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Tuning a PID Temperature ControllerPrevious: Practical Matters. In some case one may be able to measure the oven time constants directly and hence calculate the best controller settings. Often an equipment manufacturer will have suggested settings based on their commissioning report - a good reason read the manual first. Sometimes one has no option but to set up, or 'Tune', a system in closed-loop mode by trial and error so here are two straightforward procedures to tune a PID-controlled oven, they will get fairly close to optimum settings in most cases. CDHW Method
This procedure is based on the assumption that a critically damped system is optimal and the fact that stability and noise must be traded for response time. Please bear in mind that the second step may involve large temperature oscillations and so the procedure would not be suitable if these could be dangerous or cause damage, for example in a chemical processing plant. John Shaw's (Ziegler-Nichols Based) Method
This procedure was adapted slightly from John Shaw's, description of the Ziegler-Nichols Closed Loop method. It should yield a system that is slightly underdamped; if a less "aggressive" response is desired try reducing P to half the values listed. As was the case with the CDHW method the second step may involve large temperature oscillations and so the procedure would not be suitable if these could be dangerous or cause damage, for example in a nuclear reactor. Strictly speaking, the Ziegler-Nichols method was developed for the traditional series, or interacting design of controller. Further Reading
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