Glossary · System coordination, integration and orchestration
Axis coordination
Also known as: multi-axis coordination, coordinated motion
German: Achskoordination
In motion control, axis coordination is the synchronized control of two or more drive axes so that their positions, velocities or accelerations follow a common motion profile, for example in electronic gearing, camming or interpolated path motion.
- System integration
In one sentence
Axis coordination synchronizes several drive axes so they follow a common motion profile, as in electronic gearing, camming or path interpolation.
Example
A flying saw couples its carriage axis to the extruder conveyor by electronic gearing, cuts while moving at the same speed and then returns.
How it applies
- Engineering: Coordinated axes need a shared time base and deterministic communication; drive buses such as EtherCAT use a Distributed clock for this. Define master and slave axes and the behavior when one axis faults.
- Commissioning: Tune each axis first, then the coupling. Record following errors and synchronization tolerances as part of the commissioning evidence.
- Safety: Stopping coordinated axes needs attention: if axes stop with different decelerations, the coupling may be lost and parts may collide. The stopping behavior belongs in the risk assessment and in the design of the stop functions.
- Documentation: Manuals should describe the coupling modes, how to re-reference axes after a fault and which parameters must not be changed without re-commissioning.