Hexapod Control System Optimization

Hexapod is a new testing device for generation of six degrees of freedom movement in the Laboratory of applied mechanics. Its control system is built from National Instruments components and control application is created in the software LabVIEW. Using the real-time system to run this application requires special programming procedures because the precise timing of the control loop has to be observed. The hexapod motion control is based on its kinematic model. This model calculates the engine control signals according to the input required by motion information. Its output data files are used as input data for complex 3D motion control. Equations for the six basic motions (3-axis movement and 3-axis rotation) were obtained from the kinematic model, too. These equations are implemented directly in the control program for basic movement and rotation control. The control system, program design and program optimization are described in this paper.