolution of related technologies.

Trends in intelligent motion control

Intelligent motion control is being driven by four key growth drivers: reduced energy consumption, agile production, and digital transformation, as well as the shift to new services-based business models based on reduced downtime and increased asset utilization in smart manufacturing.

Reduce energy consumption

Motor systems consume nearly 70% of the electricity consumed by the industry. Smart motion solutions are and will continue to dramatically reduce energy consumption by enabling more and more applications to move from fixed-speed motors to high-efficiency motors and variable speed drives, driven in part by energy efficiency regulations.

Agile production

As the industry continues to adapt to consumer needs and changing buyer behavior, there is a need to deliver more customization and faster turnaround times through agile production based on reconfigurable production lines. Agile production increases resilience in the event of disruption and can respond more quickly to changing customer needs.

Digital transformation

As motion assets are networked to share data in real time, it is now easier to access motion data and insights from advanced sensing. This data can be analyzed with powerful cloud computing and artificial intelligence to optimize manufacturing processes and monitor the current health of assets across the facility.

New business model

Smart motion applications are integrating condition monitoring capabilities to monitor the health of assets in real time, eliminating unplanned downtime and increasing productivity and asset utilization. This creates new business model opportunities for deployed assets to provide predictive maintenance through service-based contracts.