Motion control systems are specifically meant for the purpose of controlling the motion of machines and products. It is done for having a machine perform a function on a product, synchronizing two components of a product, or more. It is an essential part of the semiconductor industry.

A motion control system is run by software that is operated by a home button. The use of software allows target positions to be commanded from there, as well as motion control profiles. Though the software allows for making things easier, it cannot accomplish all the tasks.

Motion controllers are the head of the motion control system. They take the given target positions and calculate each command move trajectory. They put out a ±10 V signal for servo motors, or step and direction pulses in the case of stepper motors. This is a vital process and often takes place on a digital signal processor on the board in order to prevent host-computer interference. The calculated trajectories are then used to determine the proper torque command to send to the motor amplifier, which are the actual cause for the motion.

The motion controller of a motion control system also manages supervisory control and closing the control loop. By directing each of these operations to occur on the board or in a real-time system, it ensures the high reliability, determinism, stability, and safety that is a necessity to create a functional motion control system.

Motors are also an integral part of a system. They come in many different shapes and sizes. They can be separated into stepper motors and servo motors, depending on the components. Regardless of what type, their main purpose is to turn electrical energy into mechanical energy, thus producing the torque necessary to move the target position.

The motion controller uses three elements to determine the time spent in the primary movement segments: the desired target position, maximum target velocity, and the acceleration values. This is called the motion trajectory, which refers to the motion controller board command signal output to the driver/amplifier that results in a motor or motion action that follows the profile.