Rockwell Automation SA3100 AutoMax Distributed Power System - Manual (Page 25)

Overview of the AutoMax Distributed Power System 2-5
2.2 DPS Hardware Components Common to All Drive
Types
There are two hardware components common to all Distributed Power drive systems:
the Universal Drive Controller (UDC) module in the AutoMax rack and the fiber-optic
link which is used to connect the UDC module to the Power Module Interface (PMI).
The PMI/Power Module hardware will vary depending on the drive type. The two
sections that follow describe the UDC module and the fiber-optic link in more detail.
2.2.1 Universal Drive Controller (UDC) Module
The Universal Drive Controller (UDC) module is a special high-speed slave processor
module located in the same rack as an AutoMax Processor. The RISC-based UDC
module contains non-volatile flash memory to store the operating systems for the UDC
module and the PMI, the drive configuration information, and the UDC tasks (one for
each drive). The UDC module also contains dual port memory which is used as a
storage buffer for exchanging data with the AutoMax Processors in the AutoMax rack.
The faceplate of the UDC module contains transmit and receive ports for two channels
of fiber-optic cable and four software-programmable D/A output ports for connection to
chart recorders or meters. LEDs on the faceplate indicate the status of the
communication link between the UDC module and the Power Module Interface as well
as UDC module and drive status.
2.2.2 Fiber-Optic Link
Fiber-optic cables provide a point-to-point serial link between the UDC module and the
Power Module Interface. This link allows the UDC module to transfer the PMI
operating system, configuration data, and command data to the PMI. The PMI in turn
sends feedback and status data to the UDC module.
Data is Manchester-encoded and transmitted over the fiber-optic links at a rate of 10M
bits per second. The fiber-optic cables are immune to electromagnetic interference
(EMI) and prevent ground loops.