Introduction to Coordinated Motion Control

Coordinated motion control systems are widely used throughout the industrial sector. Their superior capabilities and ease of use are attractive to OEMs, although they are highly complex when viewed from the supplier’s standpoint. Despite their prevalence in the industrial sector, many don’t fully understand what constitutes coordinated motion control.

There’s a subtle distinction between motion control and coordinated motion control, regarding how different axes interact with each other. So what exactly is coordinated motion control and what’s it used for?

What is Coordinated Motion Control?

Coordinated motion control, by definition, is a motion control system with several axes moving in a synchronized way. In other words, each axis must adjust its motion based on the path of the others.

A motion control system with multiple axes does not necessarily use coordinated motion control. The key distinction lies in an individual axis’ ability to position itself based on the movement of other axes. For this reason, coordinated motion control systems must feature fast control loops and high-resolution feedback.

What is Coordinated Motion Control Used For?

Coordinated motion control systems are widely deployed in a factory setting, typically for process automation. They increase speed and productivity over manual or mechanical options.

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One example of a coordinated motion control system in a factory environment would be a robotic pick and place operation on a conveyor belt. Multiple forms of motion have to be synchronized simultaneously for the pick and place application to function properly.

In this example, there is a machine coordinate system, a part coordinate system and a world coordinate system to outline the work cell, part and factory floor parameters, respectively. Software systems command motion to each axis based on this data and adjust all axes for displacement to avoid errors.

This is just one example of a coordinated motion control system, however, most systems have the same goal: for different axes on automation systems to work harmoniously.

Coordinated motion control is a common technology in the industrial sector, yet many don’t fully understand this concept and confuse other multi-axis applications with coordinated motion control.