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FLUID POWER
Controlling high-performance
electrohydraulics
Peter Nachtwey
President
Delta Computer Systems
Vancouver, Wash.
OPEN-LOOP CONTROL
Open loop, the most basic form of control,
requires no gain tuning. Users only send a
signal to the valve to move the cylinder at a
desired speed. Automated systems require
position sensors to trigger the output, while
manual systems rely on operator skill. In
simple systems, the lack of adaptive control
means actuator speed will vary with
changes in oil temperature and load.
Open-loop mode is often used to initially
set up closed-loop systems. One procedure,
for example, is to ensure a positive drive output moves the cylinder in the positive direction. It is important to correct drive polarity
before using closed-loop control or the PID
will drive rapidly in the wrong direction. Another procedure is to fully extend and retract
the cylinder to determine the motion conwww.machinedesign.com
High-performance
hydraulic motion
controllers like the
Delta RMC100
often receive
cylinder-position
data from
magnetostrictive
displacement
transducers
(MDTs), such as
this unit from
Balluff, Florence,
Ky. Unlike resistive
measurements or
limit switches,
noncontact MDTs
exhibit little wear
and long life. They
also feature high
repeatability and
accuracy to 2 m.
trollers limits. The amount of cylinder drift
when the drive output is zero indicates
whether the null adjust of the servovalve or
amplifier card needs tweaking.
Open-loop control also tests basic performance. For example, if the drive output is set
just high enough to initiate motion, smooth
movement indicates normal operation. Erratic movement shows excessive static friction. If this happens, reduce static friction or
add accumulators to keep the pressure relatively constant. Another performance test
sends the valve a constant voltage to determine how fast the cylinder ramps up to a constant speed. This gives a good indication of
system response. Setup software that captures and documents system performance is
useful during this type of testing.
Operationally, open-loop control works
well for holding a cylinder against a stop,
moving nonlinear systems, and traveling at
maximum speed. In each of these cases,
SEPTEMBER 7, 2000
MACHINE DESIGN
81
FLUID POWER
A powdercompacting press
developed by
Best Press Corp.,
Castle Hayne,
N.C., has six
hydraulic motion
axes that move
simultaneously to
produce uniform
material density.
The hydraulic
motion controller
smoothly
transitions each
axis from
position-based
control to
pressure-based
control as the
cylinder reaches
a preprogrammed
location and tonnage. The smooth transition offers tighter control
and more flexibility than mechanical presses, with higher
accuracy and reliability. Electronic programming also dramatically
shortens setup time.
closed-loop control is not recommended. In
the first case, PID controllers overcontrol
the system by trying to move the cylinder to
an unreachable position. In the second case,
PID controllers assume the system is linear
and will not perform well over the range of
desired positions or speeds without changing gains on-the-fly. The third case is similar
to the first PID controllers do not work
well if asked to move a positioner faster than
its maximum speed. In this case, the target
position gets far ahead of the actual position
and the system overshoots the destination,
which is usually undesirable.
To enhance performance, advanced hydraulic motion controllers make the first
part of the move in open-loop control for
maximum speed, and then switch to closedloop control for ramp down.
CLOSED-LOOP CONTROL
Closed-loop control compensates for load
changes, friction, and nonlinearities, so that
motions are more repeatable than with
open-loop systems. However, this extra precision costs more. PID position controllers
are more expensive than open-loop controllers and they require position feedback
to compare actual and target positions. They
also need skilled personnel to tune the proportional, integral, and differential gains for
best performance. Nonetheless, higher pre82
MACHINE DESIGN
SEPTEMBER 7, 2000
FLUID POWER
Metal tubing
Cylinder
Valve
Manifold
Magnet
MDT
Pump
Pressure
transducer
Differential
force inputs
Reservoir
Motion
controller
Control-drive
signal output
Position-feedback
signal
Pressure
transducer
FEED FORWARDS
Feed forwards, predictive functions supported by hydraulic motion controllers, provide a means of estimating how much drive
output is required to move or accelerate. For
instance, if moving the cylinder at 1 ips requires 1 V, it will probably take 2 V to move
the cylinder at 2 ips and 3 V to move at 3 ips.
However, this is only true in a perfect world.
PID control combined with feed forwards
provide much better control than either by
itself. To estimate how much drive the feed
SEPTEMBER 7, 2000
MACHINE DESIGN
83
FLUID POWER
forwards provide, use target speed
and target acceleration provided
by the target generator, multiplied
by a gain as follows:
DF = GFVT
where DF = velocity feed-forward
drive and G F = velocity feed-forward gain.
DA = GAAT
where DA = acceleration feed-forward drive, G A = acceleration
feed-forward gain, and AT = target
acceleration.
Each feed forward plays an important role in a motion profile. Velocity feed forward plays a part
whenever target speed is not zero.
This makes it important to supply
the drive with a constant velocity.
If actual position lags behind target position, velocity feed-forward
gain is too low. Conversely, if actual position leads the target position, velocity feed-forward gain is
too high. Set properly, following error will be small during the constant-velocity segment of the motion profile.
Acceleration feed-forward terms
are only active while accelerating
or decelerating. Acceleration feed
forward should only be used with
controllers that can generate
smooth accelerations and decelerations, or S curves. Otherwise, step
jumps in acceleration make the
drive react too quickly, causing hydraulic shocks and jerky motion.
Over time, that degrades system
reliability and leads to oil leaks.
Normally, actual position will fall
behind target position while accelerating and overshoot the target
while decelerating. The acceleration feed-forward term supplies extra drive while accelerating and reduces drive while decelerating.
It is helpful to have a means of
graphing target and actual positions to aid in adjusting acceleration feed forwards. Increase the
feed forwards until the actual position follows target position during
the acceleration and deceleration
ramps. If the gain is too large, actual position will lead the target
position during acceleration and
lag it during deceleration.
These drives are added to the
drives calculated from the PID to
84
MACHINE DESIGN
PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure-relief valves traditionally provide pressure control. Manually turning a screw that loosens
or tightens a relief spring, or adjusting an electrical signal, determines the setpoint for pressure-relief valves. However, relief valves
do not open until pressure reaches
the setpoint. If pressure increases
rapidly, it will overshoot. This can
cause flashing in injection-molding
applications or product damage in
clamping operations. An additional problem is that relieving oil
pressure wastes energy.
A PQ or pressure-flow valve provides another option. The valves
act like normal servovalves except
an extra 0 to 10 V input acts as a
pressure-relief setpoint. Thus one
valve can control both position and
pressure, but they still do not handle pressure transients well.
A better approach uses a servovalve and a position/pressure controller. The servovalve controls position in a normal fashion. But
when controlling pressure, the
valve dithers the valve spool (alternately opening and closing the
valve in small, quick steps) around
the closed position to increase or
decrease pressure. This wastes little oil and, because pressure can be
changed quickly with small movements of the valve spool, pressure
response is good.
Note that this requires a valve
with a zero-overlap spool. Valves
with overlapped spools cannot increase or decrease pressure with
minute changes in the spool position. This approach also requires
pressure sensors at each end of the
cylinder. The intent is not to control pressure on one side of the cylinder but rather to control the differential force across the piston.
Therefore it needs a way to convert
pressure inputs into force:
F = PAaA + PBaB + S
SEPTEMBER 7, 2000
Circle 706
Circle 707
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