Products / MultiFlex PCI Series - Customization

At the heart of all MultiFlex PCI Series motion controllers is a powerful and flexible 64-bit floating-point CPU and high capacity FPGA which can be quickly adapted to a multitude of applications.

Not only can users re-assign the default functions of all I/O channels using our software-based I/O Configuration Utility, but the generous processing capacity, memory and I/O available on-board also allows PMC to add significant new features and performance enhancements to meet the unique needs of specialized OEM applications and deliver highly optimised solutions at a fraction of the cost of competing controllers.

New features can often be implemented in a matter of days at no extra cost to the customer. Some firmware and FPGA-level feature and performance enhancements PMC has provided to OEM customers include:

A Flexible and Powerful Motion Control Platform (click image to enlarge)

• Addition of extra PWM/servo and pulse/stepper channels
• 2x faster servo loop rates for high-end pick & place and PCB drilling machinery
• 4x faster trajectory calculation update rates for high-speed chip testers
• 18 programmable pulse channels for 18 axis stepper applications in the printing industry
• >1MHz Encoder Compare pulse rates for high-resolution optical scanners
• 10x point memory expansion for high-resolution data capture
• On-board G-code and M-code translator for precision CNC machining

The successful implementation of significant new features such as these requires not only ample processing power but also a wide variety of of I/O signals that can be readily reprogrammed to perform the required functions. The MultiFlex PCI Series controllers have the following hardware resources available for this purpose:

• Advanced 64-bit floating-point RISC CPU
• High-capacity customizable FPGA
• 32 MB DRAM memory on-board
• 4 analog ouptut channels (16 bit) (MultiFlex PCI 1440 models only)
• 8 buffered differential encoder receiver channels with hardware failure detection circuitry
• 20 high-current open-collector digital output channels (4-24 Volts)
• 16 bi-directional opto-isolated digital input channels (4-24 Volts)
• 16 digital TTL inputs
• 16 digital TTL outputs
• 8 analog input channels (14 bit) (optional)
• 28 Ground lines (analog and digital)
• 8 12V supply lines
• 40 5V supply lines
• Jumperless configuration of all I/O
• A total of 264 I/O signals - all conveniently available on industry-standard SCSI connectors
• The connector pin-outs are pin-compatible with PMC's MultiFlex ETH 1000 series controllers
• 32-bit processor expansion bus for custom daughtercards (optional)

This rich combination of I/O together with a 64-bit floating-point RISC processor and high-capacity FPGA has allowed us to provide customers with highly optimized solutions that offer unbeatable value. For example, the following matrix summarizes the possible 8-axis combinations that this platform can support - at a fraction of the cost of ordinary 8-axis controllers: