Printed in U.S.A., Copyright 2000.

Penton
Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Machine Design (ISSN 0024-9114) is published semimonthly by Penton Media, Inc., 1100 Superior Ave., Cleveland, OH 44114-2543. Copies
not qualified for domestic requester circulation: one year, $105; two years, $165. Permission to photocopy is granted for users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center
(CCC) Inc. to photocopy any article, with the
exception of those for which separate ownership is indicated on the first page of the article, provided that the base fee of $1.25 per
copy of the article, plus $.60 per page is paid
to CCC, 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA
01923 (Code No. 0024-9114/00 $1.25 + .60).
Permission to reprint: Barbara LoSchiavo; Purchased reprints: Judy Dustman
(216-696-7000, ext. 9607); Advertising Materials: Advertising Dept., Machine Design,
1100 Superior Ave., Cleveland, OH 441142543, 216-696-7000. Inserts should be sent
to Machine Design, Penton Press, 680 N.
Rocky River Dr., Berea, OH 44017-1691.

FLUID POWER

EDITED BY KENNETH KORANE

Controlling high-performance
electrohydraulics
Peter Nachtwey

Getting the most out of PID

systems is the key to precise
hydraulic motion control.

President
Delta Computer Systems
Vancouver, Wash.

ydraulic motion control offers many advantages

over electric and pneumatic systems, especially
in applications involving high-speed
linear travel, heavy loads, or smooth
position and pressure control. Hydraulic actuators are typically
small, quiet, and produce less heat
and EMI than electric actuators.
And for high-performance motion
control, hydraulic systems often cost
considerably less than their electrical or mechanical counterparts.
When designing hydraulic control
systems, however, it is critical to set
up motion controllers with correct
control algorithms. Compromises
can be made in designing a hydraulic
circuit, but the hydraulic motion controller cannot always compensate for
deficiencies. For instance, a motion
controller cannot make a closed-loop
system move or accelerate faster
than a comparable open-loop system, but it
can be more accurate and reliable.

OPEN-LOOP CONTROL
Open loop, the most basic form of control,
requires no gain tuning. Users only send a
signal to the valve to move the cylinder at a
desired speed. Automated systems require
position sensors to trigger the output, while
manual systems rely on operator skill. In
simple systems, the lack of adaptive control
means actuator speed will vary with
changes in oil temperature and load.
Open-loop mode is often used to initially
set up closed-loop systems. One procedure,
for example, is to ensure a positive drive output moves the cylinder in the positive direction. It is important to correct drive polarity
before using closed-loop control or the PID
will drive rapidly in the wrong direction. Another procedure is to fully extend and retract
the cylinder to determine the motion conwww.machinedesign.com

High-performance
hydraulic motion
controllers like the
Delta RMC100
often receive
cylinder-position
data from
magnetostrictive
displacement
transducers
(MDTs), such as
this unit from
Balluff, Florence,
Ky. Unlike resistive
measurements or
limit switches,
noncontact MDTs
exhibit little wear
and long life. They
also feature high
repeatability and
accuracy to 2 m.
trollers limits. The amount of cylinder drift
when the drive output is zero indicates
whether the null adjust of the servovalve or
amplifier card needs tweaking.
Open-loop control also tests basic performance. For example, if the drive output is set
just high enough to initiate motion, smooth
movement indicates normal operation. Erratic movement shows excessive static friction. If this happens, reduce static friction or
add accumulators to keep the pressure relatively constant. Another performance test
sends the valve a constant voltage to determine how fast the cylinder ramps up to a constant speed. This gives a good indication of
system response. Setup software that captures and documents system performance is
useful during this type of testing.
Operationally, open-loop control works
well for holding a cylinder against a stop,
moving nonlinear systems, and traveling at
maximum speed. In each of these cases,
SEPTEMBER 7, 2000

MACHINE DESIGN

81

FLUID POWER

A powdercompacting press
developed by
Best Press Corp.,
Castle Hayne,
N.C., has six
hydraulic motion
axes that move
simultaneously to
produce uniform
material density.
The hydraulic
motion controller
smoothly
transitions each
axis from
position-based
control to
pressure-based
control as the
cylinder reaches
a preprogrammed
location and tonnage. The smooth transition offers tighter control
and more flexibility than mechanical presses, with higher
accuracy and reliability. Electronic programming also dramatically
shortens setup time.
closed-loop control is not recommended. In
the first case, PID controllers overcontrol
the system by trying to move the cylinder to
an unreachable position. In the second case,
PID controllers assume the system is linear
and will not perform well over the range of
desired positions or speeds without changing gains on-the-fly. The third case is similar
to the first PID controllers do not work
well if asked to move a positioner faster than
its maximum speed. In this case, the target
position gets far ahead of the actual position
and the system overshoots the destination,
which is usually undesirable.
To enhance performance, advanced hydraulic motion controllers make the first
part of the move in open-loop control for
maximum speed, and then switch to closedloop control for ramp down.

CLOSED-LOOP CONTROL
Closed-loop control compensates for load
changes, friction, and nonlinearities, so that
motions are more repeatable than with
open-loop systems. However, this extra precision costs more. PID position controllers
are more expensive than open-loop controllers and they require position feedback
to compare actual and target positions. They
also need skilled personnel to tune the proportional, integral, and differential gains for
best performance. Nonetheless, higher pre82

MACHINE DESIGN

SEPTEMBER 7, 2000

cision, more-consistent manufacturing, and

less scrap often outweigh the extra cost of
using more-sophisticated control systems.
Heres a look at some control fundamentals.
Target generator. When an advanced
motion controller initiates a move, it does
not try to reposition the cylinder in a single
action. A step jump causes a rapid increase
in pressure which can cause positioning errors and jerky motion, accompanied by hydraulic shocks that create leaks and damage
position sensors. Typically, a motion controller bumps the target position toward the
requested position in small increments
every 1 or 2 msec. The target generator (a
function of the hydraulic motion controller)
calculates target position and target speed
every time increment, implementing functions such as S-curve and trapezoid ramping, linear or cubic interpolation, and motion
gearing. There are often different targetgenerator routines for each motion function.
Proportional control. This is the most
basic type of automatic control. Proportional-only control systems are easy to implement but prone to inaccuracy as it is difficult and sometimes impossible to reduce positioner error to zero. This is because
reducing the error also reduces the drive
output to the point where the positioner cannot overcome static friction or an out-of-null
valve. The equations describing simple proportional control are:
E = XT XA
where E = error and XT and XA are target
and actual positions, respectively. And
DP = GPE
where DP = proportional-drive output and
GP = proportional gain.
PI control. Most hydraulic control systems use PI control, which solves the error
problem inherent in proportional-only control by guaranteeing error eventually becomes zero. Here:
DI = DI + GIE
where DI = integral drive and GI = integral
gain.
DO = DI + DP
where DO = the PI drive output.
The integral term increases the drive each
time through the loop when the calculation
is done. Even if the error is small, the integral drive term will wind up until the positioner reduces the error to zero. The integral
gain controls how fast the error reaches
zero.
PID control. Few hydraulic systems use
the differentiator part of PID control because it is either not understood or position
feedback is noisy. The differentiator prowww.machinedesign.com

FLUID POWER

Electrohydraulic system layout

Accumulator

Metal tubing

Cylinder
Valve
Manifold
Magnet
MDT
Pump
Pressure
transducer

Differential
force inputs
Reservoir

Motion
controller

Control-drive
signal output

Circuit design and

components are
critical in highperformance
electrohydraulic
motion-control
systems.

Position-feedback
signal

vides damping which reduces oscillations.

Two equations can be used to implement the
differential drive term.
DD = GD(EC EP)
where DD = differential drive, GD = differential gain, EC = current error, and EP = previous error. Or,
DD = GD(VT VA)
where V T = target speed and V A = actual
speed.
D = DD + DI + DP
where D is the PID drive output.
Most motion controllers use the first differential-drive equation, but the second is
more intuitive and easier to discuss. Calculating actual speed is problematic because
most feedback devices have resolutions in
the 0.001 to 0.0001-in. range. An error in
reading the actual position of 0.001 in. over
a 1-msec time period equates to an error in
actual speed of 1 ips, which is significant.
Because the differentiator requires accurate
speeds, using it means the controller must
filter the actual speed calculations over a 4
to 10-msec time span, the feedback must
have little if any noise, and resolution
should be finer than 0.001 in.
Notice that PID control requires an error
before it generates an output. If moving the
positioner requires a sizable output, there
will have to be a significant error before the
PID control generates the required drive
www.machinedesign.com

Pressure
transducer

output. Consider a system that needs 5 V to

travel 10 ips, looking first at only the proportional gain. Assume the controls proportional gain is 10 mV per every 0.001 in. of error. From this data, an error of 0.500 in. will
be required to move the positioner at 10 ips.
The error would have to be 1 in. to move the
positioner at 20 ips, assuming the system is
linear. These errors are not acceptable in
many applications.
Adding the integral drive term eventually
reduces following error to zero. The problem
here is eventually. Normal hydraulic systems are quick, point-to-point movement
systems which do not give the integral term
time to wind up. So, to minimize following
error during quick point-to-point moves,
augment the PID control with a feed-forward drive.

FEED FORWARDS
Feed forwards, predictive functions supported by hydraulic motion controllers, provide a means of estimating how much drive
output is required to move or accelerate. For
instance, if moving the cylinder at 1 ips requires 1 V, it will probably take 2 V to move
the cylinder at 2 ips and 3 V to move at 3 ips.
However, this is only true in a perfect world.
PID control combined with feed forwards
provide much better control than either by
itself. To estimate how much drive the feed
SEPTEMBER 7, 2000

MACHINE DESIGN

83

FLUID POWER
forwards provide, use target speed
and target acceleration provided
by the target generator, multiplied
by a gain as follows:
DF = GFVT
where DF = velocity feed-forward
drive and G F = velocity feed-forward gain.
DA = GAAT
where DA = acceleration feed-forward drive, G A = acceleration
feed-forward gain, and AT = target
acceleration.
Each feed forward plays an important role in a motion profile. Velocity feed forward plays a part
whenever target speed is not zero.
This makes it important to supply
the drive with a constant velocity.
If actual position lags behind target position, velocity feed-forward
gain is too low. Conversely, if actual position leads the target position, velocity feed-forward gain is
too high. Set properly, following error will be small during the constant-velocity segment of the motion profile.
Acceleration feed-forward terms
are only active while accelerating
or decelerating. Acceleration feed
forward should only be used with
controllers that can generate
smooth accelerations and decelerations, or S curves. Otherwise, step
jumps in acceleration make the
drive react too quickly, causing hydraulic shocks and jerky motion.
Over time, that degrades system
reliability and leads to oil leaks.
Normally, actual position will fall
behind target position while accelerating and overshoot the target
while decelerating. The acceleration feed-forward term supplies extra drive while accelerating and reduces drive while decelerating.
It is helpful to have a means of
graphing target and actual positions to aid in adjusting acceleration feed forwards. Increase the
feed forwards until the actual position follows target position during
the acceleration and deceleration
ramps. If the gain is too large, actual position will lead the target
position during acceleration and
lag it during deceleration.
These drives are added to the
drives calculated from the PID to
84

MACHINE DESIGN

get DT, the total drive output:

DT = DP + DI + DD + DF + DA
One key point is that two sets of
gains are normally needed to support cylinder extend and retract
because the surface area of the piston is not the same on each side.

PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure-relief valves traditionally provide pressure control. Manually turning a screw that loosens
or tightens a relief spring, or adjusting an electrical signal, determines the setpoint for pressure-relief valves. However, relief valves
do not open until pressure reaches
the setpoint. If pressure increases
rapidly, it will overshoot. This can
cause flashing in injection-molding
applications or product damage in
clamping operations. An additional problem is that relieving oil
pressure wastes energy.
A PQ or pressure-flow valve provides another option. The valves
act like normal servovalves except
an extra 0 to 10 V input acts as a
pressure-relief setpoint. Thus one
valve can control both position and
pressure, but they still do not handle pressure transients well.
A better approach uses a servovalve and a position/pressure controller. The servovalve controls position in a normal fashion. But
when controlling pressure, the
valve dithers the valve spool (alternately opening and closing the
valve in small, quick steps) around
the closed position to increase or
decrease pressure. This wastes little oil and, because pressure can be
changed quickly with small movements of the valve spool, pressure
response is good.
Note that this requires a valve
with a zero-overlap spool. Valves
with overlapped spools cannot increase or decrease pressure with
minute changes in the spool position. This approach also requires
pressure sensors at each end of the
cylinder. The intent is not to control pressure on one side of the cylinder but rather to control the differential force across the piston.
Therefore it needs a way to convert
pressure inputs into force:
F = PAaA + PBaB + S
SEPTEMBER 7, 2000

where F = differential force, P

and a are pressure and piston
area, and S = the offset.
In horizontal static situations,
pressure on the B side (rod side) of
the piston is always higher than Aside pressure because the B side
has less surface area and yet must
produce the same force to hold position. In vertical systems, offset
compensates for the weight of the
moving parts so users can deal in
net force.
The position/pressure controller
requires two PID loops, each with
its own set of gains. The key is
knowing when to use the result of
the position PID, the pressure PID,
or a combination of the two. For example, a press application only
needs the position PID when the
press is closing. When the press is
closed and starts building pressure, position control is unnecessary and the pressure PID takes
over. The simple way do this is to
enable the pressure PID control
with a pressure setpoint. The setpoint should be low enough so the
pressure PID control has time to
assume control before pressure
overshoots the reference value.
Better yet would be a target generator for pressure that computes
a series of target pressure points
between the current pressure and
the reference pressure for each
time increment, resulting in
smooth transitions to the pressure
setpoint. This is far more desirable
than simply using the reference as
a target with large errors between
reference and actual pressures.
Pressure transducers in the system should measure actual resulting forces, rather than the force being exerted (hydraulic force). This
ensures exacting control.

We want your feedback.

Did you find this material interesting?

Circle 706

Do you want more information

of this type?

Circle 707

Comment via e-mail to mdeditor@penton.com

What related topics would you like to see covered?
What additional information on this topic would you
find useful?

www.machinedesign.com