Precision coordinated control of multi-axis gantry stages

High precision motion control of gantry stages has found numerous applications in the manufacturing industries where precise positioning is crucial. This paper presents a survey of existing control schemes as well as the development of enhanced schemes for the coordinated motion control of moving gantry stages. In particular, a robust control scheme is proposed which uses a feedback controller with a sliding mode to correct for the tracking error and to coordinate multiple axis to move in tandem. Simulation and experimental results will illustrate and compare the performance of the control schemes presented in the paper.