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Tutorials for Automation & Controls

Access all current and historical Control Engineering editorial tutorials. Tutorials How-to information covering Industrial and Process Automation, Discrete Control, Mechatronics, Green Manufacturing, System Integration, and Information, Process, and Machine Control.

    • Designing PID responses

    Peter Welander, April 1, 2010

    Aggressive PI control set point tracking There are many ways of setting PID strategy to make a controller respond the way you want it to. It all depends on what you think should happen.  More

    • Mechanical Engineering Career Assessment

    Mark T. Hoske and Renee Robbins, Control Engineering, April 1, 2010

    Assess your career - Look at where you've been, your interests, and where you want to go, suggests the 2010 Control Engineering mechanical engineering career survey. While three-quarters of those practicing mechanical engineering are positive about their jobs, there’s a need for more application-based education. Control Engineering salary survey respondents also expressed greater appreciation for the business value of good engineering.  More

    • 4 strategies for managing engineering contractors

    Tim McAward, Kelly Engineering Resources, March 24, 2010

    Engineering organizations seek to recruit and retain top talent, while trying to keep costs low. Photo courtesy of Kelly Services Inc. Engineering organizations seek to manage costs while recruiting and retaining good talent. Here are 4 key strategies to better manage engineering contractors.  More

    • SR motor anatomy: See inside switched reluctance motors

    Frank J. Bartos, P.E, Control Engineering, March 9, 2010

    Simplest possible 1-phase SR motor (a) illustrates the switched reluctance principle. In the more practical 3-phase motor (b), energizing stator phase pair B (for position shown) produces clockwise torque; energizing phase pair C produces conter-clockwise torque. Design variations include more motor phase, stator poles, and rotor poles. Simple electromechanical structure of switched reluctance (SR) motors offers benefits of robustness and reliability by eliminating permanent magnets, rotor bars, and more – tutorial.  More

    • Feedforward control

    Vance VanDoren, Ph.D., P.E., Control Engineering, March 1, 2010

    Here’s how to augment feedback control with feedforward control.  More

    • Control Engineering industrial wireless coverage

    Mark T. Hoske, January 27, 2010

    Wireless resources: More than three years of wireless industrial technology, tutorials, and case history articles from Control Engineering are gathered in one place for easy reference. Bookmark this page!  More

    • Video tutorial: Differential pressure flowmeters

    Peter Welander, February 16, 2010

    DP video Using differential pressure to calculate flow is a very basic and common method. Here’s how it works.  More

    • Motor control terms, braking

    Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering, February 1, 2010

    Are there differences in servo drives and servo amps? What are the different kinds of motor braking strategies? ‘Brake’ now for motor learning.  More

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