Summary

Newly developed motion ICs have made it easier to integrate amplifiers with motion controllers, thereby lowering cost and improving reliability. Knowing the tradeoffs in the build versus buy decision for motion control applications is important, and when making this decision, the overall cost of the system including maintainability and time to market should be considered.

A new type of controller IC, known as an Intelligent Motor Controller has been developed which is designed to dramatically simplify the design of motion control amplifiers. By integrating the functions of profile generation, current control, commutation, and switch signal timing generation, these ICs promise to increase the ease with which designers can integrate the control function and the amplification function, thereby reducing cabling and improving reliability.