Software-Designed PACs: Think Subroutine, Not Sub-Controllers

摘要

Today's controls engineers face pressure to simplify system complexity as they are tasked with increasingly complex problems. Unfortunately, solutions to these challenges are difficult to define; so overall market trends are discussed in an attempt to distill escalating complexity. Motors, once viewed as large pieces of iron that would last for decades, are now monitored and scrutinized for the earliest signs of failure or the slightest hint of efficiency loss. Control inputs to cutting tools have evolved from the binary "cut or stop cutting" approach to complex vision-guided force-feedback schemes that detect media edges, density, and respond with the precise amount of cutting force. These examples support the real need to integrate commercial technology to keep pace with both market pressures and increasingly complex control problems.