A practical guide for learning about Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) loop control and tuning.

PID loops are everywhere in industrial automation—but getting them tuned for fast, stable, and efficient control can be a challenge.  

This new technical article defines the elements of a PID loop, reviews how PIDs are configured for Opto 22 devices, and introduces a free online tuner you can use for many loop controllers (not just Opto's). 

New article clarifies when to use sinking and sourcing in discrete DC circuits.

If you've ever hesitated when selecting digital I/O because of the terms sinking and sourcing, this new article can help.

It's a common point of confusion in industrial automation. Choosing the wrong module can lead to unnecessary troubleshooting, rewiring, or project delays.

The article and the accompanying tech note cover the basics: what's the difference, when it matters, and how you choose and wire the right I/O module. 

Updated interactive website demo provides guidance for choosing sinking or sourcing modules for both groov and SNAP PAC systems.

Confusion around sinking and sourcing wiring is one of the most common causes of field issues in DC control systems. Get it wrong, and devices won’t turn on—or worse, you end up rewiring a panel that should have worked the first time.

But manufacturers label their DC outputs in different ways. We updated our interactive demo to make the concepts simple. It shows exactly how sinking and sourcing circuits work and helps you select the correct I/O modules for both your groov and SNAP PAC systems. Try it now!

Tips when using PAC Project with groov View, MQTT, Node-RED, RESTful API, and more

Are you wondering what else you can do to improve your PAC Project system’s performance? Did you optimize your SNAP PAC system and apply the same techniques to your groov EPIC system? There may be some other options you might not think of, like these:

Whether you’re running an edge device like groov EPIC or a classic SNAP PAC system, performance optimization is a balance among logic, I/O communication, and HMI responsiveness. You might find some time savers in the Optimizing PAC Project System Performance technical note.

Here are a few highlights from the tech note.

Hear first hand how smoothly and powerfully a groov EPIC controller lends itself to the commissioning process.

Now and then, I get signed up to do something different. Most of us have that clause in our job descriptions: "or any other duties as directed." 😁

In this case, I assembled a cabinet with a groov EPIC on a chassis four rack. The four I/O modules were a mix with a total of 30 channels.

Of course, after the wiring was done, a sanity check was in order—or, said another way, a point-by-point check that everything was working as it should have been. Sounds tedious, right? Follow along...

Understanding different data types in your PAC Control programming.

You don’t need to have the title "software engineer" on your business card before you code up your first automation process. In fact, I suspect that many industrial automation folks are like me—self-taught and come from the school of hard knocks.

This blog post is more of a musing out loud than a "you must" edict. Programming, after all, is often more art than science.

Some tech tip advice to help keep your industrial systems running smoothly.

Whenever I say this blog title out loud to the Premium Factory Training class attendees, I get some funny looks. I'm not sure if it's the Aussie accent, or the idea of adding delays to speed up that causes the double-take chuckles.

Compute power has come a long way in the last 10 years or so, but regardless, we programmers of all things industrial still need to be mindful of optimizing our code and systems to run as smoothly as they possibly can.

Arguably, one of the biggest tips for programming in PAC Control I can share with you all is to add delays through your flow charts and OptoScript blocks.