Celera Motion Launches PCB Design Work Platform For Robotics

Celera Motion, a business unit of Novanta Inc., today announced the launch of Summit Designer, a new tool that delivers standard market-ready printed circuit board designs, or PCBs, for robotic applications.

Celera Motion, headquartered in Bedford, Mass., is a provider of motion-control components and subsystems for OEMs serving a variety of medical and advanced industrial markets. Celera Motion said it offers precision encoders, motors and customized mechatronic solutions.

Summit Designer is an open-source PCB design library featuring a diverse offering of market-ready application-specific PCBs that are designed, supported, and updated by experts, the company claimed. It can be used to develop compact robot joints, multi-axis AGV/AMR systems, industrial end-effectors, and surgical robots, among many others, according to Celera Motion.

“Summit Designer allows developers to create an ideal application using tested and proven PCB Designs,” said Marc Vila, director of strategy and business development at Celera Motion. “This ingenious new platform cuts development time, decreases the chances of error, and reduces prototype iterations. That’s more important than ever as markets evolve faster and grow more competitive. Unexpected delays can be catastrophic to projects.”

Understanding Summit Designer

Summit Designer is easy to use, the company said. Every design is open-source and consists a complete, fully customizable, and fully documented Altium project.

Users only have to choose and add their desired modules to create a fully functional servo drive design for a market-ready robot. The options are designed to satisfy the most common requirements, such as type of connectors, communication protocols, safety functions and motor and encoder specifications, the company said. Users then receive a fully scalable and modular download file, ready to edit at their convenience. Experts are available to answer questions and guide users.

The entire process takes just five simple steps:

1. Bring an idea for a new motion control application to the Summit Designer website at https://www.ingeniamc.com/summit-designer/
2. Check the PCB designs there to find the one that fits your needs.
3. Customize it with our in-depth application guide.
4. Talk to our experts and get support whenever needed.
5. Plug into a Summit Drive and go to market.

“Summit Designer was developed by top experts in motion control applications and robotics,” Vila added. “Our goal was to make the process as simple, flexible, and seamless as possible. Each project allows for high customization and provides all the necessary tools in a single download.”