Survey of nonlinear control methods to permanent magnet stepping motors

Abstract

Stepper motor is widely used in positioning applications due to its durability and high torque to inertia ratio as well as low cost and ability to be easily controlled with open-loop. Due to increased resolution of position control and improved stability of motion control, microstepping has drawn attention in industry since it was introduced in 1970s. With the increase in computational power and decrease in cost of embedded processors in recent years, drives and control systems for stepper motors have become more sophisticate than ever. Thus, closed-loop control methods have been developed to improve the performance of the stepper motors. In this paper, we review not only basic principles of conventional control methods used for stepper motors but also that of microstepping control. In addition, we surveyed recent development in nonlinear control methods applied to stepper motors. The nonlinear control methods are presented in the view of Lyapunov stability. Nonlinear torque disturbance observer, sliding mode control, and nonlinear phase compensation are also presented.