Table of Contents

1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 3
a. Process Background........................................................................................................................ 3
b. Justification of using closed loop control rather than open loop control. .................................. 6
2. Identify all the variables involved...................................................................................................... 7
a. Controlled variable ......................................................................................................................... 7
b. Manipulated variable...................................................................................................................... 7
c. Disturbances .................................................................................................................................... 7
3. Identify all the elements/instruments used ....................................................................................... 7
4. Draw equivalent signal block diagram for the system ..................................................................... 7
5. Explain the closed loop control system ............................................................................................. 8
a. Closed-loop Motor Control ............................................................................................................ 9
6. Applied control law ........................................................................................................................... 10
a. Working Principle of PID Controller.......................................................................................... 10
7. Sketch the expected process response ............................................................................................. 12
8. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 13
9. References .......................................................................................................................................... 14
10. Appendix ............................................................................................................................................ 15
APPENDIX A ........................................................................................................................................ 15
APPENDIX B ........................................................................................................................................ 16
APPENDIX C ........................................................................................................................................ 16
APPENDIX D ........................................................................................................................................ 17
APPENDIX E ........................................................................................................................................ 17

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Table of Figures

Figure 1 : Conveyer system in Logistic Industry ............................................................................ 3

Figure 2 : Closed Loop Conveyor System signal flow diagram .................................................... 7
Figure 3 : General Closed-Loop signal block diagram .................................................................. 8
Figure 4 : Correcting process in Closed-Loop system ................................................................... 9
Figure 5 : General Closed Loop signal flow diagram .................................................................. 10
Figure 6 : PID Control Algorithm ................................................................................................ 10
Figure 7 : P Control System ......................................................................................................... 11
Figure 8 : PI Control System ....................................................................................................... 11
Figure 9 : PID Control System..................................................................................................... 11
Figure 10 : PID Process Response ............................................................................................... 12

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 1. Introduction

a. Process Background

Figure 1 : Conveyer system in Logistic Industry

A conveyor system is a fast and efficient mechanical handling apparatus for automatically
transporting loads and materials within an area. This system minimizes human error, lowers
workplace risks and reduces labor costs — among other benefits. They are useful in helping to
move bulky or heavy items from one point to another. A conveyor system may use a belt, wheels,
rollers, or a chain to transport objects.

Typically, conveyor systems consist of a belt stretched across two or more pulleys. The
belt forms a closed loop around the pulleys so it can continually rotate. One pulley, known as the
drive pulley, drives or tows the belt, moving items from one location to another.

The most common conveyor system designs use a rotor to power the drive pulley and belt.
The belt remains attached to the rotor through the friction between the two surfaces. For the belt
to move effectively, both the drive pulley and idler must run in the same direction, either clockwise
or counterclockwise.

While conventional conveyor systems such as moving walkways and grocery store
conveyors are straight, sometimes, the unit needs to turn to deliver the items to the proper location.
For the turns, there are unique cone-shaped wheels or rotors, which allows the belt to follow a
bend or twist without being tangled. (Monroy, 2020)

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 Conveying is the moving of materials from one or more pickup points to one or more drop
points. The desired window of time for this movement should be considered, as well as the amount
of pickup and drop points, the amount of material being moved, and whether or not cross-
contamination between multiple materials is a concern.

Benefits of conveyor systems

 Can safely transport materials from one level to another through elevated conveyors
 Can be installed in most situations while usually being able to add value and increase the
safety of the workplace due to automation, failsafe’s, and safeguards
 Conveyors can move high quantities of items in various shapes, sizes, and weights
 Have advanced safety features that prevent accidents and injuries while increasing
throughput of the system
 Variety of options to run the conveying systems, including the hydraulic, mechanical, and
fully automated systems which are equipped to fit individual needs

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Essential parts of a conveyor system

There are three main parts of a conveyor system: the belt support, the pulley and the drive
unit. Each component plays an essential role in the conveyor unit’s operation. While all conveyor
systems contain these parts, designs vary in the construction materials and where each component
is located.

Main Parts Description

Belt support Component that ensures the belt moves smoothly. If the support unit is not
firm, the belt sags when workers place a heavy object on top, and the sagging
causes the belt not to move smoothly or swiftly as it should. Use of a firm
support unit keeps the belt taut and running efficiently.

Pulley system An external component used to control the belt movement. Each unit has at
least two pulleys, one that operates under power and an idle one. More
complex conveyor systems may have additional rotors throughout the frame.

Drive unit Allows the system to move. The unit contains a counter bearing which keeps
the parts moving efficiently. This unit also allows for the belt to move in
reverse and manage the repeated adjustments in direction for some systems.
Some conveyor systems are manually operated. These systems still use a
drive unit; however, it is not motorized.

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 b. Justification of using closed loop control rather than open loop control.

Most processes in industrial control systems are closed one way or another. If a part on a conveyor
passes a sensor on its way to a processing station, timers and programming will eventually let
operators know that the part were stuck or was removed prior to reaching its destination.

Closed-loop systems have many advantages over open-loop systems. The primary advantage of a
closed-loop feedback control system is its ability to reduce a system’s sensitivity to external
disturbances, for example by taking outputs of the sensor for consideration, the motor can adjusts
themselves to give just enough power to move the conveyor system with the same speed

The advantages closed-loop control offers, however, are significant:

 A process can be kept on set point within a given accuracy.

 Corrections to process disturbances are automated.
 Unstable processes can be stabilized.

Other benefits can be achieved such as:

Safety If there is the possibility of injury or death to personnel, it is necessary to know as
much as possible about the process. Closing the loop on speed of process,
temperature or pressure on a conveyor system may mean the difference between
life and death for people who work in the area.
Product Some products, like semiconductor wafers, require precise control of temperature,
damage time, position, and chemical dosing. The failure of any of these related control
systems can mean the loss of an entire wafer of thousands of integrated circuits or
processors. Again, no expense can be spared on sensing and precise loop control.
The same can be said for manufacturing pharmaceutical products and medical
devices. Closing the loop impacts safety for humans and prevents damage to
expensive products. (LAC, 2020)

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2. Identify all the variables involved

a. Controlled variable – Motor Speed (rpm)

b. Manipulated variable – Voltage supplied (V)
c. Disturbances – Weight of the load (kg)

3. Identify all the elements/instruments used

Elements Instruments
a. Controller PLC Controller
b. Final Control Element Motor Voltage Controller
c. Process / System Closed-Loop Conveyor Belt System
d. Sensor Weight sensor

4. Draw equivalent signal block diagram for the system

Figure 2 : Closed Loop Conveyor System signal flow diagram

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 5. Explain the closed loop control system

Figure 3 : General Closed-Loop signal block diagram

Goal of any electric or electronic control system is to measure, monitor & control a process and
one way in which can accurately control the process is by monitoring its output and feed them
back to be compared with the set point (desired output) to reduce the error & if there are any
disturbances, the system will be corrected automatically.

Closed-loop systems are designed to automatically achieve and maintain the desired output
condition by comparing it with the actual condition. It does this by generating an error signal,
which is the difference between the output and the reference input. In other words, a “closed-loop
system” is a fully automatic control system in which its control action being dependent on the
output in some way.

Then the closed-loop configuration is characterized by the feedback signal, derived from the sensor
in our clothes drying system. The magnitude and polarity of the resulting error signal would be
directly related to the difference between the required speed and actual speed of the motor.

Then we can define the main characteristics of Closed-loop Control as being:

 To reduce errors by automatically adjusting the systems input.

 To improve stability of an unstable system.
 To increase or reduce the systems sensitivity.
 To enhance robustness against external disturbances to the process.
 To produce a reliable and repeatable performance.

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 a. Closed-loop Motor Control

Figure 4 : Correcting process in Closed-Loop system

For this assignment, closed-loop is the better option because of better productivity & efficiency.
By using closed loop system, the supplied power will vary depending on the load to produce the
same amount of speed.

When lighter load is on the conveyor, the controller will direct less input power to the motor. When
heavier load is on the conveyor, the controller will direct more power to increase motor torque to
produce same amount of speed to the conveyor.

This is because, any external disturbances to the closed-loop motor control system such as the
motors load increasing would create a difference in the actual motor speed and the potentiometer
input set point.

This difference would produce an error signal, which the controller would automatically respond
too adjusting the motors speed. Then the controller works to minimize the error signal, with zero
error indicating actual speed, which equals set point. (Science Direct, 2018)

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 6. Applied control law

Figure 5 : General Closed Loop signal flow diagram

As a feedback controller, it delivers the control output at desired levels. Before

microprocessors were invented, PID control was implemented by the analog electronic
components. However, today all PID controllers are processed by the microprocessors.
Programmable logic controllers (PLC) also have the inbuilt PID controller instructions. Due to the
flexibility and reliability of the PID controllers, these are normally used in process control
applications.

a. Working Principle of PID Controller

PID controller consists of three terms, namely proportional, integral and derivative control. The
combined operation of these three controllers gives control strategy for process control. PID
controller manipulates the process variables like in this case, speed.

Feedback signal from the process is compared with a set point or reference signal u(t) and
corresponding error signal is fed to the PID algorithm. According to the proportional, integral and
derivative control calculations in algorithm, the controller produces combined response or
controlled output, which is applied to conveyor control devices. (Wikipedia contributors, 2020)
(National Instruments, 2020)

Figure 6 : PID Control Algorithm

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 Control Law Block Diagram
P- Controller
Proportional or P- controller gives output, which is
proportional to current error e (t). It compares desired or
set point with actual value or feedback process value. The
resulting error is multiplied with proportional constant to
Figure 7 : P Control System
get the output. If the error value is zero, then this controller
output is zero.

PI-Controller
Due to limitation of p-controller where there always exists
an offset between the process variable and set point, I-
controller is needed, which provides necessary action to
eliminate the steady state error. It integrates the error over
a period until error value reaches to zero. It holds the value Figure 8 : PI Control System
to final control device at which error becomes zero.

PID-Controller
I-controller doesn’t have the capability to predict the
future behaviour of error. Therefore, it reacts normally
once the set point is changed. D-controller overcomes this
problem by anticipating future behaviour of the error. Its
output depends on rate of change of error with respect to
time, multiplied by derivative constant. It gives the kick-
start for the output thereby increasing system response. Figure 9 : PID Control System
(El-Pro-Cus, 2020)

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 7. Sketch the expected process response

Figure 10 : PID Process Response

By applying PID control law into the system, we can eliminate & integrate & anticipate future
behavior of the error at greater rate and achieve the ideal value as requested by the set point.
(Umich.edu, n.d.)

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 8. Conclusion

Based on the study on the topic, I have achieved the objective of the practical. I can
conclude that while a good closed-loop system can have many advantages over an open-loop
control system, its main disadvantage is that in order to provide the required amount of control, a
closed-loop system must be more complex by having one or more feedback paths.

If the gain of the controller is too sensitive to changes in its input commands or signals it
can become unstable and start to oscillate as the controller tries to over-correct itself, and
eventually something would break.

On the good side, we can observe that:

 Closed loop is a feedback monitoring system (controlled variable continuously monitored)

 The controller compares the desired value with the measured value generating an error
signal
 The controller then adjust the system until the error is reduces closed to desired value
 Closed loop is error-activated system
 Closed loop is much more accurate in long-term control system

Also by using PID control system, it will contribute to fully automate the system, which
means less human intervention, use less labors & cut unnecessary costs to achieve desirable &
reliable readings.

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 9. References

Corp, S. (2020). Industrial Magnetic Sensors for Conveyors & Belt Systems | Sensor Solutions
Corp. Retrieved from Sensor Solutions: https://sensorso.com/manufacturing.html
Electro Sensors. (2018, 03 20). Monitoring Belt Conveyors with a Speed Switch. Retrieved from
Electro Sensors: https://www.electro-sensors.com/applications/belt-conveyors
El-Pro-Cus. (2020, 05 29). How Does a PID Controller Work? - Structure & Tuning Methods.
Retrieved from El-Pro-Cus: https://www.elprocus.com/the-working-of-a-pid-controller/
Industries, C. (2020, 05 19). Conveyor Components. Retrieved from Conveyor Industries:
https://conveyorindustries.co.nz/conveyor-components/
LAC. (2020, 06 04). What Is A Conveyor System? Applications, Uses, And Types Explained.
Retrieved from LAC Conveyors: https://www.lacconveyors.co.uk/what-is-a-conveyor-
system/
Monroy, C. (2020, 01 18). What is a conveyor system? Definition, types & more. Retrieved from
6 River Systems: https://6river.com/what-is-a-conveyor-system/
National Instruments. (2020, 3 17). PID Theory Explained. Retrieved from National Instruments:
https://www.ni.com/en-my/innovations/white-papers/06/pid-theory-explained.html
Science Direct. (2018). Control Law - an overview. Retrieved from Science Direct:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/control-law
Umich.edu. (n.d.). Control Tutorials for MATLAB and Simulink - Introduction: PID Controller
Design. Retrieved from Umich.edu:
http://ctms.engin.umich.edu/CTMS/index.php?example=Introduction&section=ControlPI
D
Wikipedia contributors. (2020, 06 01). PID controller. Retrieved from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PID_controller

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 10. Appendix

APPENDIX A

Example of conveyor system application in industry:

a) Logistic Facilities

b) Heavy duty operation

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APPENDIX B

Comparison of P, PI, PD & PID Graph

APPENDIX C

Signal Flow Diagram for Closed Loop Conveyer System with Weight Sensor

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APPENDIX D

Mathematical algorithm of PID Control Law

APPENDIX E

P, PI & PID Signal Flow Diagram Comparison

Block Diagram
P PI

PID

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