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IFAC-PapersOnLine 49-25 (2016) 229–234

Fault Tolerant CNC Motion Controller

∗ ∗∗ ∗∗∗
∗
J.Arm Z. Bradac P. Fiedler
Department of Control and Instrumentation, Faculty of
Electrical Engineering and Communication, Brno University of
Technology, Brno, Czech Republic (e-mail:
xarmja00@stud.feec.vutbr.cz)
∗∗
Department of Control and Instrumentation, Faculty of
Electrical Engineering and Communication, Brno University of
Technology, Brno, Czech Republic (e-mail:
bradac@feec.vutbr.cz)
∗∗∗
Department of Control and Instrumentation, Faculty of
Electrical Engineering and Communication, Brno University of
Technology, Brno, Czech Republic (e-mail:
fiedlerp@feec.vutbr.cz)

Abstract: The goal of this article is to present and discuss the main parts in designing a CNC
embedded motion controller. Firstly, usable motor and drivers are discussed. Then usable
control components are presented. About the software, the velocity motion profiles are
presented and discussed. Regarding the multi-axis control, some interpolation methods are
presented and compared. The practical architecture of the motion controller is discussed and
some approaches are compared. In the last part, some fault-tolerant techniques suitable for
the controller are discussed. A new approach of fault tolerant method is presented and
discussed.
© 2016, IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: CNC, motion control, velocity profile, S-curve, trapezoid, interpolation,

fault-tolerant, reliability

1. INTRODUCTION in the motion controller or computer, there are more

choices how to deal with motion errors but there is
Without computer numeric control machines, the current higher demand for control system resources. When
automation would not be so developed. CNC systems driver takes care about the feedback, the whole system
are used for every process that can be described as a is considered to do the right movement according to its
set of movements and operations, e.g. laser cutting, setting and con-trol signals from superior controller. The
milling or precise placement. Every CNC machine is a driver is then controlled via industrial bus like EtherCat,
system that consist of hardware, software and electrical CAN, ProfiNet or using raw step and direction signals.
part. Hardware such a linear conducts, screw-like rails, This system is worth in high-demand varying systems.
tool and motors are fitted to do job repeatedly under
certain conditions. Electrical part takes care about power
for motors, sig-nal transmissions and running control
system. Software part has to interpret user commands
and generate precise signals for motors. User
commands are described accord-ing to some standard
language like G-code or PLCopen. The heart of control
system is motion controller which controls motors
through drivers using sensors according to commands.

2. MOTORS AND DRIVERS

Motors are actuators of the system which convert input

electric power to mechanic power. Motors are not con-
trolled directly from signals of a control system but some
kind of driver is used. In the CNC world, two types of
mo-tors are used for making a precise movement -
stepper motors and AC synchronous motors.
AC synchronous motors are equiped with encoders which
gives an information about rotor position. This set is called
servomotor. Servomotors are controlled in closed loop
system using drivers. There two types of closed loop
system (see Fig. 1). If the encoder feedback is processed
Fig. 1. Closed loop system [Router Source (2011)]
Stepper motors are often used because of easier control
and lower price for the whole system. Stepper motors are
powered from drivers, i.e. amplifiers which does not have to
have positional feedback. The amplifier is usually controlled
via step and direction signals and the posi-tion is then
calculated in the control system using count
2405-8963 © 2016, IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Peer review under responsibility of International Federation of Automatic Control.
10.1016/j.ifacol.2016.12.039
230 J. Arm et al. / IFAC-PapersOnLine 49-25 (2016) 229–234

of steps in the step signal. This system is considered to 3.3 Exponential

do right movement when all mechanical forces are
expected and motor is dimensioned. This type of control The exponential motion profile minimizes jerk more then
is called open loop (Fig. 2). This system is worth in a S-curve therefore the tracking error is lesser. It is also
low-demand predictable systems. easier to implement. The equations are [Rymansaib et
al. (2013)] :
u = at
f (u) = f (t) −e
−u 3
=1 (3)
vmax
˙ ˙
f ( t)
f ( u) = = 3u2e−u3
αvmax
Exponential motion profile is on Fig. 3.

Fig. 2. Open loop system [Router Source (2011)]

3. MOTION PROFILES

Every CNC system consists of axis. Each axis is

physically moved by a motor. The motor can be in states
: standstill, accelerating, plateau, decelerating. Motor
torque is limited and is dependent on type of the motor
and its speed. Because of load, accelerating and
decelerating are the most tricky states. Firstly, Fig. 3. Exponential motion profile [Rymansaib et al.
acceleration is limited. Then during acceleration, some (2013)]
stroke can be created. Using stepper motors, higher
acceleration and strokes can lead to loss of steps which 3.4 S-curve
is undesired. If there is no acceleration profile, the loss
of step is unavoidable when the load is higher then the
This motion profile is considered to be sufficient to restrict
motor can handle. Some basic motion profiles are :
jerk. Jerk is derivative of acceleration. S-curve can be 3rd,
4th or 5th order. This algorithm is the most computational
3.1 Trapezoidal demanding because it has to be compute when to start de-
celerating and uses more mathematical operations. There
This motion profile is used mostly in PLC and when the is algorithms which uses less computational resources but
system has low resources and low torque requirements. it is less precise. The comparison of S-curve and trape-
The velocity is increasing linearly until it reaches plateau. zoidal motion profile is on Fig. 4.
The equations in discrete form are [Lewin (2007)] :
1
s(k + 1) = s(k) + v(k) + 2 a(k) (1)
v(k + 1) = v(k) + a(k)

3.2 Parabolic

Parabolic profile is closely related to S-curve profile. It

consumes a lot of computational power for calculation of
the deceleration start point. The equations in discrete Fig. 4. S-curve (1A) and trapezoidal (1B) motion profile
form are [Lewin (2007)] : [Lewin (2007)]
1 1
s(k + 1) = s(k) + v(k) + 2 a(k) − 6 J 4. MULTI-AXIS CONTROL
v(k + 1) = v(k) + a(k) − 1 (2)
2J Almost every CNC machine has more than one axis which has
a(k + 1) = a(k) + a(k) − J to cooperate together. Their position, velocity
 J. Arm et al. / IFAC-PapersOnLine 49-25 (2016) 229–234
and acceleration has to be synchronized. Here are some
of the interpolation algorithm. The main problems, which
every algorithm has to solve, are discretization of path
tra-jectory, reducing path tracking error, implementing
appro-priate motion profile, restricted computational
resources, etc.
4.1 Bressenham
This is one of the oldest algorithm which can be imple-
mented using only integer math. Thus it saves computa-
tional resources. This algorithm discretizes lines and
arcs on the points which are closest the true line or arc.
So it is optimal algorithm because it tries to minimize
path tracking error [Chiang (1994)]. The discretization of
a line can be seen on Fig. 5.
Fig. 5. Using Bressenham algorithm [Chiang (1994)]
4.2 DDA algorithm
Digital differential analyzer (DDA) algorithm uses lesser
computational resources than others and it can even run
on Atmega MCUs. This is used usually in low cost
automation. Algorithm is periodically executed. In every
period the registers are integrated. The output signal
consists of the overflows of the integrator. DDA solves
basically these equations [Desai (2015)]:
(4)
Pk = Pk−1 ± Pk
Qk = Qk−1 ± Pk
The DDA algorithm for linear interpolation is on Fig 6.
4.3 Spline interpolation
Spline interpolation is used when partitioning a curve
into lines is not sufficient. This interpolation solves prob-
lems with smoothness, the discontinuity of segmentation
and some transmission errors between CAD and CNC
sys-tems. On the other side, it has to face many
practical prob-lems such as implementing command for
cutting splines into G-code and the decision which spline
interpolation is sufficient to use [Quan (2009)].
B-spline This type of spline is described in CAD/CAM
theory as a cubic uniform B-spline and it is defined by :
j
3
Pi(t) =pi+j B − j, 3(t)
=0
where p are the control points and the Bj,3(t) are the 3rd-
degree B-spline functions [Quan (2009)].
231
Fig. 6. DDA algorithm for linear interpolation
NURBS The NURBS (Non-uniform rational B-spline)
curve interpolation technology is the key of open CNC. This
method tries to effectively reduce chord error. In or-der to
reduce impact of vibrations and strokes, the feedrate
fluctuation needs to be controlled so the fluctuation of ac-
celeration and jerk needs to be controlled. There are some
implementation variants : de Boor-Cox algorithm, basis
function algorithm and other developed algorithms that takes
lesser time. The basis function defines B-spline as [Sun
(2013)] :
Ni,k (u) = u − ui Ni,k−1(u)+ ui+k+1 − u Ni+1,k−1(u)
ui+k − ui ui+k+1 − ui+1
1u ∈ [ui; u i + 1]
Ni,k (u) = { 0
− (6)
otherwise
Others There are other algorithms based on spline
interpolation which try to make movement smoother,
reduce path tracking error and make the algorithm more
efficient, e.g. Bezier curve interpolation and cubic curve
interpolation.
4.4 Other solution
There are many other solutions developed by scientist
and enthusiasts. All interpolation algorithms are affected
by the motion profile which has an impact on a path
tracking error. One of the solution deals with it using dif-
ferent interpolation architecture. It uses rough and finest
interpolation algorithms which are switched between
[Kim (1995)] and [Lin and more (2012)].
(5) 5. CONTROL COMPONENTS
At present, the computational power is enough to control
the motion. The problem is to chose a balance between
used algorithm and price. The used algorithm is dependent
232 J. Arm et al. / IFAC-PapersOnLine 49-25 (2016) 229–234
on a platform power. Moreover, when reliability is
desired (see Chapter 6), the underlying platform and the
software has to be adapted. There are some categories
how the un-derlying platform could be made :
• PLC with appropriate modules
• custom embedded motion controller which can be
controlled by PC
• PC with appropriate PCI card or other interface
• specialized CNC embedded system with standard
HMI
PLC can control servo-drivers via industrial bus or spe-
cialized modules generating step and direction signals.
PLC is not suitable to control multi-axis systems like
milling machine. It can control each axis separately
using PLCopen standard or some other non-standard
interface. On the other hand, the superior PLC systems
can do linear interpolation with two or more axis.
Standalone PC with PCI card can be also used. PCI card
generates directly step and direction pulses, or implements
some industrial interface like EtherCAT. The computer has
to have more resources to handle GUI, motion control
equations, real-time signal generation and other processes.
On the PC, a real-time OS has to be installed and real-time
application has to be developed. Such system has high
computational power but has usually more problems about
meeting deadlines. This architecture uses e.g. MESA
company [Electronics (2016)].
Specialized CNC embedded system is compact system
developed for multi-axis 3D milling systems. The system
has usually special CNC based HMI and standard control
interface. This architecture is used on many industrial
machines e.g. from companies Siemens or Fanuc.
5.1 Embedded motion controller
Custom embedded motion controller is often used
because of its good performance and lower price than
other options with the same characteristics. Controller is
communicating with superior PC which takes care about
HMI or it is connected as a part of machine control
system. Motion controller generates usually step and
direction signals and its architecture can be :
Based on MCU All signals are generated and motion is
controlled by MCU. This solution has higher demands on
MCU resources but is good for hobby CNC machines. The
good performance versus price has MCU from STM32
family. Projects using this architecture are e.g. Smooth-
ieBoard or TinyG. When lower demand for motion speed
and precision is required, even MCU from AVR family can
be used. The main problem is to generate the precise step
signal by MCU when it is busy by another operations.
Based on MCU+FPGA This solution uses advan-
tages of MCU, which is high computational power, and
of FPGA, which is real-time signal control. Creating real-
time signal operations on FPGA relieves resources on
MCU and thus motion algorithm and path planning can
be more sophisticated. Projects using this architecture
are e.g. [Fei et al. (2011)] or [Bhatt and More (2014)].
Based on FPGA This architecture involves only stan-
dalone FPGA. In the FPGA, there is soft core proces-sor
which takes care about communication with superior
system and do all necessary computes. This is almost
the same approach as architecture MCU+FPGA but all
is in one component and well synchronized. There are
some approaches which implements all computation
directly in FPGA without built-in soft core, e.g. [Shao and
Sun (2006)] or [Gao et al. (2014)].
Distributed CNC system In this multi-axis system, each axis
is controlled by its MCU or FPGA. All control com-ponents
are connected to the master. Each sub-component reduces
computational requirements to master. But there is a big
problem with motion coordination therefore with
synchronization when more axis has to cooperate together.
The buffers has to be made and motion com-mands has to
be triggered according to common precise time [Saputra et
al. (2014)].
6. RELIABILITY
A CNC motion controller generates hardware signals for
stepper motor drivers, i.e. amplifiers which powers di-
rectly motor coils. There is a requirement for fast and
pre-cise motor motion. All motion parameters are set by
a de-veloper. Because motors move usually with
dangerous tools like a rotating mill, high reliabilty of the
controller is important.
Errors, which can occur in the system, can be divided
into system errors and transient errors. The system
errors represent errors coming from a bad hardware
design, bad software design or software bugs. These
faults has to be detected and eliminated at the
development phase. The transient errors are usually
caused by SEU (Single Event Upset) which causes
single-bit errors for products up to 65 nm and possibly
multi-bit errors for 40 nm. Some errors can be caused by
component malfunction which is declared as a
probability of failure of the component. Only the category
of the transient faults can not be eliminated at the
development phase so they has to be detected as soon
as possible to raise a system reaction. The reaction can
be system reset, fault masking or system recombination.
There are several methods how to detect faults. The
most used is lock-step which compares output of two
simi-lar cores but this does not detect which core is
faulty. In contrast, TMR (Triple Modular Redundancy)
masks the faulty core using a voter of the correct output
from three cores. There are some approaches which are
trying to get the faulty core like in [Pham et al. (2012)]
but the faulty core recognition takes long time or so
called hot-standby system is created. When using FPGA
as a platform, the configuration memory can be tested
against its CRC image which discovers faulty bits like in
[Altera Corporation (2008)]. Single-bit memory faults are
automatically repaired when ECC (Error Checking and
Correcting) is used.
There are also some software fault detectors. The most used
is the watchdog that detects system hangs like infinity loop or
deadlock. On the other hand, its reaction is slow according to
its setting. There is some approach in [Zhu
 J. Arm et al. / IFAC-PapersOnLine 49-25 (2016) 229–234
et al. (2012)] that tries to lower the hang detector reaction
time. The architecture of a such system is on Fig. 7. For the
CNC motion controller, there is also suitable detector based
on detecting of value range exceeding.
The motion controller operates with signal frequencies up
to 200 kHz beside an internal clock. To lower influence of
EMI, it is suitable to keep shielding rules like monolithic
ground surface on PCB, separation of the signal and digital
ground, overall shielding connected to the ground, or keep-
ing a distance between devices in a case.
Besides, one of the main fault tolerant technique used in
safety-critical systems is time. All components and de-
vices are tested for a long time to detect all unpre-
dictable errors coming from non-complete knowledge of
de-vice behaviour in many situations. During this testing,
the reliability of each electrical part can be quantified
and some software bugs can be revealed. Currently, the
in-dustrial area is more consume so higher emphasis is
placed on safety. Safety is quantified by a probability of
fail-ures per hour and per demand. These values
determines the SIL (Safety Integrity Level) of a device
and of a ma-chine [Zezulka and Brad´aˇc (2003)].
Fig. 7. The architecture of system hang detector [Zhu et
al. (2012)]
6.1 New approach
There is an approach [Canham et al. (2003)] which detects
errors according to function values (see Fig. 8). A function
is created as a Cartesian product of two axis/variables
(input and output). This function is assumed to change
smoothly. A maximum monitored range is set at the train-
ing phase and if a value exceeds the range, an error will be
thrown. If an upper axis output value is changing against a
bottom input axis value a lot, the detector will be split and
the range will be lowered. The maximal width of the
monitored range is also defined.
Our approach uses the idea but uses different moni-tored
function and method. In principle, our monitor detects the
denied change of input/output value/variable over time. So
at the time of a value change is the change of a
value/variable tested and then restricted or permitted. In
case of restriction, an error is signaled and the vari-able
change is aborted, kept the last change value or set the
maximal change value. If an error is detected
233
in the middle of a complex CNC motion, keeping the last
change value is the best reaction because it minimizes the
error between estimated path and real path called the
chord error. As soon as the error is signaled, a recovery
algorithm has to set the last good context or rather re-
compute the variable again. The input variables in this re-
computation are considered to be alright. This idea (see
Fig. 9) is more suitable for CNC motion control system
because all output signals to axis have to be smooth.
This monitor is implemented in software but it is more
suitable to be implemented to a hardware device which
has lesser probability of failure. The same device can
also implement soft-limit monitor with slow-down
reaction be-fore the limit according to the current speed
and the max-imal deceleration.
It is obvious without testing that detected errors are er-
rors of bad value calculation generated from SEU, ALU
(Arithmetic-Logic Unit) fault, software bug or variable
memory malfunction. The change of a variable has to be
significant to overcome a monitor threshold. On the
other hand, it monitors directly the software output so
when an error of inappropriate motion outside
boundaries hap-pens, a finding fault can be searched in
hardware if monitor runs alright.
Fig. 8. Error detection principle using ranges [Canham et
al. (2003)]
7. FUTURE WORK
A deeper analysis of handled faults is planned. Some faults
can not be handled because of threshold. So the true
negative faults probability has to be evaluated. An analysis
of fault tolerant techniques combination can be also done.
8. CONCLUSION
The CNC motion controller is the heart of a CNC ma-chine.
It has to perform fast, accurate and precise motion signals.
To achieve this, the appropriate velocity profile in
combination with interpolation algorithm has to be im-
plemented. At the same time, it has to be reliable because
it operates with potentially dangerous tools. So some fault
tolerant techniques more than soft-limits and watchodgs
234 J. Arm et al. / IFAC-PapersOnLine 49-25 (2016) 229–234
Fig. 9. Principle of the detection of a wrong value change
should be implemented. Our approach should help to de-
tect some errors and mask them softly. The proposed
monitor is based on checking boundedness of the value
derivation. The balance between motion freedom and mo-
tion monitors has to be determined carefully.
Currently, the greatest challenge is to make a such path
planning algorithm which takes into account an interpola-
tion algorithm to achieve fast, smooth and accurate multi-
axis motion according to a designed curve. The second
challenge is to produce such motion controller at low cost.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by grant No. FEKT-S-14-2429
- “The research of new control methods, measurement
procedures and intelligent instruments in automation”,
which was funded by the Internal Grant Agency of Brno
University of Technology.
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