Intelligent Precision Position Control of Elastic Drive Systems

The use of elastic transmission elements, such as timing belts or plastic lead screws, for precision position control applications is proposed in this paper. The characteristics of elastic systems are analyzed, and transmission elasticity and friction are identified as the main obstacles in obtaining high precision positioning. The development of a fuzzy-logic-based control system is described in detail. The experimental results obtained demonstrate the feasibility of such an approach in obtaining positioning accuracy better than 25 ??m.