New to Motor Control, Seeking best approach

[paris1_]

Hi...  I have an upcoming task where we want to have a LabVIEW based motor control applied to a round, rotatable table inside a coating chamber.  The table will be on the order of 20 inches in diameter, made of aluminum and I will guess that it might weigh around 10 pounds.  We will have four equally spaced quadrants where a silicon wafer will sit in each quadrant.  On command we want the table to move to one of four locations where it will hold for quite some time (minutes to hours) while that one wafer is exposed to coating material.  Then we will want it to move to the other three positions in a similar way.  We want to have feedback that the table is where we think it is and we want to be able to define and return to a "home" position when desired...   There is a possibility that we might also want small motors on each of the four individual stations, meaning we would add some planetary rotation capability for each quadrant while still having overall motion control of the larger 20" round platform..   I'm not yet sure of the desired rotation speed of the small planetary components. but let me guess at say from once per second to once per minute...  On the other side I can imagine a case where they might want these to truly "spin" at say 1000 rpm.  For the larger 20" table I would say that needs only to be able to move one quarter of a revolution in say 10 seconds but when it stops it needs to hold accurately...    

We will have a PC running LabVIEW controlling this and other features of the process...  Certainly a PCI backplane will be available but we have budget to also buy other interface chassis if that's what is recommended... It's a one time deal so we only need to build one system.  

I am seeking feedback on what's the best motor type, controller, interface, etc for this kind of application...  Your thoughts???   Any feedback will be much appreciated...  thanks.. bob...

[Michelle_N]

Hi Bob,

Here are a couple of links to get you started:

Configuring a Motion Control System

This is a good general intro to motion control and breaks down what NI provides in the way of Motion drives and controllers as well as the pros and cons of the different types of motors we support. 

NI Motion Hardware

This is a break down of all the hardware we sell.

http://www.ni.com/motion/

Please let me know if you have questions after looking through these links.

Message Edited by Michelle_B on 10-20-2008 02:35 PM

[AnalogKid2DigitalMan]

Argh- the website ate my previous post, I'll get back with you later

[AnalogKid2DigitalMan]

Is the chamber under a vacuum? If so you will probably need vacuum compatible equipment to prevent outgassing and contamination.
Is the chamber ran at extreme high or low temperatures, if so, something to consider in specifications of equipment.
Any extreme electrical conditions- possible from a plasma source or sputtering equipment- may require shielding to protect from EMI/RFI.
The 4 smaller units on top of the large turntable may present some cable management issues to prevent winding up as the large table rotates, or you may have to reverse the turntable 1 turn at the end of the cycle.

I have never dealt with coating equipment, but these may be items revelant for consideration in your application.

-AK2DM

[Bill_5335]

I have used an integrated stepper controller and motor from Animatics. The device is controlled via an RS232 port and has Labview drivers available. You will need an external 24 volt power supply for the motor/controller. A home sensor is built in.

Good Luck,

Bill