Vector Control Strategy for Halbach Linear Motor Implemented in a Commercial Control Hardware

Halbach linear motors are selected as actuators in positioning stages because they present numerous advantages in precision engineering. These motors generate a horizontal and a vertical force. Whereas the horizontal force is used to perform the movement, the vertical force can be leveraged for the levitation of the moving part of the stage. This paper proposes a vector control strategy that enables the positioning of the motor while regulating the generated vertical force. In contrast to other research projects, this work implements the control strategy in a commercial control hardware. The use of commercial hardware facilitates the applicability and replication of the developed control strategy. The selected hardware is a generic Digital Motor Control Kit of Texas Instruments. The hardware implementation of the control strategy is analysed in detail in order to understand and optimize the control system. The developed control is first validated by simulation, where the error contributors are included. Then, an experimental validation is carried out. The results demonstrate that the control strategy enables the positioning of the motor along its complete operating range and the regulation of the vertical force when the motor is static, as well as while it is moving to a target position