SimpleMotion motion control strategies

SimpleMotion V2 allows building single and multi-axis motion control applications in three different strategies. The table below summarizes the options.

Strategy	Implementation	Features	Cons	Need real-time host	Synchronized multi-axis motion
Parameter communication	Send setpoint commands to a target drive with simple "write parameter" commands	The easiest way to do point-to-point motion control Motion acceleration and velocity trajectories are produced by drive and can be set before motion is started Can modify any drive parameter on the fly Can be used together with other setpoint sources	No multi-axis synchronization, all axes operate in point-to-point mode individually	No	No
Buffered motion commands	List of positions are uploaded to drive command buffers and executed by drives based on clock	Allow synchronizing multiple axes and running arbitrary motion paths Motion acceleration and velocity profiles are generated by user application Drives syncronize clocks so motion stays in sync infinitely Typical setpoint update rates are 250 Hz to 1000 Hz for 1 to 4 axis systems Use of Setpoint smoothingCIS smoothens any motion above 250 Hz to silky smooth	Delay caused by buffering (0.1-1.0 sec buffering is recommended to avoid buffer underruns and stopping of motion) Update rate will reduce as more axes are added to the system (due to bus bandwidth limit)	No	Yes
Real-time motion commands	Position commands are sent to drives just like in parameter communication strategy, except in high update rate and from real-time host	Allow synchronizing multiple axes and running arbitrary motion paths Motion acceleration and velocity profiles are generated by user application Use of Setpoint smoothingCIS smoothens any motion above 250 Hz to silky smooth There is virtually no delay between command and action Higher scalability, can use multiple SimpleMotion buses to support large number of axis	Update rate will reduce as more axes are added to the system (due to bus bandwidth limit), however, see the scalability feature in Features column For smooth unterrupted motion, need hard real-time host, such as RTLinux, PLC or microcontroller platform. SimpleMotion V2 USB adapter may add uncertainty to timing, so use of other adapter may be necessary (PCI, PCI-E, PLC port or other peripheral, such as microcontroller USART).	Yes	Yes

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