Synchronized motion control for process automation

The basic principles behind the alternative topologies for synchronized motion control are developed. A relative stiffness motion control in conjunction with a single reference command generator is proposed. The benefits of the proposed relative stiffness control algorithm are demonstrated theoretically and experimentally. The following conclusions are drawn. Dynamic stiffness is easily demonstrated by using state-feedback methods. The synchronized master command has no inherent relative stiffness to mimic hard, line-shafted connections. Master-slave control algorithm have one-half of the terms required to mimic hard, line-shafted connections. For systems possessing a high-inertia master, this provides very close to the desired attributes of the hard connections. However, command-trajectory-tracking performance may be degraded due to increased torque requirements. Relative stiffness control algorithms provide behavior analogous to that of hard, line-shafted connections. No compromise in command tracking performance is required for such control.<<ETX>>