Whitepaper | CODESYS® SoftMotion (1/2)

Whitepaper

CODESYS® SoftMotion
Turn your PLC into a motion controller, CNC, or robot controller.
CODESYS SoftMotion is an add-on component for the CODESYS Development System and is seamlessly integrated in the
IEC-61131-3 development interface.

With CODESYS SoftMotion, you use the available computing capacities of your PLC. Thanks to the integration and availability of logic and motion control
in one device with a single engineering interface, you save costs for additional hardware and engineering tools. At the same time, the integration into the
IEC 61131-3 interface reduces your engineering effort quite considerably. In addition, cabling and data exchange between logic and motion control are
greatly simplified. The data from the logic controller allows for an immediate and flexible response to process changes. At the same time, the entire PLC
infrastructure is at your disposal: User inputs via the machine or plant visualization can be used directly to adjust the movements. Positions or other motion
information can be exchanged with other network participants via OPC UA, and motion controllers can be conveniently managed in a cloud-based Industry
4.0 interface.

The CODESYS Motion CNC Robotics tools can be

licensed for various fields of application.
Three products are available:

ƒ CODESYS SoftMotion Light

for commanding single axes
ƒ CODESYS SoftMotion
for controlling single axes and synchronized movements,
such as master/slave applications with cam plates or
electronic gears
ƒ CODESYS SoftMotion CNC+Robotics
for coordinated multi-axis movements of CNC and
robotics applications. This product is an extension and
requires a license for CODESYS SoftMotion.

Available products of the SoftMotion range: What are the differences?

Feature/Product CODESYS CODESYS CODESYS

SoftMotion Light SoftMotion SoftMotion CNC+Robotics
Commanding single axis movements   
Synchronized multi-axis movements   
Commanding servo drives or stepper motors   
Position control possible in motion controller   
(optional) (optional)
Cam disks   
Electronic gears   
CNC applications   
Robotic applications   
Motion planning with special editors / configurators  CAM editor ƒ CNC editor
ƒ Configurator for axis groups
Available kinematics for coordinated movements   Numerous available
kinematics for typical
CNC and robot tasks
IEC 61131-3 function blocks (FBs) According to PLCopen Motion According to PLCopen Motion According to PLCopen Motion
Control Part 1 (excluding mas- Control Part 1 Control Part 1 and 4.
ter/slave function blocks) Additional FBs for kinematic
transformations
Portability of the application to different PLC systems   
Visualization templates for commissioning   

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 Whitepaper | CODESYS® SoftMotion (2/2)

Feature/Product CODESYS CODESYS CODESYS

SoftMotion Light SoftMotion SoftMotionCNC Robotics
Integrability of the function in   
compatible PLC systems Support of license container Support of license container Support of license container
required required required
Integrability of the function in   
CODESYS SoftPLC systems
Required CPU resources low high high /  very high
FPU required no recommended recommended
Required bus bandwidth / speed low high high
Supported fieldbus systems CANopen / EtherCAT (CiA-402) CANopen, EtherCAT, Sercos. CANopen, EtherCAT, Sercos.
Special drivers required, ad- Special drivers required, ad-
ditional support of CiA-402 ditional support of CiA-402
and SoE. and SoE.
Required real-time capabilities (PLC and fieldbus) low high high
Latency until new motion commands take effect medium very low; very low;
depending on configuration new command is started in new command is started in
and fieldbus the same PLC cycle the same PLC cycle
Supported drives Drives supporting CiA 402 Large and growing number of Large and growing number of
drivers for specific drives, plus drivers for specific drives, plus
drives that support CiA402 drives that support CiA402
Typical use cases Commanding multiple, ƒ Electronic gears ƒ CNC machines
independent axes ƒ Cam applications ƒ Pick & place applications
ƒ Placement machines with
tripod robots
ƒ Gantry / SCARA robots in
production
ƒ …
Typical PLC performance* ARM/Cortex ARM/Cortex, Cortex A8 with < 1GHz,
400 MHz, 16 MB RAM / 32 800 MHz, >32 MB RAM / Flash IPC with i5-CPU,
MB Flash 2 GHz, DualCore, 4 GB RAM
Number of axes for the above example > 16 axes > 8 to 16 axes up to 2 robots (Cortex A8) (6
coordinated axes each)
≤ 16 single axes
Typical cycle times for the example above 20 ms 1 - 8 ms 1 - 8 ms

* The specifications only provide a rough orientation. Especially for CODESYS SoftMotion and CODESYS SoftMotion CNC+Robotics, the required processor
performance depends on the type of motion and the number of calculated axes.

The "CNC" and "Robotics" functionalities: What are the differences?

Feature/Product CNC Robotics
Path accuracy very important PTP: not important
CP: important
Limitation of speed, acceleration, and jerk Dynamics of the axes results from Direct limitation of the axis dynamics
tool dynamics
Typical kinematics Portals Articulated arm robot, tripod, scara
Typical use cases Laser cutting, milling, application of adhesives Pick & Place
Programming movements G-code (DIN 66025) ƒ Programming the movements with
function blocks
ƒ PTP: Start and target point with via points
ƒ CP: Straight line segments and circular arcs
with overloops
Dynamic path changes (collision avoidance) Difficult to implement without stopping Very easy to program

CODESYS® is a registered trademark of 3S-CODESYS GmbH. Technical specifications are subject to change. Errors and omissions excepted. No reproduction
or distribution, in whole or in part, without prior permission. Note: Not all CODESYS features are available in all territories. For more information on geographic
restrictions, please contact support@[Link].

Last update: : 27.08.2021 | Technical specifications are subject to change. Errors and omissions excepted.