Enzo Evers

Controlling thermal dynamics in precision motion systems – Challenges and opportunities in system identification

15:30 – 16:00

Impressive progress in advanced motion control of precision motion systems has led to a situation where thermally-induced deformations are a major error source. Highly precise movements with accuracy up to the nanometer range are essential in several industrial applications, e.g. the manipulation of the sample in an electron microscope and the manufacturing of integrated circuits. To meet the ever increasing demands to enhance the throughput and positioning accuracy of these mechatronic systems, thermal deformations must be analysed and compensated for through an appropriate thermo-mechanical model.

The aim of this presentation is to present experimental modelling techniques, i.e. system identification, that are tailored to thermal dynamics in precision motion systems. Identifying thermal systems is challenging due to large transients, large time scales, excitation signal limitations, large environmental disturbances, and non-linear behaviour. An approach for non-parametric identification is developed that is particularly suitable for thermal and mechanical aspects in mechatronic systems. Notably, prior knowledge of several domains can be directly specified, which shows to substantially improve the model accuracy. Additionally, the non-parametric model is used as a basis for parameter estimation of a grey-box model. This yields a high-fidelity model suitable for advanced control to enable increased throughput and accuracy in precision mechatronics.

Enzo Evers received the BSc degree (’14) and MSc degree (cum laude) (’16) in mechanical engineering from the Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. He is currently pursuing the PhD degree in the Control Systems Technology group within the department of Mechanical Engineering of the Eindhoven University of Technology. His research interest is centred on advanced identification and control for thermal-mechanical systems.