The design features a multi-axis servo drive system using a fast serial interface for enhanced communication suitable for industrial automation and robotics.
Motion control is crucial in numerous industrial applications, particularly multi-axis motion control systems, such as factory automation and robotics. The evaluation of these multi-axis systems typically focuses on several key aspects: control performance, connectivity, ease of use, and cost. Modern multi-axis systems demand high resolution and bandwidth within each motor controller and rapid communication between the master and slave units. While servo inverters in these systems are commonly connected through Ethernet-based field bus systems and managed by a primary controller, Ethernet introduces high costs and complexity. The reference design from Texas Instruments (TI) illustrates a distributed multi-axis servo drive system utilizing a Fast Serial Interface (FSI) managed by C2000 real-time controllers.
The multi-axis servo drives are crucial in various sectors, including factory automation and robotics, where cost per axis, performance, and user-friendliness are pivotal. FSI offers a cost-effective and dependable high-speed communication solution with minimal jitter, capable of linking several C2000 units in a daisy-chain configuration. Each F28004x device functions as a real-time controller for a subordinate axis, managing the motor current control loop in this setup.
Industrial motor drives, factory automation, and control systems are used in various industrial settings. AC drive control modules play a crucial role in managing and optimizing these applications’ performance, ensuring efficient operation and integration into broader automation solutions.
The system’s features demonstrate advanced capabilities in high-speed communication, utilizing a fast serial interface (FSI) for real-time transmission of speed, position, and current command data across multiple devices. This setup facilitates effective device coordination, ensuring swift and reliable data handling. The system also implements position and velocity control loops for all slave axes managed by an F2838x-based master node, and a torque/current loop on each F28004x-based slave node, enhancing control precision.
A single F2838x unit can control up to 16 axes, with functionalities enabling simultaneous start and stop of each axis. This integration achieves high bandwidth and precise control of a distributed multi-axis motor drive system, making it ideal for complex industrial applications. The multi-core functionality of the F2838x is utilized to implement speed and position control, as well as data exchange with all slave nodes over FSI, while also managing main axis motor control and EtherCAT communication with PCs.
Additionally, the system includes an integrated SFRA tool on F28004x and F2838x platforms to support online tuning of speed and current loops, ensuring optimal performance. The development process incorporates incremental system builds, allowing for the verification of different software modules step-by-step to ensure reliability and functionality at each stage of integration.
TI has tested this reference design. It comes with a bill of materials (BOM), schematics, assembly drawing, printed circuit board (PCB) layout, and more. The company’s website has additional data about the reference design. To read more about this reference design, click here.
