Spare a moment’s pity for the process engineer, whose job it is to keep industrial automation running no matter what. These poor souls seem to be forever on call, fielding panicked requests to come to ...

Network analysis is a powerful and well-established method of characterizing and optimizing a control system. [1] Unfortunately, making a successful measurement can be difficult and frustrating ...

Power supplies use control-loop circuits to produce constant voltage or current. The transfer function—gain and phase as a function of frequency—provides valuable information about a control loop’s ...

Switching power supplies rely on feedback control loops to ensure that the required voltage and current are maintained under varying load conditions. Design of the feedback control loop influences ...

Every plant in the process industry most likely has several control loops that do not perform well. Although there are many factors that may negatively affect control loop performance, a few of these ...

Driving a light-emitting diode (LED) or LED array is not without its challenges. The LEDs require a well-designed constant-current source for controlled brightness. More specifically, the output ...

Systematic methodology is the key to quickly and effectively troubleshooting control circuits. Even the most experienced troubleshooter must rely on a systematic troubleshooting process to solve ...

Take a look at mechatronics' applications in diverse industries, such as automotive engine systems, hard-disk drives and Web-transport systems, and you'll find a growing emphasis on "sensorless ...