The growing need for higher precision and productivity in manufacturing industry has lead to an increased interest in computer numerical control (CNC) systems. It is well known fact that the cross-coupling controller (CCC) is an effective method for contouring applications. In this paper, a multi-axis contour error controller (CEC) based on a contour error vector using parametric curve interpolator is introduced. The contour error vector is a vector from the actual tool position to the nearest point on the desired path. The contour error vector is the closest error model to the contour error. The simulation results show that the CEC is more accurate than the conventional CCC for a biaxial motion system. In addition, the experimental results on 3-axis motion system show that the CEC is simply applied to 3-axis motions and contouring accuracy is significantly improved.
