Smooth Voltage ramping for motor control

[c-swanholm]

First here is what I'm trying to accomplish. I have 2 motors I need to control. Think of it like an etch-a-sketch. One controls the vertical axis and the other horizontal. 

I need to smoothly go through the full range of motion of one motor and directly to the next and step them back down in the same order.

Motor1 0-5V, motor2 0-5V, motor1 5-0V, motor2 5-0V. 

If you think of the etch-a-sketch you would make a rectangle if that helps...

My first question is: For smooth transitions is it better to control voltage output or current output to the motor.

My second is: How do I modify the program to sequence these events and then reverse them?

[aputman]

I can't open your VI so I apologize if you already have this.

Search for a Ramp Pattern VI.  This will divide up the range between min and max into any number of points.  The first inclination is that more points will result in a smoother transition but that is not necessarily true, depending on your setup and if you're using an external power supply to drive the motors.  You will want to be conscious of the power supply and how long it takes for it to respond to a command. 

I don't think voltage or current control matters too much. 

[c-swanholm]

this is the one i found that im working with

[GerdW]

Hi c.,

open Quickdrop (Ctrl-space) and type "ramp" to find the Ramp function…

[c-swanholm]

all that comes up when i use the quick drop and type ramp is "color ramp"

[GerdW]

Hi C,

are you using a basic version of LabVIEW?

Otherwise you should find the function in the signal processing palette...

[c-swanholm]

labview 2014 sp1

[c-swanholm]

ok found it now