Laser Distance Sensor Servo Following Application

Hello Everyone.

I need some advice on how to control a servo drive with a laser displacement sensor (SICK or Keyence). There will be an X and Z servo axis used to control our equipment to pass over a product to be printed on. As the X axis moves in the positive direction, the laser displacement sensor will be used to make sure there is a gap between the printer and the product by adjusting the Z axis. The height can vary from 5 to 10mm as the X-Axis motion traverses over the product so tracking the height and adjusting the height dynamically will be critically important. Maximum speed of the X axis would be 20 in/sec

My controller is an AB Controllogix. Was thinging of using a Kinetix 300 or 350.

If it needs to be accurate use one of the better AB servo rather than the "component" class servo.

If you look at the specifications they will tell you the accuracy of each model of servo.

Thanks for the reply alan_505. Yes accuracy is a must. The component class servo drives support analog and PTO control. Some of the larger class drives like Kinetix 5500 don’t.

What I am having trouble trying to figure out is how to control the servo to respond to the different height measurement in the Z direction as the other axis moves in the X direction.

My application is very similar to how a CNC plasma table uses a stepper motor or servo to Keep the cutting head a certain distance above the steel and adjust on the fly during the cutting process. I need my Kinetix servo to follow exactly what the laser sensor is reading and maintain a set point distance above our product.

If my laser sensor has an analog output I could wire it directly to the Kinetix 350 or 300. My question is this the best approach? Or Could I continously run a MAM instruction and every time it completes read the laser sensor for position and then run the MAM again.

Not enough information.
Do the parts change each time so the elevation as a function of x always change or are the parts and elevations the same?
How far ahead is the laser measuring z?
What is the fastest rate of change in z as a function of x?
Some sort of gearing or cam table would be best.
Do you know the chain rule? dz/dx*dx/dt = dz/dt.