PID control applications — Temperature and position control

PID control is not the most efficient of controls, but it is the most widespread. The technician or engineer confronted with a control system in practice is often limited to the implementation of a PID controller, which does not offer all the tuning possibilities of modern methods. What's more, it's generally impossible to carry out open-loop tests to identify the system being controlled. This type of controller must therefore be tuned using closed-loop tests only.

Here, we present two very common practical applications: temperature control and position control of a mechanical system powered by a brushless motor. Control is performed using the method of moments and the classical frequency method.