Questions tagged [pid-controller]

A PID controller is a (closed) control loop feedback mechanism. It is used in industral control for proportional, integral and derivative feedback.

People at the Electronics stackexchange often ask about various ways to implement the PID controller itself, and ways to connect its output (a series of numbers), often using PWM and MOSFETs, to things a person may want to control -- heaters, motors, etc. There are discussions of windup and anti-windup, clipping, z-transforms, why scale-then-integrate is better than integrate-then-scale, etc.

People at the Robotics stackexchange typically assume you already have a PID implementation connected to some device, and ask about the subtleties of using it. Such as "loop tuning" -- ways of tuning and tweaking the Kp, Kd, Ki "constants", and the horrible things that go wrong when they aren't tuned right. How to deal with the fact that a PID for the elbow motor tuned perfectly when the shoulder is "down" isn't so perfect when the shoulder is "horizontal" or "up", or when the hand is empty vs. when the hand is holding a bowling ball, and ways to compensate. See http://robotics.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/pid

further reading

PID without a Ph.D.

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What is the advantage of a Z transform derived PID implemenation?

I've seen many PID articles, such as this, use a Z transform of the generic PID equation to derive some crazy difference equation which can then be implemented in software (or in this case an FPGA). My question is, what is the advantage to such an…
bt2
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How to learn PID Control?

I want to learn PID (Proportional–Integral–Derivative) control mainly for temperature. I would like to learn preferably through an easy project to do. Could you please recommend something which would take a few weeks to learn? Edit: I want to…
Daniel Grillo
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Yogurt on a PID controller

How do you change the tuning of a PID controller to deal with changing thermal properties? The project: I am making yogurt. It cultures at 110 deg F for about half a day; you put in milk and a little starter culture and get yogurt. Save a little for…
hildred
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Why do consumer ovens use thermostats instead of PID + PWM?

I measured the temp stability of my oven, and it's a really big swing of 10-15c in a saw tooth pattern. Aren't PI(D) controllers with variable output meant to dampen this type of oscillation? I imagine it would even make thermal recovery faster…
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How to use measured step response to tune control system

How does one use a measured step response to tune either a PID or convolution control scheme? Inspired by this answer*, I'm interested a more detailed explanation of how to implement a control system based on the measured step response. I would not…
tyblu
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PID algorithm: how to account for fast input value changes after a long delay

I am trying to implement a basic PID algorithm on an Arduino Leonardo to mix hot and cold tap water using servo-controlled valves. The goal is to hold the temperature as close to a setpoint as possible. Especially important is preventing the…
Ryan Griggs
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How to implement a self tuning PID-like Controller

I am trying to write a micro-controller program for controlling temperature in a system with the following characteristics: output can only be On or Off, with fixed cycle frequencies (~2-10 per hour) The plant is slow to respond (measurable changes…
MandoMando
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Motor fader PID control

I'm trying to control a motorized fader (linear slide potentiometer) using an Arduino. PID control gives good results for "jumping" to a specific target position, but tracking ramps is a problem, it's not smooth at all. The movement is very jerky,…
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What are the effects of removing P, I, and D from a PID controller respectively?

A proportional, integral, and derivative (PID) controller can feature three terms.) We sometimes see only two of the terms in use. For example, the derivative is disregarded for a PI controller. While I know what each of the three terms do, I am not…
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PID Control Loops with large and unpredictable anomalies

Short Question Is there a common way to handle very large anomalies (order of magnitude) within an otherwise uniform control region? Background I am working on a control algorithm that drives a motor across a generally uniform control region. …
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How does control theory apply to my real-world processor-controlled boost converter?

I have a limited understanding of control theory. I dealt with poles and zeroes and transfer functions in school. I've implemented several microprocessor-based control schemes for DC/DC converters. How these two things relate to each other, I've yet…
Stephen Collings
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PID algorithm implementation using computer vision

I am constructing an automatic labyrinth maze solver, and using a webcam to control my maze. Based on suggestions in other forums, I am trying to control maze's ball movement at least in one direction at the moment. So, I am trying to control my…
Sai
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PID output at 0 error

I'm having some problems conceptualizing PID, specifically the case where there is 0 error. The traditional PID formula I usually find is: \$ output=K_p e + K_i \int e dt + K_d \frac {de}{dt} \$ Let's assume I'm running a motor with the above…
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Conversion of PID controller components with state feedback into single transfer function and discrete state-space form

I've been wrestling with this problem for about a week now, as a part of a year-long project. We're designing a controller for a specific reactor based on a model. After looking at this for a while, I still can't get this to work - so I would really…
John Galt
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Can a PWM with 1% resolution in a PID heater loop achieve better than 1% temperature accuracy?

I need to set a temperature between 20 °C and 300 °C. I am using a PWM output with a resolution of 1% duty cycle. Can the overall PWM period, and PID loop timing, get better than 1% accuracy of the temperature span in the load?
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