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Charlotte Stonestreet
Managing Editor |
Editor's Pick
iQ platform controls Europe's most powerful industrial laser
30 June 2014
At the heart of a new research and development cell at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Ansty, West Midlands, Europe's most powerful non-military laser incorporates a high-performance data acquisition and control system based on a Mitsubishi Electric iQ-controller

The iQ-controller controls the laser, a six-axis test piece handling robot and multiple points of distributed I/O over Profibus connections. It is integrated with a GOT touch screen HMI (Human Machine Interface), which displays comprehensive information on a large number of parameters.
"The iQ-controller is a powerful device able to handle enormous amounts of data," says Chris Nelms of Tec who built the control system. "As well as collecting performance data, it functions as a master controller for the whole cell, so is often processing multiple data streams simultaneously. We have also included a data logging module in the controller's backplane which backs-up real time data for added reliability."
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