Three-dimensional contour tracking control of a parallel manipulator: Comparison of two control techniques

In this paper a novel design for three-dimensional (3-D) contour controller is proposed. This design relies on dynamics projection to the moving Frenet-Serret frame defined for each point on reference trajectory. Contour controller consists of independent joint controller and additional sliding mode controller, added as corrective term. Control task is defined as contour tracking with constant tangential velocity. Contour controller was compared with independent joint controller designed as acceleration controller with first order disturbance observer. Reference trajectory is generated using time based spline approximation to provide smooth reference trajectory. Experimental results showed significant improvement that contour controller provides over independent joint control with relatively high velocity references.