Tech Briefs Magazine - August 2024 - MD-4

When Is Precision Motion
Control the Right Choice?
F
or many engineers working in the automation space, programmable
logic controllers, industrial ethernet communication
networks, and sensors are common tools of the
trade. Those tools are used in motor control applications such
as controlling fans, pumps, and blowers using AC motors; controlling
process lines via torque and velocity control with
high-powered brushed DC motors; microstepping control for
precise applications using stepper motors; and controlling position,
velocity and/or torque with servo motors. Each technology
has its own benefits, and for the most part the world's
largest automation suppliers have an adequate solution no
matter what technology is required. However, there is also a set
of solutions aimed at a completely different level of motor
control: precision motion control.
Precision motion control solutions supply an even higher
level of motor control, often synchronized over several axes of
motion or motors. A common representation of precision motion
control is the control of a CNC milling machine, which
requires multiple axes of motion to move in complete synchronization
in order to machine parts out of raw materials.
However, precision motion control has a much broader appeal
than this and can be advantageous in a variety of applications.
Unlike the more general motion control associated with
factory automation, precision motion control uses higher-resolution
feedback and control devices with faster data
rates for servo and current-loop control to position with
high resolution, speed and/or accuracy. In a broad sense,
precision motion control solutions take special care to synchronize
commands to multiple motor drives or axes of
motion, either via high-performance communication buses
or multi-axis drive hardware.
Precision motion controllers also include complex mathematical
engines for calculating precise motor positions and
special programming constructs for integrating process-level
control with motion control. The technology and performance
improvements of these solutions have traditionally been reserved
for highest-end applications; however, that no longer
needs to be the case.
Many AC induction motors and brushed DC motors are being
offset by AC brushless and permanent magnet synchronous motors
(PMSM) due to their improved performance, increased efficiency,
and growing volume production. Also, new microcontrollers
now have the computational power to perform the required
calculations to enable precision motion control.
4
Motion Design, August 2024

Tech Briefs Magazine - August 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tech Briefs Magazine - August 2024

Tech Briefs Magazine - August 2024 - Intro
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