December 2025

NEWSLETTER

YEAR IN REVIEW

A message from CEO Steve Nylund

Most of what successful businesses do on a day-to-day basis consists of what a former Delta employee called blocking and tackling.  Of course, we love to do major product introductions (and we have some great ones in early development), but we also want to continue making incremental improvements that help our customers get more value out of Delta controllers. One of the following sections outlines the key firmware and software improvements introduced in 2025 that make Delta controllers more capable and friendlier to use.

We were thankful for a healthy increase in our motion sales in 2025, driven in part by increasing sales related to the new EtherCAT master capability on the RMC200, and a continued ramping of sales related to the replacement of the discontinued Rockwell Automation Allen-Bradley ControlLogix motion modules (1756-HYD02, 1756-M02AS, and 1756-M02AE).

IN THE NEWS

Motion Control Boosts Fence-Post Drilling Throughput

BKB Cedar Manufacturing transformed its decades-old manual fence-drilling process into a highly efficient, largely automated system using Delta Motion’s RMC controller. By pairing precise hydraulic control with new valves, sensors, and feedback, integrator MicroWest Design and PQ Systems increased production from 600 to more than 800 posts per shift while cutting labor in half, eliminating jams, and improving both safety and product quality, all without replacing the original machine.

Precision Motion Control Converts a Massive Crane Into an Efficient Asset

This article tells the story of how a massive port crane in Australia went from an unstable, swaying hazard to a precise, high performance machine through advanced motion control. Engineers used Delta Motion’s RMC75E controller and a custom algorithm inspired by Peter Nachtwey’s input shaping method to eliminate dangerous load swing, adapt to changing rope lengths and deliver near perfect control. The transformation was dramatic. A crane that once swayed violently now places heavy loads with accuracy, cuts unloading time and saves the port millions in potential damage and delays. If you want to see how smart engineering and the right controller can solve a physics problem that once seemed impossible, this is a fascinating read.

TECH TIPS

Why a Hydraulic Cylinder Extends Faster Than It Retracts

Recap of 2025 RMCTools Features

In 2025, RMCTools and RMC motion controllers received a significant number of updates, including both major feature additions and incremental improvements. Here are some of the key enhancements.

Connect RMCTools to an RMC through a ControlLogix or CompactLogix PLC over Ethernet using CIP bridging.

The positive and negative limits have been expanded for both position and pressure/force inputs:

• The Positive and Negative Travel Limits can now apply to the Actual Position.
• Overpressure and Overforce Limits can now apply to the Actual Pressure or Force.

It is now possible to send commands from expressions in user programs using the SEND_CMD and SEND_CMD_MULTI functions.

By default, the Consolas monospaced font is now used in the User Program, Program Trigger, and User Function editors. The font can be changed in Tools→Options→Programming.

Instead of writing _Axis[0].ActPos, you can now write MyAxisName.ActPos in Expressions.

Related features include:

• Convert existing _Axis[] tags to your user-defined axis name, in Programming Properties→Tag Names. 
• Choose which axis name tag type your project should use, in Programming Properties→Tag Names.
• When you change an axis name in Axis Definitions, all occurrences in User Programs, Program Triggers, and User Functions will automatically be updated.

• SDO: Communicate via SDO in user programs using the EtherCAT CoE SDO Read (123) and EtherCAT CoE SDO Write (124) commands 
• Spool Index: Added Spool Actual Value Index and Spool Actual Value for easy access to the spool actual position for troubleshooting.
• Velocity Offset: Added Velocity Offset Index and Velocity Offset Scale axis parameters for use by EtherCAT drives in CSP mode. Velocity Offset is used as a velocity feed forward for improved tracking accuracy.

Make any plot lines bold for easier analysis of complex plots. The selected plot line is bold for easier viewing. Use keyboard shortcuts and shortcut menus in the Plot Details window to turn the bold off and on.

You can now run an axis in simulate mode even though there is no Feature Key Loop available for it.

Automatically recovers the current project if Windows must restart RMCTools due to a Windows or application update or if RMCTools shuts down unexpectedly due to an application fault.

Added high DPI support to RMCTools. Icons and user interface elements have been updated to appear sharper on high-resolution displays.

UPCOMING TRADESHOWS & CONFERENCES

UPCOMING TRAINING OPTIONS

This two-day course (eight hours per day) is designed for beginners who want a solid foundation in motion control. You will work directly with real systems and learn the essentials of setting up and using RMC motion controllers in a practical, hands-on environment.

By the end of the course, you will have the knowledge and confidence to begin using RMC controllers in real applications. It is a fast and effective way to gain the skills you need to move your projects forward.

Topics covered in this course include:

• Basic Motion
• Plots
• Discrete I/O
• Running User Programs
• Creating User Programs
• Program Triggers

• Expressions
• Curves
• Pressure/Force Control
• Manual Tuning
• Tuning Wizard
• Troubleshooting

This three-day course (eight hours per day) provides an in-depth exploration into advanced motion control concepts, featuring hands-on breakout sessions with real, live hydraulic and electric systems.

Completion of this course will provide a deeper mastery of Delta Motion's RMC motion controllers and RMCTools software—unlocking advanced functions, fine-tuning precision control, and gaining hands-on experience that you can immediately apply to real-world applications.

Topics covered in this course include:

• Advanced position tuning
• Setting up a controller
• Pressure-force control & tuning
• Advanced programming techniques
• Overlapped & non-linear valves
• PLC communication

• Tuning for underdamped systems
• Gain scheduling
• Servo motor control & tuning
• Gearing & camming
• Curves
• And more

Prerequisites: Completion of RMCTools Technical Training