Delta Tau’s new laser galvanometer interface for its Power PMAC motion controllers simplifies and improves controls for laser scanning applications—including laser marking, PCB processing, micromachining and medical device manufacturing.
The interface is based on the laser industry’s XY2-100 communication standard. It allows a single motion controller running a unified program to take over every aspect of a laser scanning process.
The interface’s single-controller architecture makes for easier programming. Rather than writing, troubleshooting and maintaining several distinct chunks of controller code, the Power PMAC with XY2-100 interface needs just one program for all the positioning tasks. That same program also controls laser power on-the-fly through PMAC’s PWM outputs.
The combined control system executes a single motion program that positions the galvo mirrors in the laser scanner and the x-y position of a scanner or workpiece. Delta Tau’s spectral decomposition algorithms coordinate the galvo actuator’s high-frequency movements and the x-y positioning actuators. Speed improvements from this control system can be significant in applications that require frequent positioning of the laser scanning head in relation to the work piece.