Exercise 6

Motor Shaft Angular Position Control

EXERCISE OBJECTIVE When you have completed this exercise, you will be able to associate the pulses
generated by a position sensing incremental encoder with the angular position of
a motor shaft positioning system. You will know how to analyze and model a
servo position control system. You will be familiar with the effects of changes in
the damping ratio on the transient operation of the servo positioning system used
to control the flywheel angular position. You will also know how to do a basic
tuning.

DISCUSSION OUTLINE The Discussion of this exercise covers the following points:

ƒ Angular position control block diagram and fundamentals 

ƒ Angular position control system equations 
ƒ Damping fundamentals 
ƒ Damping ratio cases analysis 
ƒ Digital Servo damping ratio and damped frequency 
ƒ The PID controller 
ƒ Servo-system manual tuning 

DISCUSSION Angular position control block diagram and fundamentals

The motor shaft incremental encoder generates 4000 counts per revolution. The
Digital Servo system default range for position sensing measurement is
±5000 counts, which is the ±100% position. A 100% position travel is thus
equivalent to 1.25 motor shaft revolutions (5000/4000). An angular position of
90 degrees, for example, is equivalent to 1000 counts ((90/360)x4000). The
resulting position in percentage is 20% ((1000/5000)×100).

Figure 32 shows the Digital Servo positioning system first order block diagram.
The controller is set to use proportional action only, which means that the
controller gain is equivalent to the proportonal gain .
Power 100π rad/s =
Controller amplifier 3000 rpm Integrator

0.48 V/% 30 0.0333 1 -1

0.91 V/V 40 sec
1 / %/rpm

100% output = 3000 rpm = Encoder

Motor transfer function
48 V 100% gain

Figure 32. Block diagram of a position-control servo system with motor shaft incremental
encoder.

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Notice the many similarities with the first order model for the closed loop speed
control system. The motor transfer function and the scaling blocks are the same.
The difference is that an integrator term 1/s and an encoder block have been
added. The integrator term essentially models the conversion from velocity to
position. The encoder block provides another scaling factor. For the motor shaft
positioning system the encoder gain is 40. This gain is calculated as follows:

At 3000 rpm (100π rad/s or 100% motor speed), the encoder generates
5000 counts (1.25 revolutions) in a time of:

5000 counts in rad 1.25 2 (37)

0.025s
speed at 100% 100

0.025 s thus represents the time needed to integrate, i.e., to accumulate,

5000 counts at 100% motor speed. This time value is the reciprocal of the
encoder gain. This results in an encoder gain of 1/0.025 s or 40 s-1.

We have calculated in previous exercises that the scaling factor is equal to

0.139. The addition of the incremental encoder gain of 40 in the block diagram
results in an overall scaling factor of 5.56 (0.139 × 40).

A simplified block diagram for the proportional only position control servo system
with the motor shaft incremental encoder is shown below:

Controller

Scaling = 5.56 1

Position transfer function

Figure 33. Simplified position control servo system block diagram with overall scaling factor.

For analysis purposes, a further simplification can be made by combining the

scaling factor 5.56, controller gain , and the speed constant into the term ’.
Figure 34 shows the resulting diagram:

Overall transfer
function

Figure 34. Simplified position-control servo system block diagram.

Angular position control system equations

The transfer function that relates position to reference position for the block
diagram in Figure 34 is given below. The development of the transfer function is
given in Appendix B.

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(38)
1
1
1
’ ’

If we include the step input in the equation, we obtain:

(39)
1 1
1
1
’ ’

In Equation (38) and Equation (39), the ratio is equal to one. The step input
is 1⁄ and the equation form is:

(40)
2
1

where is the system natural frequency

is the damping ratio

The transfer function for the system can be expressed in standard format as
shown below:

’ (41)

1 ’

With the step input included, we obtain:

1 1 (42)
2

In Equation (41) and Equation (42), the ratio is equal to one and the
equation form is:

(43)
2

For the Digital Servo system, the equation when 1 results in:

’ (44)
1

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We thus obtain:

(45)
’

And:

1 (46)
2

1 1 1 (47)
2 ’ 2√ ’
2 ·

Damping fundamentals

The damping ratio is very important to the analysis of angular position control
step response. The higher the damping ratio, the more damped a system is.
Increasing the damping ratio value tends to increase the step response rise time
and reduce the overshoot, but can also affect the settling time and the steady
state error value.

A step response overshoot corresponds to the highest point at which the

response signal exceeds the reference point. The less a system is damped, the
higher this value and the greater the overshoot amplitude. In servo system
control, reducing the overshoot is desirable and in some cases, crucial, to
prevent more delicate systems from being damaged.

A step response rise time is the time needed for a step response to rise from a
specified low value (usually 10% of the reference value) to a specified high value
(usually 90% of the reference value). A high rise time is important in servo
system control to ensure that the process responds quickly, but can also be
problematic as it is often associated with overshoot.

A step response settling time corresponds to the time required to the signal
before it “settles” within a given range (10% for example) of the reference point.
In servo system control, obtaining a low settling time value is usually desired as
the system thus takes less time before reaching its steady state.

A step response steady state error value (also called ringing) corresponds to the
amplitude of the normal oscillation that occurs when the steady state is reached.
In servo system control, a low steady state error value is desirable to ensure that
the actual measured value is close at all times to the reference value.

Damping ratio cases analysis

We will now examine three cases, each using a different damping ratio to
determine the complex state of the variable . Case 1 will deal with a damping
ratio 1, case 2 will deal with a damping ratio 1, and case 3 will deal with
a damping ratio 1. In all three cases, is equal to one, the input step

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Exercise 6 – Motor Shaft Angular Position Control  Discussion

is , and the Laplace transform is / where 1. The

equation form of the three cases is:

The mathematical equations (48)

in this section demonstrate
the effects of the damping 2
1
ratio on the time constants.
They are proposed only as
additional information to the This becomes:
reader and are not essential
to the comprehension of this
exercise. (49)
1 1

Case 1

In this case, 1, which means that the system is overdamped and has real
separate poles , whose real form is:

1 (50)

The equation for case 1 is thus:

(51)

Case 2

In this case, 1, which means that the system is critically damped and has
superposed poles whose real form is:

(52)

The equation for case 2 is thus:

1 (53)
1

Case 3

In this case, 1, which means that the system is underdamped and has
conjugated complex system poles whose complex form is:

1 (54)

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The equation for case 3 is thus:

(55)
sin 1 tan

(56)
sin 1 cos

Note that the following term must be evaluated in the second quadrant (positive
sin, negative cos):

1 (57)
tan

Using reverse Laplace transforms for a step response of , where

1 and 1, we find that the above equation is equivalent to:

(58)
1 sin √4 ’ 1 cos
√ ’
’

Equation (58) can be written using the parameters and as shown below:

1 (59)
1 sin 1 cos
1

Equation (59) is valid for 0 1. See Appendix B for the equations

development.

Figure 35 illustrates the previous calculations with a 40% reference position step
change for the motor of the Digital Servo system. The plot was obtained with a
gain of 2 and a speed constant of 7.6.

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70

60

50

Position (%)
40

30 7.6 rad/s
2
20 Scaling = 5.56
40%
50 ms
10

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000

Time (ms)

Figure 35. Step response to a 40% step change in reference position .

Figure 35 is an approximation of the true response as the calculation is a

simplified first-order model. This type of response is categorized as
underdamped due to the response rising above and falling below the steady
state value for a number oscillatory cycles of decreasing amplitude. The step
response shows such overshoot and undershoot cycles only when the damping
ratio is less than 1.

Digital Servo damping ratio and damped frequency

For the Digital Servo system, the damping ratio is equal to:

1 (60)
2√ ’

Remember that ’ is the product of the gain by the scaling factor 5.56, and the
motor speed constant . Thus, as the gain increases, ’ increases too and
consequently, the damping ratio decreases.

The equation below shows that the damped frequency is equal to:

1 (61)
√4 ’ 1
2

This means that, as the gain increases, the damped frequency increases
too. This equation can be expressed using and , as shown below:

1 (62)

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As the gain decreases, the damping ratio increases. When the damping
ratio reaches a value of 1, the step response no longer exhibits overshoot. This
damping ratio value results in a critically damped step response (case 2 above).
A critically damped response thus has the fastest rise to the steady state and
produces no overshoot. Further decreasing the gain results in an overdamped
system. Figure 36 illustrates the response of the servo position system for
gains of 0.1185, 2. and 10. Notice that the overshoot and damped frequency
increases with the gain. The results displayed in Figure 36 are calculated using
Equation (58). These results approximate the actual servo positioning system.

80
Underdamped, 10, 91.93, 0.109

70
Underdamped, 2, 41.11, 0.243
60

50
Position (%)

40

30

20

10
Critically damped, 0.1185, 10.01, 0.999
0
0 100 200 300 400 500
Time (ms)
Figure 36. Underdamped and critically damped step responses.

Note that this exercise’s discussion is true for an angular position control system
in proportional only mode. The addition of integral or derivative terms results in a
much more complex time domain analysis. We will now see how these terms are
calculated in the Digital Servo system.

The PID controller

In order to manage the proportional, integral and derivative terms, the Digital
Servo system uses a PID controller. A PID controller (Proportional, Integral,
Derivative) is a control loop feedback controller that attempts to correct the error
between a measured process variable and a desired set point by calculating and
then instigating a corrective action that can adjust the process to keep the error
minimal. In the case of the Digital Servo system, the measured variable is either
the motor speed (speed loop) or the platform position (position loop). The
Digital Servo controller thus measures the error between the reference speed or
the position reference and the actual speed or platform position and attempts to
correct it.

The PID controller calculates three separate parameters in order to correct the
error: proportional, integral, and derivative action. Proportional action determines
the controller reaction to the current error. Integral action determines the
controller reaction based on the sum of the last measured error values.

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Exercise 6 – Motor Shaft Angular Position Control  Discussion

Derivative action determines the controller reaction based on the rate at which
the error changes. These actions are then added together to correct the system
output (motor speed or platform position) in order to reduce the difference
between the reference value and the actual value, i.e., the system error.

In previous exercises, you set the Digital Servo PID controller so that only
proportional action was used when acquiring data. In the next exercises, you will
also use the PID controller integral and derivative actions. These can be adjusted
by modifying the integration time value in the case of the integral action, and
the derivative time value in the case of derivative action.

Servo-system manual tuning

When using a PID controller, it is necessary for the proportional, integral and
derivative terms to be set properly, otherwise, the controlled process can become
unstable. There are many different tuning methods to find the parameters giving
an optimal response. The optimal response itself varies depending on the type of
application. There are usually four main points to an optimal response:

• A minimal overshoot or no overshoot at all.

• A quick rise time.

• A quick settling time.

• A low steady state error.

The most basic tuning method is the manual tuning. This type of tuning can only
be performed by people who are experienced with the process type of the
application. There are three main tuning parameters: the proportional gain ,the
integral time , and the derivative time . Each tuning parameters has different
effects on the response characteristics and so it is important to know when to use
one instead of the other. Table 21 summarizes the effects of , or
variations on rise time, overshoot, settling time and steady-state error.

Table 21. Effects of PID parameters variations on a step response.

Steady state
PID parameters Rise time Overshoot Settling time
error

Negligible
Increasing Decrease Increase Decrease
change

Decreasing Decrease Increase Increase Eliminated

Increasing Minor decrease Minor decrease Minor decrease No change

A quick and easy alternative to the manual tuning method is the Ziegler-Nichols
method. It requires first to deactivate the integral and derivative terms. The
proportional gain is then increased (starting from 0) until the system reaches a
constant oscillation with a constant amplitude and period. This gain value is

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Exercise 6 – Motor Shaft Angular Position Control  Procedure Outline

referenced as the ultimate gain . The oscillation period is also measured and is
called the oscillation period . Using these two measured values, the three
tuning parameters are then calculated using the equations, depending on the
controller type: (P, PI, or PID).

This type of tuning produces a quarter amplitude decay response which is

acceptable, but not optimal. This method cannot be used in applications where
oscillation could cause the system to go out of control.

Proper control system tuning is to a great extent application dependant. What

works for one system can be totally irrelevant for another. For example, a
correctly tuned temperature control system that produces a quarter amplitude
response may be entirely incorrect for a robot arm system where a much more
damped response is required and no overshoot is tolerated.

To summarize the different effects of proportional, integral and derivative action

on a servo system in angular position control, we can say that:

• Increasing the proportional gain causes the positional step response

of an overdamped system to become critically damped. If the
proportional gain is increased further, the critically damped system will
become underdamped. As the gain increases, an oscillatory component
that increases in frequency and amplitude will appear and eventually
cause the system to become unstable.

• Adding integral action eliminates static friction error, but also increases
the tendency of the step response to oscillate and can cause the system
to become unstable.

• Adding derivative action can dampen or suppress an oscillating step

response. Derivative action, however, is very sensitive to noise and can
cause erratic behaviors when set at high values.

PROCEDURE OUTLINE The Procedure is divided into the following sections:

ƒ Setup and connections 

ƒ Effect of the proportional gain on the step response 
ƒ Tuning the controller with the Ziegler-Nichols method 
ƒ Quarter amplitude decay step response 
ƒ Significantly damped step response 

PROCEDURE Setup and connections

In this section, you will setup the Digital Servo for studying angular position
control.

1. Make the following settings on the Digital Servo system:

• Setup the servo system for position control and leave the platform
disengaged.

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Exercise 6 – Motor Shaft Angular Position Control  Procedure

• Set the belt tension to allow the belt to be lifted of the pulley
connected to the motor shaft and slipped on the two pins to the rear
of the pulley, allowing the shaft to run uncoupled from the belt.

• Secure the flywheel to the shaft using the appropriate hex key.

Effect of the proportional gain on the step response

In this section, you will acquire three plots having different proportional gains ,
and compare the measured step responses.

2. Run LVServo, and click on the Device Controlled button in the Position
Loop menu. Make sure the settings are initially as shown in Table 22:

Table 22. Settings for step response data acquisition.

Function Generator Trend Recorder

Signal Type Square Reference Checked
Frequency 0.20 Hz Position Checked
Amplitude 80% Speed Unchecked
Offset 0% Current Unchecked
Power Off Voltage Unchecked
PID Controller Error Unchecked
Gain ( ) 0.14 x Error Unchecked
Integral Time ( ) Inf (Off) Error Sum / Unchecked
Derivative Time on E ( (E)) 0 x Delta Error Unchecked
Derivative Time on PV ( (PV)) 0 PID Output Unchecked
Timebase 10 ms Display Type Sweep
Anti-Reset Windup On Show and Record Data On
Upper Limit 100% Measured Gain (rpm) 3000
Lower Limit -100% Measured Gain (A) 7
Open or Closed Loop Closed Measured Gain (V) 48
PV Speed Scaling Encoders
100% Value 5000 cnt Motor or Rail Motor
-100% Value -5000 cnt

3. Reset the position count, and set the function generator Power switch to ON.

4. Acquire a complete positive half cycle using the trend recorder and export
the data to a spread sheet.

5. Set the function generator Power switch to off.

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Exercise 6 – Motor Shaft Angular Position Control  Procedure

6. Set the proportional gain to 2, and the square wave amplitude to 15% and
repeat steps 2 to 5.

7. Set the proportional gain to 3, maintain the square wave amplitude at 15%
and repeat steps 2 to 5.

8. Plot the three resulting step responses.

9. From the obtained plots, describe the effects of increasing the proportional
gain on oscillatory frequency and overshoot.

10. How would you describe the first plot ( 0.14)? Why is there such a large
error in the steady state position?

Tuning the controller with the Ziegler-Nichols method

In this section, you will cause the servo system to almost continuously oscillate.
You will achieve this by slowly increasing the proportional gain . You will then
tune the controller using the period of oscillation and the measured ultimate
gain value at which continuous oscillation occurs.

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Exercise 6 – Motor Shaft Angular Position Control  Procedure

11. Run LVServo, and click on the Device Controlled button in the Position
Loop menu. Make sure the settings are initially as shown in Table 23:

Table 23. Settings for the Ziegler-Nichols tuning method.

Function Generator Trend Recorder

Signal Type Square Reference Checked
Frequency 0.10 Hz Position Checked
Amplitude 10% Speed Unchecked
Offset 0% Current Unchecked
Power Off Voltage Unchecked
PID Controller Error Unchecked
Gain ( ) 1 x Error Unchecked
Integral Time ( ) Inf (Off) Error Sum / Unchecked
Derivative Time on E ( (E)) 0 x Delta Error Unchecked
Derivative Time on PV ( (PV)) 0 PID Output Unchecked
Timebase 10 ms Display Type Sweep
Anti-Reset Windup On Show and Record Data On
Upper Limit 100% Measured Gain (rpm) 3000
Lower Limit -100% Measured Gain (A) 7
Open or Closed Loop Closed Measured Gain (V) 48
PV Speed Scaling Encoders
100% Value 5000 cnt Motor or Rail Motor
-100% Value -5000 cnt

12. Reset the position count, and set the function generator Power switch to ON.

13. Starting with a value of 1, slowly increase the proportional gain by 0.25
steps. If an error occurs because of a current overshoot, reduce the gain
back to the previous value, reposition the wheel to position 0 and RESET the
error. Try to refine your search by steps of 0.05 instead. When the system
begins to oscillate continuously, stop the process and note the corresponding
ultimate gain value.

14. Acquire a complete positive half cycle using the trend recorder and export
the data to a spread sheet.

15. Set the function generator Power switch to off.

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Exercise 6 – Motor Shaft Angular Position Control  Procedure

16. Plot the continuously oscillating response (2 or 3 full circles) and determine
the period of oscillation in seconds.

17. Using the ultimate gain and the oscillation period , calculate the tuning
constants , , and using the Ziegler-Nichols formulae shown below:

0.6

Quarter amplitude decay step response

In this section, you will acquire a quarter amplitude decay step response using
the parameters calculated in the previous steps.

18. Run LVServo, and click on the Device Controlled button in the Position
Loop menu. Make sure the settings are initially as shown in Table 24:

Table 24. Settings for the quarter amplitude decay response.

Function Generator Trend Recorder

Signal Type Square Reference Checked
Frequency 0.20 Hz Position Checked
Amplitude 15% Speed Unchecked
Offset 0% Current Unchecked
Power Off Voltage Unchecked
PID Controller Error Unchecked
Gain ( ) Calculated x Error Unchecked
Integral Time ( ) Calculated Error Sum / Unchecked
Derivative Time on E ( (E)) 0 x Delta Error Unchecked
Derivative Time on PV ( (PV)) Calculated PID Output Unchecked
Timebase 10 ms Display Type Sweep
Anti-Reset Windup On Show and Record Data On
Upper Limit 100% Measured Gain (rpm) 3000
Lower Limit -100% Measured Gain (A) 7
Open or Closed Loop Closed Measured Gain (V) 48
PV Speed Scaling Encoders
100% Value 5000 cnt Motor or Rail Motor
-100% Value -5000 cnt

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Exercise 6 – Motor Shaft Angular Position Control  Procedure

19. Reset the position count, and set the function generator Power switch to ON.

20. Adjust the derivative term if necessary to obtain a quarter amplitude decay
response. The ratio of the peak overshoot ( ) to the peak
overshoot of the second successive cycle must thus be close to 4 to 1. An
approximate quarter decay response is shown in Figure 37:

Note down the modified tuning constants:

40

30
X
X/Y ≈ 4

20
Y
Position (%)

10
Reference
Position

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400

‐10

‐20
Time (ms)

Figure 37. Quarter amplitude decay response.

21. Acquire a complete positive half cycle using the trend recorder and export
the data to a spread sheet.

22. Set the function generator Power switch to off.

23. Plot the Quarter Amplitude Decay step response.

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24. At approximately what time after the position reference changes from –15%
to +15%, does the position first reach 15%?

Time s

Significantly damped step response

In this section, you will acquire a significantly damped step response by

modifying the parameters you used to obtain the quarter amplitude decay
response. You will then compare the resulting plot with the plot obtained for the
quarter amplitude decay response.

25. Adjust the parameters as follows to produce a damping effect on the system:

16

Note down the new values:

26. Reset the position count, and set the function generator Power switch to ON.

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Exercise 6 – Motor Shaft Angular Position Control  Procedure

27. Run LVServo, and click on the Device Controlled button in the Position
Loop menu. Make sure the settings are initially as shown in Table 25:

Table 25. Settings for capturing a significantly damped step response.

Function Generator Trend Recorder

Signal Type Square Reference Checked
Frequency 0.20 Hz Position Checked
Amplitude 20% Speed Unchecked
Offset 0% Current Unchecked
Power Off Voltage Unchecked
PID Controller Error Unchecked
Gain ( ) Calculated Kp x Error Unchecked
Integral Time ( ) Calculated Ti Error Sum / Unchecked
Derivative Time on E ( (E)) 0 x Delta Error Unchecked
Derivative Time on PV ( (PV)) Calculated Td PID Output Unchecked
Timebase 10 ms Display Type Sweep
Anti-Reset Windup On Show and Record Data On
Upper Limit 100% Measured Gain (rpm) 3000
Lower Limit -100% Measured Gain (A) 7
Open or Closed Loop Closed Measured Gain (V) 48
PV Speed Scaling Encoders
100% Value 5000 cnt Motor or Rail Motor
-100% Value -5000 cnt

28. With the trend recorder, acquire a full positive half cycle and export it to a
spread sheet.

29. Set the function generator Power switch to off.

30. Plot the obtained step response.

31. When does the position first reaches the 15% point after the position
reference changes from -15% to +15%?

Time s

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Exercise 6 – Motor Shaft Angular Position Control  Conclusion

32. Compare the quarter amplitude decay responses generated using the
Ziegler-Nichols tuning method with the significantly damped step response
generated using the higher tuning constants. Which response reaches first
the 15% position reference?

33. Which response of the quarter amplitude decay response and the
significantly damped response is more appropriate for delicate applications
(moving a robot’s arm, for example)?

CONCLUSION In this exercise, you learned the effects of the proportional, integral and
derivative terms on the transient operation of a servo system used for angular
position control. You measured the effects of varying the proportional gain and
the damping ratio on a servo system step response in angular position control.
You familiarized yourself with different servo-system tuning methods.

REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. The flywheel coupled to the motor shaft of the Digital Servo has a reference
mark at the perimeter. Suppose that the shaft is currently positioned so that
the marker is at the 12:00 position (0° and 0% position reference). In order to
reposition the flywheel to 270°, which reference position in counts should be
set? What position in percentage does this corresponds to?

2. The Digital Servo flywheel’s steady state position indicates an error exists
between the reference position and the actual position. Knowing that only
proportional action is used, select the best option from below to eliminate the
error:

a) Add derivative action

b) Add integral action

c) Increase the proportional gain

d) Decrease the proportional gain

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Exercise 6 – Motor Shaft Angular Position Control  Review Questions

3. Suppose a servo system has the following characteristics:

Table 26. Servo system characteristics.

Parameter Value

[(rad/s)/V] 7.6

(s) 0.05

Scaling factor 5.56

2.5

(%) 40

Use the system data and Equation (58) to plot to a spread sheet this system
step response.

4. How would the step response obtained in question 3 react to a proportional

gain increase?

5. In a position-control system, the encoder acts as an integrator by totalling the

pulses generated as the motor shaft rotates. Why is integral action from the
controller still necessary to the position control system?

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