Hi, everyone. My name is Ben Gittins, and I am a senior engineer at ACE. Today I’m going to be talking about control systems to guide young engineers about how to get into the industry.

Control systems have changed the world of engineering in that they allow for people to not have to stay at sites or monitor constantly of manufacturing processes as well as other important processes. Control systems use sensors and actuators to monitor and interact with the world. It spans many industries, from manufacturing to aviation.

These control systems can either be open loop, which means they have no feedback from the surrounding world, or they can be closed loop, which means that they do have feedback.

The first step of the design process is to determine the objectives and requirements of the project. After that, suitable control algorithms are determined to best be used for the system. Simulation and Modelling play an important role in the control system’s design process. They allow us to analyse the system behaviour and performance before it is actually implemented. Examples of these are MATLAB and Simulink.

Troubleshooting involves addressing common issues such as investigating sensor and actuator faults. It also involves investigating instability in the system. Instability can often be caused by parameter variation or external disturbances in the system. Techniques for fixing these issues can either be to analyse the feedback signals given by the control system or to compare the control system state.

There are many techniques for determining the cause of errors in a control system. For example, feedback signal analysis can be used to determine the cause or comparing the real world outcome with the expected outcome of the control system can also be used.

Optimisation of a control system is crucial. It ensures that the control system is efficient and is also reliable. It is extremely important that a system is reliable. People do not have to constantly go out for maintenance. Continuous improvement and monitoring leads to long term effectiveness of the system.

A control systems engineer can have a diverse career path in their professional career. Working as a control systems engineer can lead to a diverse professional career path. Examples of these can include process control engineering, automation engineering, and control systems design engineering process control engineers oversee manufacturing processes of the control system. Automation engineers specialize in robotics and machinery. Control system designers are responsible for the system’s architecture as well as its optimization.

Success as a control systems engineer comes from teamwork, effective communication and an enjoyment of lifelong learning.

In this video, we have gained an insight into control systems troubleshooting optimisation. And multiple different career paths that can be taken for a control systems engineer. We encourage the continued learning and practical application of knowledge to be used in the control systems area. Additional resources that can be used are online courses, textbooks, as well as professional associations which can be used to help network as well as gain a deeper insight into the engineering world.

Thank you very much for watching this video. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

 

 

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