VSS motion control for a laser-cutting machine

An advanced position-tracking control algorithm has been developed and appl ied to a CNC motion controller in a laser-cutting machine. The drive trains of the laser-cutting machine are composed of belt-drives. The elastic serv omechanism can be described by a two-mass system interconnected by a spring . Owing to the presence of elasticity, Friction and disturbances, the close d-loop performance using a conventional control approach is limited. Theref ore, the motion control algorithm is derived using the variable system stru cture control theory. It is shown that the proposed control effectively sup presses the mechanical vibrations and ensures compensation of the system un certainties. Thus, accurate position tracking is guaranteed. (C) 2001 Elsev ier Science Ltd. AII rights reserved.