Self-regulating systems with feedback loops, i.e., the routing back of the output of a system to its input, have existed since antiquity and have since become an integral part of modern technology.

Fan control is an important aspect of system architecture. Though often left as a secondary activity, its implementation has significant effects. Customer response can be immediate to factors such as ...

Well designed conventional PID controllers using Ziegler-Nichols method are having large overshoot and settling time. Significant research work has been carried out to improve the performance of ...

In my previous column, I showed bode plots for different types of transfer functions. I also touched on the basic principles of closed loop systems. As a refresher, the gain crossover frequency ...

For the PDF version of this article, click here. More than 80% of the motors bought each year continue to be low-cost single-phase ac motors. Because these motors are not very efficient when ...

Every plant in the process industry most likely has several control loops that do not perform well. Although there are many factors that may negatively affect control loop performance, a few of these ...

Withclosed loop speed control, the fan controller ensures that the fan isrunning at the desired speed by measuring the actual speed and adjustingthe duty cycle accordingly. Here the host specifies the ...

If you’ve ever tried to tune a PID system, you have probably encountered equal parts overwhelming math and black magic folk wisdom. Or maybe you just let the autotune take over. If you really want to ...

When you think about highly-precise actuators, stepper motors probably aren’t the first device that comes to mind. However, as [Diffraction Limited]’s sub-micron capable micro-manipulator shows, they ...