Danaher / Kollmorgen / Motion Engineering PCX/DSP C-Programmable Motion Controller

The PCX/DSP is a C-programmable motion controller implemented as a single-slot ISA card, delivering real-time servo and stepper control for up to 8 axes. Built around an Analog Devices 40 MHz DSP processor, it executes motion algorithms on-board while communicating with the host at up to 1.2 Mbytes/sec across the ISA bus. The architecture offloads real-time functions to dedicated hardware, freeing the host CPU for non-real-time tasks.

Technical Specifications

Processor: Analog Devices 40 MHz DSP

Axes Controlled: Up to 8 (servo or stepper)

Servo Output Resolution: 16-bit

Encoder Input: Up to 5 MHz

Step/Direction Output: 375 kHz

Analog Inputs: 8 channels, 12-bit resolution

ISA Bus Communication: Up to 1.2 Mbytes/sec

On-Board Motion Buffer: 600 frames maximum (20 words per frame)

User I/O: Up to 44 lines, configurable in groups of 8

Key Features

Motion profiles include trapezoidal, S-curve, parabolic, and custom trajectories

Second-order PID control with velocity, acceleration, and friction feed-forward

Optional post-PID notch filter for mechanical resonance suppression

Electronic gearing and camming algorithms

Dual-loop control architecture

Circular and linear interpolation

Dedicated limit, home, fault, and enable signals per axis

Software & Programming Development uses the Motion Developer's Kit (MDK) with over 250 MEI standard C function libraries. Supports Microsoft, Borland, Watcom, and Symantec compilers. Compatible with Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 3.X, DOS, VxWorks, Lynx/OS, pSOS, and QNX.

Compatibility & Integration ISA bus interface connects directly to PC-based systems. Configurable user I/O accommodates both motion control signals and discrete logic interfacing. Multi-compiler support enables integration into diverse development environments.