The application of proportional–integral–derivative–type fuzzy controller for synchronized XY motion gantry stage system

Gantry systems in which two linear motors are used to drive a single axis provide flexible and efficient solutions for a wide range of material handling applications. It is an important issue to find a way to drive the parallel stage to achieve a synchronous motion effectively and precisely. In this research, the proportional–integral–derivative–type fuzzy controller structure is presented for precision trajectory tracking control in synchronized XY motion gantry stage system. Three proportional–integral–derivative–type fuzzy controllers are designed for each axis, and the complete membership functions and rule table are developed to fulfill the better tracking capability. The controller parameters, which include the scaling factor of fuzzy rules and proportional–integral structures, are searched using the cross-mixing global artificial bee colony algorithm. The algorithm can optimize these parameters based on the integral of the time-weighted absolute error criterion. MATLAB system identification tool is used to find the equivalent coupled transfer functions of the gantry system. The proposed cross-mixing global artificial bee colony algorithm is utilized to offer the better convergence speed and avoid the local optimal solution in the searching process. The simulation results and experimental results on star and circle reference contours are presented to show that the proposed cross-mixing global artificial bee colony–based fuzzy controller indeed accomplish the better tracking performances in motion control application.