Motion project “Ball-on-Plate” — control of a sphere on a touch panel

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Project goal

As part of a term paper, students from ABBTS (ABB Technikerschule) completed a Ball-on-platesystem. The aim was to hold a sphere exactly in the center on a glass touch panel and to move around various figures. The technical challenge lay in precise, fast and at the same time stable control of the movement axis.

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Solution used

Three were used Cyltronic IO-Link electric cylinder type CTC-060-0100-K5. The cylinders adjusted the inclination of the plate along the X, Y and Z axes. They were controlled via a Beckhoff controller with IO-Link master.

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Pain Points without Cyltronic

Without the Cyltronic solution, the following challenges would have existed:

• Mechanical in-house designs with stepper motors would have resulted in play, vibrations and inadequate controllability.

• Higher design and software costs due to individual components such as motor, controller and spindle as well as components in the control cabinet.

• Inadequate dynamics and slow response speed of classic drives without position feedback and real-time parameterization or a closed control loop.

• Long start-up times, as external controllers, gateways or additional software would have been required.

• Not really plug & play, as IO-Link is often not directly integrated into conventional drives or can only be integrated via detours.

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Highlights & benefits with Cyltronic

• All-in-one actuator: The integrated servo drive with controller and spindle in a compact housing — without additional control cabinet requirements and real-time parameterization, for less engineering effort.
• Quick integration: With IO-Link, the connection to Beckhoff was achieved in a short time.
• High response speed: The cylinders were so fast that they had to be throttled by the software.

• Stable, precise movement: No overswing, no vibrations — the ball could be held exactly and moved dynamically — ideal for demanding motion projects.

• Excellent support: Students' questions were answered quickly. Because we believe that this creates trust that lasts.

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conclusion

The application impressively demonstrates that Cyltronic cylinders are not only relevant for industrial series machines — but also offer advantages for complex, control-demanding tasks in research and development. The project has demonstrated how outstanding results can be achieved through reduced complexity, high dynamics and simple integration — with minimal effort.

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The data sheet for the base cylinder and the various versions is here to find.

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contact

Could that be the solution for your project? We would be happy to advise you, please contact us either

‍Phone 052 551 23 10 or make an appointment directly

a meeting at this Hubspot link.