On Improved Commutation for Moving-Magnet Planar Actuators

The demand for high-precision and high-throughput motion control systems has increased significantly in recent years. The use of moving-magnet planar actuators (MMPAs) is gaining popularity due to their advantageous characteristics, such as complete environmental decoupling and reduction of stage mass. Nonetheless, model-based commutation techniques for MMPAs are compromised by misalignment between the mover and coil array and mismatch between the ideal electromagnetic model and the physical system, often leading to decreased system performance. To address this issue, a novel improved commutation approach is proposed in this letter, which is applicable for general planar motor applications, by means of dynamic regulation of the position dependence of the ideal model-based commutation algorithm, which allows for attenuation of magnetic misalignment, manufacturing inaccuracies and other unmodelled phenomena. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is validated through experiments using a state-of-the-art moving-magnet planar actuator prototype.