I-Corps: Reducing Oscillation of Systems Driven by Stepper Motors and On-Off Actuators

Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

Most industrial and aerospace systems must move in a specified way in order to accomplish desired tasks. When such systems include flexible components, motion results in vibration or oscillation. In these cases, achieving the desired output is challenging and may require additional energy usage or complex sensors. Also, many existing control solutions do not perform well when the system parameters or configurations change. This project seeks to commercialize a control solution for such systems driven by stepper motors. The proposed solution limits vibration caused by stepper motors, which improves efficiency, increases safety, and decreases energy consumption. Extensive customer discovery will be conducted in order to better understand the specific needs and performance requirements of flexible systems driven by stepper motors. Stepper motor actuation sequences can be designed to limit undesired vibration using input-shaping design techniques. The primary challenge encountered in designing input shapers for stepper motors and other on-off actuators is the inherent discretization in both command amplitude and time. Analytic input-shaped stepper motor profiles for short-distance motion commands for lightly-damped flexible systems have been developed. These commands can be made robust to modeling error in the natural frequency of the undesired vibratory mode. The potential for commercialization of this technology will be explored by interviewing potential customers in the aerospace, automotive, electronics, material handling, and process industries. Additional desired characteristics for the stepping motor control sequences and other application areas may be discovered during this process.