A new control method cuts velocity disturbances to keep motion profiles smooth and precise. In a servosystem, velocity disturbances are a manifestation of how the system reacts to outside effects caused by various components. If all system components are perfect, there will be no velocity disturbances.

Many companies offer motors with built-in drive electronics. But a new series of motors from Intelligent Motion Systems, Marlborough, Conn., ups the ante by adding a complete motion controller.

Accurate motion controllers must be matched with the right hardware to get the most precision from machine tools. Precise electronic motion controllers are certainly important in today’s advanced manufacturing environment. But to get the most out of the controllers, companies need mechanical systems that can take full advantage of their instructions.

A motion controller performs four fundamental tasks: decoding position feedback, generating the commanded position or motion profile, closing the position loop, and compensating stability.

A single controller can now do the job of multiple dedicated controllers of the past. In machine control, motion control and automation must work in tandem.

The differences between the PLC and DCS architectures, functions, and environments have diminished during the last decade and a half. Only recently are PCs meeting the need for rugged specifications and high-level support.

A programmable automation controller (PAC) is an industrial controller that combines the functionality of a programmable logic controller (PLC) and a PC. Traditional PLC vendors use the term PAC to describe high-end systems. PC control companies do the same thing to explain industrial control platforms. As the technological gap gets smaller between PC and PLC, with PLCs using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and PC systems incorporating real-time operating systems, PACs make the differences even hazier between different control systems.

Log on to any industrial control discussion forum, and you will read passionate debates about the advantages and disadvantages of programmable logic controllers (PLCs) compared to PC-based control.

The control system must comply with FDA regulations before it can be in operation for products. In the real business world, validation professionals from pharmaceutical manufacturers typically lack real and practical development experience in relation to the development and use of programmable logic controller (PLC) application software.

This is the 40th anniversary of the beginning of the programmable logic controller (PLC). It started in 1968 and is a real-time device that acts as the modem to your process. It is not part of the computer.

The explosion of new products and growing customer expectations require greater flexibility, reliability, openness, and performance in manufacturing and production operations. To meet these demands, companies are turning to a new generation of performance-driven technologies.

For savvy machine builders, distributed motion control is fast becoming the architecture of choice because it uses fewer system components, improves motion accuracy and throughput, and improves diagnostics.

FPGAs shorten reaction times in motion controls. The quest for better throughput, faster changeover times, and less waste and downtimes has made machine-automation systems more complicated.

When learning to drive, we discover how to vary the car's acceleration and rate to smoothly achieve our desired speed. Likewise, new drivers find out how to easily control the car's direction by varying the extent and rate of their steering actions. Learning how to operate boats and airplanes requires developing similar skills. For control applications such as these, there is at any time—at all times—a specific desired value of the controlled variable.

Motion control systems are generally designed to move a load along a specified path as fast as possible without damaging the load or the mechanism driving it. Heavy loads are particularly difficult to control since inertia tends to force the load off course during high acceleration maneuvers.

To properly design a complex motion controller, you need to know what PID is all about. Proportional-integral-derivative, or PID, control is the most common type of controller used in industry.

On plant floors, a few microseconds can be the difference between precise motion control and substandard production. Although there is an obvious need for time synchronization in manufacturing, current solutions are inadequate because they rely on proprietary technology to reach the desired end, limiting plant integration and the availability of time-synchronization solutions and products.

PMD offers a motion control article called "Top 10 Tips - Things to Know About Motion Controllers" The 10 tips are 1) Carefully consider controller location, 2) Software architecture matters, 3) Organize your control problem, 4) Make sure your motion controller can handle worst-case scenarios, 5) Focus on relevant specifications, 6) Don't overestimate determinism needs, 7) Motion controllers aren't magicians, 8) Avoid common grounding, 9) Choose the right motion controller for the job, and 10) Know the warning signs of impending failure.

This article, entitled "Mathematics of Motion Control Profiles" delves into the many hours spent by motion control engineers in optimizing tuning parameters for their servo-based motion controllers. "But", Lewin asks, "what if they are using step motors and can't get the performance they are after?" The answer, he states, is to focus on the motion profile instead. Recently available new tools with advanced profiling features such as asymmetric acceleration/deceleration, 7-segment S-curve profiling, change-on-the-fly, and electronic camming have hit the scene to make machines work faster and more efficiently. This article will take you through the mathematics of motion profiles, discuss which profiles work best for which applications, and provide insights into how to “tune” your profile for maximum performance.

"Motion ICs Make Their Move" is an article that discusses choices in motion control electronics with a focus on cost savings. This can result in integrating functions that were previously separated. Emphasis is placed on recent developments in motion ICs that have made these new advancements possible.