In the nearly 40 years since electronic control systems first became common features of industrial machines, controls theory has necessarily evolved to keep pace with machine design. Early on, systems ...

A temperature controller is an instrument that controls temperatures, often without extensive operator involvement. In a temperature controller system, the controller accepts a temperature sensor as ...

The tuning of proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control loops was an important change at HollyFrontier’s Navajo Refinery in Artesia, N.M. Its hands-on, “mandraulic” culture was no longer cutting ...

PID loops are a central component of modulating boiler control systems with applications ranging from basic steam header pressure control to cascading 3-element drum level control. A modern ...

Controlling hydraulic motion with precision involves understanding the fundamental difference between servo motors and hydraulic actuators. Electric motors generally respond linearly to control inputs ...

Stabilizing an inverted pendulum is a classic problem in control theory, and if you’ve ever taken a control systems class you might remember seeing pages full of differential equations and bode ...

A few weeks ago, I installed an automatic water heater switch to my bathroom, but it was a crude device. What I really want to do is design a universal heater driver. That basic idea can be adapted to ...