Servo control loops are a core part in the control architecture of machine tools. Servo control loops manage acceleration, velocity and position of all the axes in a machine tool based on commands. The performance of servo control loops sets the basis for quality of production parts and cycle time reduction. First, this paper presents a general control architecture of machine tools and several control schemes in literature, which can be applicable to machine tools control; including Zero Phase Error Tracking Control (ZPETC) and Cross Coupling Control (CCC). After that, modern control strategies to mitigate the problem of high speed machining are reviewed. In high speed machining, high accelerations excite the machine structure up to high frequencies, thereby exciting the structure’s modes of vibration. These structural vibrations need to be damped if accurate positioning or trajectory following is required. Input shaping is an attractive option in dealing with structural vibrations. The advantages and drawbacks of using input shaping technique for machine tools are discussed in detail.
