It’s not uncommon for process control discussions to focus on use of the PID to improve a loop’s ability to track Set Point. Oftentimes tweaks to controller tuning parameters either seek incremental reduction in Settling Time or strive to [...]
When someone jumps into a project without thinking things through we’ll often say that he or she took the “hard way”. While the easy way usually involves a little more thought at the start, it typically results in a [...]
By nature most people are reactive when it comes to dealing with life’s big expenditures. Think of happy occasions such as graduations and weddings. Then consider more somber milestones like retirement. By most accounts the average worker is wholly unprepared [...]
To no practitioner’s surprise, process control exists as a discipline because manufacturing is complex. It’s erratic and occasionally unpredictable. At many facilities it is highly hazardous. Variability – whether localized to a single process or reverberated throughout a plant [...]
Imagine it’s your first time flying in an airplane and the pilot casually asks you to take the control wheel during landing. While that scenario might make a blockbuster movie script, it’s not a practical recipe for success in [...]
Modeling is a time-tested approach for decoding a process’ dynamic behavior. By understanding how a process responds to change it’s possible to apply an appropriate and timely counter measure. Two common applications of modeling are 1) PID controller tuning, [...]
If you’re a parent, then chances are you’ve encountered this dilemma: It’s the day after your son or daughter’s birthday and you’re now faced with the job of assembling gifts provided by friends and family. You can either ‘wing [...]
Sometimes looking for the right answer can be difficult especially within the realm of process control. While it can be easy to identify solutions that satisfy some requirements it can often be a challenge to find options that meet [...]
As shared previously Cascade Control is an advanced application of Single Loop Control. Through the use of a secondary and faster PID control loop, practitioners can improve a given process’ ability to correct for known disturbances. Although it is [...]
While Cascade Control is generally considered an advanced control strategy, it is only marginally more complex to implement than Single Loop Control. More often than not it is applied to improve the performance of a slow process such as [...]