EasyTune Advanced Autotuning Tool for motion control

By Jerry Lin, Aerotech Taiwan

EasyTune is the most advanced autotuning tool available in a commercial motion controller. EasyTune was extensively tested and refined on different motion systems to reduce settling in order to enhanced your machine’s throughput. It allows non-control system users to complete system tuning quickly and easily.

When a user finds that the accuracy of a motion control application is low, such as unacceptable following error due to friction, low frequency disturbance, etc., they will normally first increase the servo loop gains to reduce the following error. Unfortunately, this ‘quick fix’ can result in excess gains that make the system unstable.

In general, autotuning tools do not fully optimise the system performance since they usually can only increase or decrease servo loop gains, but cannot automatically apply filters at resonant frequencies to ensure the system is stable and maximize the bandwidth. For this reason, control engineers use Bode plots to analyse system performance, stability, and to reduce following error – and this leads to our second conundrum. In order to analyse the system to resolve stability problems, control engineers need to have substantial control theory and control system experience. Normally equipment manufacturers will have control engineers on staff and they can tune systems in the factory before shipment. However, after machines are shipped, service engineers may take over and may face substantial tuning issues…