Motion Control Selection Guide
PrintOverview
National Instruments offers a variety of motion control options to suit your application needs. Your motion controller can be based on a real-time operating system (RTOS), digital signal processor (DSP) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The selection guide below will help you choose your motion controller, drive, stage and software.
Table of Contents
Step 1: Choose Motion Controller Technology (RTOS, DSP, FPGA)
By Specifications:
 | RTOS-based Motion Control | DSP-based Motion Control | FPGA-based Motion Control |
| Development Time | Better | Best | Good |
| Development Tools | NI LabVIEW Real-Time, NI LabVIEW Control Design and Simulation Toolkit, NI SoftMotion Development Module for LabVIEW | NI Motion Assistant, NI LabVIEW for Windows, NI LabVIEW Real-Time, NI LabWindows/CVI, Visual Basic, Visual C++ | NI LabVIEW Real-Time, NI LabVIEW FPGA, NI SoftMotion Development Module for LabVIEW |
| Operating Systems | LabVIEW Real-Time (ETS, RTX) | Windows, LabVIEW Real-Time (ETS), VxWorks, MacOS X, Linux | LabVIEW Real-Time |
| Typical Update Rate from Host | 1 millisecond | 10 milliseconds | 1 millisecond |
| Typical Servo Control Loop Update Rate | 1 millisecond | 62 microseconds | 5 microseconds |
| Control Algorithm | Enhanced PID, Custom using LabVIEW Control Design and Simulation Toolkit | Enhanced PID (Feedforward, Velocity Feedback, Dual-loop, Stiction Compensation) | Enhanced PID, Model-Free Adaptive Control (Cybosoft), Custom using LabVIEW FPGA |
| Supported Hardware Platforms | PCI, Single Board Computer, PXI, Compact FieldPoint, CompactRIO | PCI, PXI | CompactRIO, PCI, PXI |
| Example Applications | Research, Prototyping machines | Laser, semiconductor, biomedical, packaging | Semiconductor, biomedical, MEMS |
By Advanced Features:
| RTOS-based Motion Control | DSP-based Motion Control | FPGA-based Motion Control |
| Smart Contouring for High-Speed Profiling / Scanning | No | Yes | No |
| Teach Pendant/Joystick Control | No | Yes | No |
| High-Speed I/O Synchronization with Captures, Breakpoints, RTSI | No | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced Step Generation for Jitter-Free Velocity Profile | No | Yes | No |
| Pixels to Motion in a Single Environment for Vision Guided Motion | Yes | Yes | No |
| Soft Motion and Control Design Integration for Custom Control | Yes | No | Yes |
| FPGA-Based Motion Control for 200 kHz Servo Update Rates | No | No | Yes |
| Interactive Prototyping and Conversion to LabVIEW VIs or C code | No | Yes | No |
| High-Performance I/O | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced Feedback Techniques | No | Yes | Yes |
Step 2: Select Specific Modules for Motion Control
For RTOS-based Controllers:
| RTOS-based Controllers | PCI / PXI with M Series | Compact FieldPoint | CompactRIO |
| Typical Servo Control Loop Update Rate | 1 millisecond / axis | 5 milliseconds / axis | 5 milliseconds / axis |
| Density | 2 axes / slot | 4 axes / 2 slots | 4 axes / 2 slots |
| Modules | NI SoftMotion Run-Time License, NI 6221 | NI SoftMotion Run-Time License, cFP-AIO-610, cFP-QUAD-510 | NI SoftMotion Run-Time License, cRIO-9423, cRIO-9263 |
For DSP-based Controllers:
| DSP-based Controllers | PCI / PXI with 733x Stepper | PCI / PXI with 734x Full Featured Stepper / Servo | PCI / PXI with 735x High Performance Stepper / Servo |
| Typical Servo Control Loop Update Rate | N/A | 62.5 microseconds / 1 axis | 62.5 microseconds / 2 axes |
| Density | 4 axes / slot | 4 axes / slot | 8 axes / slot |
| Modules | NI 7332, NI 7334 | NI 7342, NI 7344 | NI 7352, NI 7354, NI 7356, NI 7358 |
For FPGA-based Controllers:
| FPGA-based Controllers | CompactRIO | PCI / PXI with R Series |
| Typical Servo Control Loop Update Rate | 5 microseconds / axis | 5 microseconds / axis |
| Density | 2 axes / 1M gate FPGA 6 axes / 3M gate FPGA | 2 axes / slot |
| Modules | NI SoftMotion Run-Time License, cRIO-9423, cRIO-9263 | NI SoftMotion Run-Time License, NI 7831R |
Step 3: Select Drives
For Stepper:
| Stepper | Max current per phase | |
| <= 1.4 A | > 1.4 A |
| 2-phase, 2-axes | MID-7602 Stepper Drive | UMI-7772 to connect to third party drives |
| 2-phase, 4-axes | MID-7604 Stepper Drive | UMI-7774 to connect to third party drives |
| 5-phase | UMI-7772/4 to connect to third party drives | UMI-7772/4 to connect to third party drives |
For DC Servo:
| DC Servo | Continuous / Peak Current | |
| <= 5A / 10A | > 5A / 10A |
| Brushed, 2-axes | MID-7652 Servo Drive | UMI-7772 to connect to third party drives |
| Brushed, 4-axes | MID-7654 Servo Drive | UMI-7774 to connect to third party drives |
| Brushless | UMI-7772/4 to connect to third party drives | UMI-7772/4 to connect to third party drives |
Third Party Drive Advisor
Step 4: Select Stages
Stage Advisor
Step 5: Select Software
By Operating System:
| Windows | LabVIEW Real-Time ETS | VxWorks | Linux | MacOS X | QNX |
| Driver | NI-Motion | NI-Motion | NI Driver Development Kit or Driver from Sensing Systems | NI Driver Development Kit or Driver from Sensing Systems | NI Driver Development Kit or Driver from Sensing Systems | NI Driver Development Kit or Driver from Sensing Systems |
| Configuration | NI Measurement and Automation Explorer | NI Measurement and Automation Explorer | - | - | - | - |
| Prototyping | NI Motion Assistant | NI Motion Assistant | - | - | - | - |
| Development | NI LabVIEW for Windows, NI LabWindows/CVI, Visual Basic, Visual C++, Delphi | NI LabVIEW Real-Time | C | C | C | C |
By Motion Controller Type (RTOS, DSP, FPGA):
| RTOS-based Motion Control | DSP-based Motion Control | FPGA-based Motion Control |
| Development Time | Better | Best | Good |
| Development Tools | NI LabVIEW Real-Time, NI LabVIEW Control Design and Simulation Toolkit, NI SoftMotion Development Module for LabVIEW | NI Motion Assistant, NI LabVIEW for Windows, NI LabVIEW Real-Time, NI LabWindows/CVI, Visual Basic, Visual C++ | NI LabVIEW Real-Time, NI LabVIEW FPGA, NI SoftMotion Development Module for LabVIEW |
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