Generation of advanced torque feedforward in Smart Drive control system

This thesis project, carried out during an internship at the Line Control & Software Development Team of the company G.D S.p.A., focuses on performance analysis, validation and data collection of feedforward torque injection using the new CtrlX Drive drives equipped with an on-board PLC for simple task development. Feedforward torque injection on the drive via the machine's central IPC typically cannot be performed in a cycle period of less than 1ms. Furthermore, often when working with dual-axis drives, it is not possible to fall below 2ms. Due to the strategic position of the on-board PLC, these drives allow the torque to be calculated and injected via specific Idn parameters provided by the architecture, with much better execution times. In particular, the currently available firmware allows a cycle time of 1ms, but in the near future it is expected to improve up to 250us. The PLC software complies with the IEC 61131-3 standard, allowing applications to be developed using the ST language. The results were tested in the company's laboratory by injecting torque to the paper-cutting motor to form the collar of cigarette packets. Tests showed a strong validity of this solution, both in terms of the efficiency of the control action, as well as the reduction of the tracking error. In particular, the on-board drive PLC is not subject to the delays of the EtherCAT communication protocol and by acting on position, speed and commanded accelerations is able to react to asynchronous events more quickly. Furthermore, it allows the execution time of the axis control method on the central IPC to be reduced by approximately 50%, thus providing the opportunity to expand the number of axes and the complexity of the machine while maintaining the quality of performance.rror, when compared to the solution from the central IPC.