Control of a pneumatic drive using electronic pressure valves

The primary task of the electronic pressure (E/P) valves is to control the pressure continuously in different industrial automation processes. Their use in pneumatic drives allows regulating pressures in both cylinder chambers and so it is possible to achieve a direct force controlled actuator. Additionally to the force control, position control of the pneumatic actuator using E/P valves has been presented. A dynamic model for control purposes of the process has been derived, followed by the PID controller tuned according to damping optimum criteria. The control algorithms have been experimentally verified on an industrial cylindrical rod-less actuator controlled by two E/P valves. The control performances are comparable with the set-up with proportional directional control valves (servo-valves). Based on the experimental results, it can be concluded that these valves have potential for successful implementation in industry for position and force control applications.