American University of Sharjah

Department of Electrical Engineering

Department of Mechanical Engineering
ELE 353L
MCE 415L

Calibration and Control of Servo Trainer

Objectives

To calibrate the circuits of the Servo Trainer Apparatus, namely the input actuator (the motor
circuit) and also the output sensors (the speed and angular position sensors).

To learn how to control the servo trainer using P and PI methods by selecting appropriate gain
factors.

Introduction
The CE110 Servo Trainer shown in Figure 1 relates specifically to velocity control and angular
position control problems as they would typically occur in industry. It may also, however, be
used as a practical introduction to the design, operation and application of control systems in general.

Figure 1: CE 110 Servo Trainer system.

The CE110 Servo Trainer comprises a motor driven rotating shaft upon which is mounted, (from left to
right):
1.

An inertial load flywheel

2.

A tachometer to measure the shaft speed

3.

A generator that provides an electrically variable load upon the motor.

4.

An electrically driven motor that provides the motive power which rotates the shaft.

5.

An electrically operated clutch to enable the motor driven shaft to be connected to a secondary
shaft called here the position output shaft, which connects to:I.

A 30:1 ratio reduction gearbox.

II.
III.

An output shaft position sensor and calibrated visual indicator.

Adjacent to the visual indicator of output shaft position is a manually operated position
dial which can be used for setting desired (set-point) angular positions.

The CE110 includes power amplifiers for the drive motor and load generator and power supplies/signal
conditioning circuits for the associated speed and velocity sensors.
The motor speed is determined by the voltage applied to the drive amplifier input socket on the front
panel. Likewise, the generator load is determined by the external load input. Both inputs are arranged
to operate in the range 10V (0 to 10V in the case of the generator).
The shaft velocity sensor and the output shaft position sensor are sealed to give outputs calibrated
in the range 10V. A door at the rear of the left hand side allows access to change the size of the
inertial load by adding or removing the inertia discs supplied. For safety, a micro-switch mounted in
the door disables the drive amplifier when the access door is open or not fully latched.
In addition to the main rotating components, a further facility for investigating servomechanism control
is provided in the form of a set of typical servo-system non-linear elements. These are situated at
the top of the unit and, as shown in Figure 2, from left to right comprise: 1.

An anti-dead-zone block, to eliminate any dead-zone deliberately introduced or inherent in the

CE110 motor.

2.

A dead-zone block, to introduce additional dead-zone so it may be simulated and studied.

3.

A saturation block, to allow servo-drive amplifier saturation to be simulated and studied.

4.

A hysteresis block, to allow gearbox and servo-drive train backlash to be simulated and studied.

Control Principles

Consider a simple system where a motor is used to rotate a load, via a rigid shaft, at a constant speed,
as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 2: Simple Motor & Load system.

The load will conventionally consist of two elements,
1.

A flywheel or inertial load, which will assist in removing rapid fluctuations in shaft speed.

2.

An electrical generator from which electrical power is removed by a load.

Under equilibrium conditions with a constant shaft speed, we have:

When this condition is achieved the system is said to be in equilibrium since the shaft speed will be
maintained for as long as both the motor input energy and the generator and frictional losses remain
unchanged. If the motor input and/or the load were to be changed, whether deliberately or otherwise,
the shaft speed would self-adjust to achieve a new equilibrium. That is, the speed would increase if the
input power exceeded the losses or reduce in speed if the losses exceeded the input power.

Open Loop Control and Operator Dependency

When operated in this way the system is an example of an open-loop control system, because no
information concerning shaft speed is fed back to the motor drive circuit to compensate for changes in
shaft speed.
The same configuration exists in many industrial applications or as part of a much larger and
sophisticated plant. As such the load and losses may be varied by external effects and considerations
which are not directly controlled by the motor/load arrangement. In such a system an operator may be
tasked to observe any changes in the shaft speed and make manual adjustments to the motor drive
when the shaft speed is changed. In this example the operator provides:
I.
II.

The measurement of speed by observing the actual speed against a calibrated scale.
The computation of what remedial action is required by using their knowledge to increase or
decrease the motor input a certain amount.

III.

The manual effort to accomplish the load adjustment, required to achieve the desired changes
in the system performance, or by adjusting the supply to the motor.

Again, reliance is made on the operators experience and concentration to achieve the necessary
adjustment with minimum delay and disturbance to the system.
This manual action will be time consuming and expensive, since an operator is required whenever the
system is operating. Throughout a plant, even of small size, many such operators would be required
giving rise to poor efficiency and high running costs. This may cause the process to be an uneconomic
proposition, if it can be made to work at all!
There are additional practical considerations associated with this type of manual control of a system in
that an operator cannot maintain concentration for long periods of time and also that they may not be
able to respond quickly enough to maintain the required system parameters.

Closed Loop Control

Figure 4 shows a typical arrangement for a closed-loop control system that includes a feedback loop.
The tachometer gives feedback about the current speed of the motor shaft, electronic circuits would
then generate an Error Signal which is equal to the difference between the Measured Signal and the
Reference Signal.
The Reference Signal is chosen to achieve the shaft speed required. It is also termed the Set Point (or
Set Speed in the case of a servo speed control system).
The Error Signal is then used, with suitable power amplification, to drive the motor and so automatically
adjust the actual performance of the system. The use of a signal measured at the output of a system to
control the input condition is termed Feedback.
In this way the information contained in the electrical signal concerning the shaft speed, whether it be
constant or varying, is used to control the motor input to maintain the speed as constant as possible

under varying load conditions. This is then termed a Closed-Loop Control System because the output
state is used to control the input condition.

Figure 3: Feedback Closed Loop Control.

Proportional plus Integral PI Controller

In order to maintain a non-zero input to the motor drive, there must always be a non-zero error signal
at the input to the proportional amplifier. Hence, on its own Proportional Control cannot maintain the
shaft speed at the desired level with zero error, other than by manual adjustment of the Reference.
Moreover, proportional gain alone would not be able to compensate fully for any changes made to the
operating conditions.
Operating with zero Error may, however, be achieved by using a controller which is capable of
Proportional and Integral Control PI. Figure 5 shows a typical schematic diagram of a PI Controller.

Figure 4: PI controller

Achieving Equilibrium with Zero Steady State Error

The Proportional Amplifier on its own will leave an Error at the instance of the change in speed.
However, with the Integrator output signal increasing, ramping upwards in response to this error, the
supply to the drive motor and the motor torque will correspondingly increase. The shaft speed will rise
until the Set speed is achieved and the Error is zero. At this condition the motor and loads are equal and
the system is in equilibrium.
This new operating condition will be maintained until another disturbance causes the speed to change
once again, whether upwards or downwards, and the controller automatically adjusts its output to
compensate. In practice the PI Controller constantly monitors the system performance and makes the
necessary adjustments to keep it within specified operating limits.

Figure 5: Overall Response of the PI Controller to a step change in Set Speed.

Effect of Increasing Integral Gain on PI Response

The amount of Integral Action will affect the response capability of the system to compensate for a
change. Figure 7 shows the typical response of a system with constant Proportional and varying levels of
Integral Action.

In general,

Figure 6: Typical system response with constant proportional

but varying integral gains.

(a) Any increase in the amount of integral action would cause the system to accelerate more quickly
in the direction required to reduce the Error and have a tendency to increase instability.
(b) Decreasing the integral action would cause the system to respond more slowly to disturbances
and so take longer to achieve equilibrium.

Proportional + Integral + Derivative PID Controller

Where fast response is required with minimum overshoot a Three-Term Controller is used. This consists
of the previous PI Controller with a Differential Amplifier included to give a PID (or Three-Term)
Controller.
The performance of a Differential Amplifier is that the output is the differential of the input. Figure 8
shows the characteristic of a Differentiator supplied with a square wave input.

Figure 7: Differentiator supplied with Square wave Input

Each time the input level is reversed the output responds by generating a large peak which then decays
to zero until the next change occurs. In a practical Differentiator the maximum peak value would be
achieved at the power supply rail voltage levels to the Differentiator itself.
In a PID Controller the polarity of the output would be configured to actually oppose any change and
thereby dampen the response of the system. The gain of the Differentiator would control the amount of
damping provided, both in amplitude and duration.

Differentiator Improves System Transient Response

The damping required for the situation described in Figure 10 could also, therefore, be achieved by
including a Differentiator in the control loop to suppress the high acceleration caused by the Integrator
without affecting it's ability to remove the Error. It is the balance between the Integral and Differential
Action, which now controls the overall system response to a step change in Set Level.
The speed and manner with which a system can overcome disturbances is termed the Transient
Response. By careful selection of the parameters of the proportional, integral and differential amplifiers
it is possible to produce a system Transient Response to suit the specific application.

Equipment

CE110 : Servo Trainer Apparatus

CE122 : I/O Digital Interface (Serially connected to a PC)

CE2000L : Digital Controller (Lite Software) Installed on a PC

Procedure
PART A: Motor Calibration Characteristics
1.

2.

Initial CE110 settings:

Clutch disengaged (i.e. position shaft not connected).

Rear access panel firmly closed.

Smallest inertial load installed (1 disc installed).

Make the following connections between CE122 and CE108 while all equipment remain off:

Table 1

CE122

CE110

CE122

A/D Channel 1

Output from
Tachometer

D/A Channel 1

A/D Channel 2

Output Shaft

D/A Channel 2

CE110
10V input to Drive
Motor
Not connected

Position
Indicator
A/D Channel 3

10V Reference Set

Potentiometer

GND

3.

On the desktop of your PC, start CE2000 Lite

4.

Open CE110 file as saved in the home directory of this software.

5.

Go to Options>Circuit options>General and tick on allow editing

6.

Make the necessary connection as in the figure below:

GND

7.

After completing the necessary connections, run your circuit.

8.

Slowly increase the fine potentiometer voltage until the motor just starts to turn. This is the size of
the positive dead-zone for the motor drive amplifier; enter it into the first row of the Table 2
provided.
Increase the potentiometer to 1V; record the corresponding motor speed from the speed display on
the CE110 front panel.

9.

Increase the coarse potentiometer voltage in 1V steps to 10V and record the corresponding speed in
Table 2.

Table 2
Motor Drive Voltages (Positive)

Motor Speed (rpm)

Dead zone=---- (volt to barely start rotation)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
10. Repeat the above procedure with the clutch engaged, and complete Table 3. Avoid running the
Servo Trainer at high speed for prolonged periods with the clutch engaged, as this may cause
excessive wear of the gearbox.

Table 3
Motor Drive Voltages (Positive)

Motor Speed (rpm)

Dead zone=---- (volt to barely start rotation)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

PART B: Speed Sensor Settings

11. CE110 settings:

Clutch disengaged.

Rear access panel firmly closed.

Smallest inertial load installed.

12. Readjust the previous connection as in the figure below.

13. Set the target potentiometer to the speed sensor output (initially 1V) that you require then adjusts
the coarse and fine potentiometers until the error bar graph is at a minimum. Enter the
corresponding speed reading in Table 4. Repeat the process in steps of 1V for positive speed sensor
readings.

Table 4
Motor Speed Positive (rpm)

Speed Sensor Output (V)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

PART C: Angular Position Transducer Calibration

14. CE110 settings:

Clutch engaged.

Rear access panel firmly closed.

Smallest inertial load installed.

15. Connect the circuit as shown in the figure below

16. Open and close the switches connected to the 'fast' and 'slow' potentiometers to turn the output
shaft to the specified angles and enter the corresponding position sensor output in Table 5.

Table 5
Indicated Angle ()

Position Sensor Output (V)

-150
9

-120
-90
-60
-30
0
30
60
90
120
150
PART D: Effect of Integral Action on Steady State Errors
Note: you have to capture the system responses whenever needed by using the chart
recorder and to save them to a word document file in your folder.
17. CE110 settings:

Clutch disengaged.

Rear access panel firmly closed.

Largest inertial load installed.

18. To record the graph presses the record button.

19. To save the captured graph, open a word document file and copy the figure there, to copy the figure
press the camera button on the top toolbar then paste the figure in the document.
20. Make sure to clear the record memory by going to Options>Circuit options>Recording and tick on
clear all series.
21. Make the necessary connections as in figure below

22. Slowly increase the potentiometer output voltage to 4V, and observe the steady state error. (for
KP=1 this should be approximately 2V). Observe the error signal as integral action takes effect, as
follows: - with Ki =0.1, press the integrator reset button and switch the integrator into the
controller. (Note: it is most important to press the reset button each time an integrator is switched
into a circuit. Failure to do so can cause unpredictable results). Observe how the speed slowly
increases and the error signal slowly decreases to zero as the integrator output increases so as to
cancel the error. Switch the integrator out of the circuit.

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23. Repeat the above procedure for Ki =0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, and 10. Note that as Ki is increased the error is
reduced to zero more rapidly until a point is reached when the error overshoots zero, and oscillates
before settling to zero. The oscillations became more pronounced as the Ki is increased.
24. Save all graphs to your word document file.

PART E: Selection of Integral and Proportional Controller Gains

25. CE110 settings:

Clutch disengaged.

Rear access panel firmly closed.

Largest inertial load installed.

26. Readjust the previous connection as in figure below

27. Double click the function generator and make the following settings

28. The square wave generator signal provides a series of step changes in the reference signal, which
can be used to investigate the step response of the servo-speed control system. With KI=3,
investigate the effect of proportional gain upon the control system step response by recording and
printing the response for values of Kp =1, 0.1, and 0.01. Comment on the shape of the results in
terms of speed of response and amount of overshoot.
29. Investigate the effect of integral gain upon the control system step response by setting Kp =1, and
plotting the step response for values of Ki =0.5, 1, 5, and 10. Comment on the shape of the
resulting step responses in terms of speed of response and amount of overshoot.

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30. Save all graphs to your word document file.

Lab Report
The report should include the following information:

All results and graphs.

Analysis to sensor calibration graphs in terms of sensitivity, linearity, resolution, etc.

Analysis of transient response for P and PI controllers.

Discuss why the motor drive characteristic differs with the clutch engaged and disengaged.

Discuss the effect of integral gain on steady state error.

Discuss also the effect of changing proportional and integral gains on overall system response.

Your conclusions and observations.

12

DATA SHEET
Note: Make sure your instructor signs your data sheet and later enclose it with
your laboratory report. (Reports with no attached data sheet will not be
accepted).
Table 6
Motor Drive Voltages (Positive)

Motor Speed (rpm)

Dead zone=---- (volt to barely start rotation)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Table 7
Motor Drive Voltages (Positive)

Motor Speed (rpm)

Dead zone=---- (volt to barely start rotation)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Table 8
Motor Speed Positive (rpm)

Speed Sensor Output (V)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

13

Table 9
Indicated Angle ()

Position Sensor Output (V)

-150
-120
-90
-60
-30
0
30
60
90
120
150

Group Members:
123-

Instructors Signature:

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