Posts Tagged ‘PID Control Loops’
May 10, 2011 -Control Station Expands Portfolio And Market Reach With New Joint Venture
Aware Technology Delivers Confidence in Production through Plant-Wide Condition Monitoring May 10, 2011 – Control Station today announced its participation in the formation of Aware Technology – a condition monitoring…
Read MoreMay 12, 2010 – Robert Rice Promoted to Vice President of Engineering with Launch of New Monitoring Solution
Robert Rice Promoted to Vice President of Engineering with Launch of New Monitoring Solution May 12, 2010 – Control Station announced that Robert C. Rice, PhD has been promoted to…
Read MoreHow Often Should PID Control Loops be Tuned?
When it comes to PID control loops and the right time for tuning practitioners generally fall into one of two camps. There is the group that adheres to a philosophy whereby PID control loops should be tuned more or less every year. That’s that. No debate. And there is another group that believes the answer for control loop tuning isn’t so cut and dried. From their perspective, it depends on the loop. It varies based on conditions. There is wisdom in both of these viewpoints.
Read MoreHow Do I Calculate Dead-Time?
Adults can learn a thing or two from children. That’s especially true when it comes to matters of time. Whereas adults view it as fashionable to show up to a social event 15 or more minutes late, children can’t wait to go and be a part of the action. When at a theme park adults typically their time strolling from place to place while children know that each minute of delay can cost hours longer in line. Simply put: When it comes to time every second matters. That viewpoint seems highly relevant to process control, control loop tuning, and calculating Dead-Time. Dead-Time is generally the model parameter that’s easiest to calculate when tuning a PID controller.
Read MoreWhy Does Control Loop Performance Change Over Time? What is Time Variant Behavior?
You visit a doctor annually for a physical examination. Your car gets an oil change every 3,000 miles. Your company assesses profit versus loss every 3 months. The list of routine “check ups” goes on and on. Why? Because such things are important and they change over time. It’s valuable both to appraise their relative health and to determine what adjustments may be necessary. As the foundation for regulatory control at most production facilities, PID control loops are no different.
Read MoreHow Do I Detect Valve Issues and Prevent Failures?
It’s generally known that the behavior of final control elements (FCEs) (valves, air handlers, etc.) change over time. Like most things the dynamics of FCEs are different from the time they’re first installed to the time they’re serviced and ultimately replaced. Sometimes the change in dynamic behavior is subtle. Other times the change is dramatic. Unfortunately that’s the nature of things, and that’s the primary reason why monitoring for valve issues is beneficial.
Read MoreHow Should Control Loop Performance Issues Be Prioritized?
There are many paths to Heaven or so the saying goes. With a growing array of automation technologies, such a philosophical expression can be applied to process control and plant-wide optimization. Whether the goal is focused on uptime, throughput, or quality, control loop monitoring and diagnostic solutions provide meaningful insight into a facility’s performance. The insights gained from these technologies enable practitioners to proactively address bothersome issues before they become costly problems, and lead somewhere other than Heaven.
Read MoreHow Do I Calculate Gain? What Is the Difference Between Process Gain and Controller Gain?
Among practitioners who tune PID control loops manually most note their focus on calculating the Gain. Process Gain is a model parameter whereas Controller Gain is a tuning parameter. The former describes important aspects of a given process’ dynamic behavior. The later contributes to the PID controller’s responsiveness to disturbances.
Read MoreWhy is Zeigler-Nichols the Wrong Choice for Your PID Controllers?
In 1909 Henry Ford famously offered customers any color of his Model T automobile as long as their choice was black. Ford’s “one size fits all” philosophy worked remarkably well at the turn of the 20th Century. For sure, the general population’s improved financial means, its appetite for mobility, and of course a dearth of alternative low-cost options played a role. In contrast, a “one size fits all” approach to PID controller tuning doesn’t work so well in today’s complex, multi-process production environments
Read MoreWhy Are Control Loops Operated in Manual Mode?
Why do manufacturers automate production? Why do they spend millions each year on new equipment and software? Those questions are pretty straight forward, and the answers seem obvious. Clearly automation allows manufacturers to improve the control of complex and business-critical processes. Surely automation reduces the cost of operation by enhancing production output while reducing production-related waste. But if that’s the case, then why do staff at automated facilities choose to operate production in any mode other than “auto”?
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