Glossary · Automation fundamentals, platforms and components
Synchronization
Also known as: Sync
German: Synchronisation
In automation, synchronization is the coordination of processes, devices or axes so that they act in a defined time or position relationship: time synchronization of clocks, synchronized motion of axes (electronic gearing, cam), coordination of parallel program parts or consistency of replicated data.
- Automation components
In one sentence
Synchronization coordinates clocks, axes, programs or data so they act in a defined time or position relationship.
Example
The printing unit follows the web speed of the main drive through electronic gearing, synchronized to within a few micrometers.
How it applies
- Motion control: Axes follow a master axis through electronic gearing or cam profiles; the network must deliver setpoints deterministically with low Jitter.
- Clocks and data: Time synchronization (for example via PTP or NTP) aligns timestamps across devices. Parallel program parts need synchronization mechanisms to access shared data consistently.
- Documentation: Say which kind of synchronization is meant, since the word covers several concepts. Specify accuracy requirements as numbers and describe what happens when synchronization is lost, for example which axis stops first. Commissioning reports should record the achieved accuracy.
Synchronization vs. time synchronization
Time synchronization aligns clocks. Synchronization in general also covers motion coupling and coordination of program parts, which may or may not rely on synchronized clocks.