Creating Custom Motion Control and Drive Electronics with an FPGA-Based COTS System

Complex machines in semiconductor, electronics, packaging, medical, biotech, and micro manufacturing often have tough performance requirements for motion control systems. When traditional programmable logic controller (PLC) or PC-based motion controllers fail to meet these requirements, machine builders turn to custom board development – a time-consuming and expensive process. Recent advances in embedded technologies have made it possible to use field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) platforms to not only meet those requirements, but also to get to market faster by using graphical system design. This white paper discusses the basic software and hardware architecture for creating your own FPGA-based motion control system and drive electronics with NI CompactRIO and LabVIEW.