Position control of X–Y table mechanism using electro-rheological clutches

This paper presents the position control of moving table mechanism. A set of bi-directional type ER (electro-rheological) clutches are designed and manufactured to control the motion of moving table. By considering the dynamics of the proposed actuator, the governing equation of motion for the moving table mechanism is derived. A sliding mode controller is then formulated by treating the variation of the mass on the moving table as parameter uncertainty. Both position regulating and tracking control responses are provided in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control methodology.