One-Dimensional Control System for a Linear Motor of a Two-Dimensional Nanopositioning Stage Using Commercial Control Hardware

A two-dimensional (2D) nanopositioning platform stage (NanoPla) is in development at the University of Zaragoza. To provide a long travel range, the actuators of the NanoPla are four Halbach linear motors. These motors present many advantages in precision engineering, and they are custom made for this application. In this work, a one-dimensional (1D) control strategy for positioning a Halbach linear motor has been developed, implemented, and experimentally validated. The chosen control hardware is a commercial Digital Motor Control (DMC) Kit from Texas Instruments that has been designed to control the torque or the rotational speed of rotative motors. Using a commercial control hardware facilitates the applicability of the developed control system. Nevertheless, it constrains the design, which needs to be adapted to the hardware and optimized. Firstly, a dynamic characterization of the linear motor has been performed. By leveraging the dynamic properties of the motor, a sensorless controller is proposed. Then, a closed-loop control strategy is developed. Finally, this control strategy is implemented in the control hardware. It was verified that the control system achieves the working requirements of the NanoPla. It is able to work in a range of 50 mm and perform a minimum incremental motion of 1 mu m

A Testpart for Interdisciplinary Analyses in Micro Production Engineering

In 2011, a round robin test was initiated within the group of CIRP Research Affiliates. The aim was to establish a platform for linking interdisciplinary research in order to share the expertise and experiences of participants all over the world. This paper introduces a testpart which has been designed to allow an analysis of different manufacturing technologies, simulation methods, machinery and metrology as well as process and production planning aspects. Current investigations are presented focusing on the machining and additive processes to produce the geometry, simulation approaches, machine analysis, and a comparison of measuring technologies. Challenges and limitations regarding the manufacturing and evaluation of the testpart features by the applied methods are discussed