The new ION DC brush drive is a fully enclosed, compact module that provides network connectivity, power amplification, and motion control. Housed in a rugged package, the drive is available for DC brush, brushless DC, and microstepping motors. It is suitable for a wide range of medical, scientific, semiconductor, industrial, robotic, and general automation applications. The ION DC brush drive, which is based on the manufacturer’s Magellan motion processor, is built to provide high-performance, low-cost distributed control in an asynchronous serial network (RS485) version or a CANBus network version. Engineers can connect up to 127 ION modules on a single network. The device provides an output of up to 15 A peak and 500 W at 56 V. Features include hardware performance trace, on-the-fly profile changes, and PLC-style inputs and outputs. ION can be programmed using Windows-based Pro-Motion software, which is said to allow simple drive set up. It can also be programmed via C-Motion and VB-Motion software libraries, which let users develop their own applications in C/C++ or Visual Basic. The ION drive is CE-marked and RoHS compliant. Pricing starts at $223 in OEM quantities.