A solution for study of PID controllers using cRIO system

Designing ACS (automatic control system) in closed loop was more an art than science until the Industrial Revolution, when mathematics began to be used (for the first time in the middle of nineteenth century) in stability analysis of ACS in closed loop. Currently, the automation of industrial installations is carried out either using PLCs (Programmable Logic Controller) or using PACs (Programmable Automation Controller). The latter incorporate the advantages of PCs (software capability) and PLCs (PACs are as robust as PLCs which make them useful in industrial environment). Along with PXI systems, Compact FieldPoint and Compact Vision System, also based on LabVIEW Real-Time technologies and LabVIEW FPGA, CompactRIO (cRIO) systems (from National Instruments) belong to the Programmable Automation Controllers category (PACs). This paper proposes an application that highlights the principle of closed-loop control (using PID controller) of a DC motor speed, through a CompactRIO system. For students, it´s very important to understand how work these controllers and how important it´s to make an optimal tuning.