Synchronization of Two Motion Control Axes Under Adaptive Feedforward Control

In this paper, motion synchronization of two d-c motors, or motion control axes, under adaptive feedforward control is considered. The adaptive feedforward control system for each axis consists of a proportional feedback controller, an adaptive disturbance compensator and an adaptive feedforward controller. If the two adaptive systems are left uncoupled, a disturbance input applied to one of the two axes will cause a motion error in the disturbed axis only, and the error becomes the synchronization error. To achieve a better synchronization, a coupling controller, which responds to the synchronization error, i.e., the difference between the two motion errors, is introduced. In this case, when a disturbance input is applied to one axis, the motion errors appear in the undisturbed axis as well as in the disturbed axis. The motion error in the undisturbed axis is introduced by the coupling controller and the adaptive feedforward controller. The adaptive synchronization problem is formulated and analyzed in the continuous time domain first, and then in the discrete time domain. Stability conditions are obtained. Effectiveness of the adaptive synchronization controller is demonstrated by simulation.