An Excel Motion Profile Optimization (MoPO) Tool for 1-DOF Mechatronic Systems

Repetitive positioning applications are of significant importance in industrial machinery. The electric actuators driving these movements account for a substantial portion of worldwide energy usage. Therefore, it is valuable to consider optimizing the point-to-point movements of these 1-DOF mechanisms. In this context, motion profile optimization is a cost-effective solution, allowing for more energy-efficient machines without additional hardware investments. The state-of-the-art contains several valuable optimization algorithms to reduce energy usage, resulting in torque savings up to \(45.4\%\) . However, these methods rely on specific software which might require expertise and additional license investments. The latter hinders the adoption of motion profile optimization in many companies’ engineering workflow. After surveying 36 machine builders, it became clear that only \(11\%\) of them confirmed having in-depth expertise to perform motion profile optimizations. Therefore, an exclusively Excel-based Motion Profile Optimization (MoPO) tool is introduced which is able to achieve identical savings as commercial optimization software such as MATLAB. After proposing the techniques, \(74.1 \%\) of the machine builders rate the applicability as good or very good.