Written by a team of contributors from the industry's best-known product manufacturers and software developers. This book provides real insight into new technologies available in the industry and outlines practical applications of adaptive control technology
Chicago, IL - Control Engineering's Vance VanDoren, consulting editor, is on hand at the ISA show here, Oct. 21-24, to discuss his new book from Butterworth-Heinemann (Woburn, MA), ''Techniques for Adaptive Control.''
There was a time when “control loop optimization” meant selecting the proportional, integral, and derivative tuning parameters for all of the PID controllers in a plant so as to optimize the closed-loop performance of each loop individually. Loop tuning is still a critical element of loop optimization, but thanks to recent advances in control theory and commercial software products,...
Sense, decide, and act are the three cornerstones of the control and automation field and its many related industries and applications. Similarly, the three cornerstones of the Control Engineering2003 Editors' Choice Awards are service to the industry, technological advancement, and market impact. Seven editors—Frank Bartos, David Greenfield, Dave Harrold, Mark Hoske, Jeanine Katzel, Ji...
Advanced control techniques can be used to extract additional energy from the by-products of chemical reactions known as "off-gases." Off-gases produced by chemical, petrochemical, and metallurgical plants can be reused or sold, depending on the season. Optimizing off-gas usage has become one way to remain competitive, as energy costs have risen over the last five years.
Video: Meet the 2011 System Integrator of the Year Winners Why should you use a system integrator for your next automation project, and how should you select the right one? The presidents of the three winning companies in the 2011 System Integrator of the Year competition answer these questions in a conversation with Control Engineering […]
Design system integration projects for success See tips and tricks on automation and control system integration project management: Advice from the 2012 System Integrator of the Year winners. See related videos. 01/06/2011 How an automation system integration project is designed and managed determines if it meets deadlines, budget, goals, expectations, and overall project success. Representatives […]
Meet the 2013 System Integrator Winners In an in-depth video discussion, the three consider the balance of technical vs. business skills as a factor ensuring success with customer projects. Peter Welander 12/17/2012 Leaders from the three Control Engineering winning system integrator firms for 2013: Sam Hoff, Patti Engineering; Jerry Smith, Integrity Integration Resources; and Todd Williams, […]
2012 Rank Company Name Ownership Type Total Gross Revenue for Fiscal Year Total System Integration Revenue Corporate Address Main Phone 26 Adapt Automation Inc. Private $11 million $11 million 1661 Palm St.Santa Ana, CA 92701 USA 714-662-4454 27 Pole Zero Design Inc. Private $11 million $11 million 6960 Orchard Lake Rd.West Bloomfield, MI 48322 USA […]
2012 Rank Company Name Ownership Type Total Gross Revenue for Fiscal Year Total System Integration Revenue Corporate Address Main Phone 51 General Control Systems Inc. Public $6.5 million $4.3 million 60 Cohoes Ave.Green Island, NY 12183 USA 518-270-8045 52 Process Systems Integration Inc. Private $6 million $4.2 million 555 Conestoga Blvd.Cambridge, Ontario N1R 7P5 Canada […]
2012 Rank Company Name Ownership Type Total Gross Revenue for Fiscal Year Total System Integration Revenue Corporate Address Main Phone 76 Nexjen Systems Private $4 million $2 million 5933 Brookshire BoulevardCharlotte, NC 28216 USA 800-797-0825 77 Orion Sistemas e Automacao Industrial Employee $11 million $2 million Rua Luiz Carlos Brunello639, ValinhosSão Paulo 13278-074 Brazil +55 […]
System Integrator Giants 2012 The 100 firms on the System Integrator Giants list represent the largest system integrators of 2012, from among the 2,334 in the Control Engineering Automation Integrator Guide. Contents 2012 Top 100 System Integrator Giants (below) System Integrator Giants: Online extra tables Control Engineering June 2012 cover story: System Integrator Giants of 2012 by […]
2013 rank Company name 2012 rank* Ownership type Total grossrevenue ($ US) Total SIrevenue ($ US) Total SIrevenue(%) Location(country) Web address 1 M+W Automation Pvt $3,500,000,000 $150,000,000 4% Germany www.mwgroup.net 2 Wood Group Mustang ** 1 Pub $102,000,000 $95,000,000 93% U.S. www.mustangeng.com 3 Maverick Technologies ** 3 Pvt $80,000,000 $64,800,000 81% U.S. www.mavtechglobal.com 4 […]
The venerable proportional-integral-derivative (PID) algorithm can solve a variety of feedback control problems, but not all.
Closing the control loop provides insight into the behavior of the process.
PID loop tuning may not be a hard science, but it’s not magic either. Here are some tuning tips that work.
Mathematical models of process behavior can be used to improve the design and performance of feedback controllers.
PID: Proportional-integral-derivative controllers may be ubiquitous, but they’re not perfect. Consider how deadtime affects integral action.
A controller equipped with an accurate process model can ignore deadtime. Deadtime generally occurs when material is transported from the actuator site to the sensor measurement location. Until the material reaches the sensor, the sensor cannot measure any changes effected by the actuator.
Maverick Technologies is the 2015 System Integrator of the Year in the large system integrator category.
Eight judges were involved in selecting the 2015 System Integrator of the Year winners.
Sometimes a process is easier to control if it “leaks.” Here’s a look at why.
Automatic control operations can be described as either open-loop or closed-loop. The difference is feedback.
Sometimes two controllers can do a better job of keeping one process variable where you want it.
Proportional-integral-derivative controllers may be ubiquitous, but they’re not perfect.