Mathematics of Motion Control Profiles

Chuck Lewin, President & CEO of Performance Motion Devices, (download as PDF)

Motion control engineers spend hours optimizing tuning parameters for their servo-based motion controllers. But what if they are using step motors? And what if, no matter how much time they spend on tuning, they can’t get the performance they want?

The answer, for many systems, is to focus on the motion profile instead. In the past ten years advanced profiling features such as asymmetric acceleration/deceleration, 7-segment S-curve profiling, change-on-the-fly, and electronic camming have become widely available, providing engineers with new tools to make machines work faster and better. 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.