"Thanks! What you are doing here is awesome. We need more folks like you in other areas of engineering training & development."
“Finn, I have just finished tuning a PID loop for an industrial refrigeration plant (ammonia) and I had to write you a quick note to say how impressed I was/am with your tuning blueprint.
I followed your steps for an integrating process and used the equations provided and WOW! what a result.
This has got to be the BEST tuning guide around. I am still yet to see a simpler way to calibrate and tune a loop. ”
“Finn,
Your PID Tuning Blueprint package was exactly what I needed to get my application tuned. I was an taking a former open looped application that was monitored by a thermocouple and closing the loop. The PID Blueprint manual helped me get a clear understanding of what the P, I & D terms mean and how to quantify them. It also helped me identify the importance of getting to the solution by a simple step by step method instead of the frustrating and fruitless Trial and Error (W.A.G.) method.
Finally, the PID Tuning Log Book clenched the deal. I spent half a day thrashing around trying to use my new found understanding without the log book. Then I printed out the log book and methodically went through the simple steps and my closed loop control was done. My whole reason for wanting to close the loop on this long standing open loop system was to allow for us to adjust the airflow through the heaters and have the temperature automatically compensate.
Another advantage is how quickly the system comes up to temperature compared to before.
The biggest problem for me was not knowing what the control type and units of my Modicon PLC controller. The vendor's documentation is woefully inadequate on clearly identifying what each parameter is.
With the PID Blueprint I was able to identify the control methodology and discern the units for each term.
In addition, your concise description of the myriad other parameters surrounding the PID control loop help me to choose the correct loop control function block.
For instance, my system is a hot air tool that is an open flow of compressed air through a heater element. Your PID Blueprint manual indicated that the Derivative term cannot be used in flow applications. This of course saved me perhaps several days of Trial and Error to find out that by other more frustrating means.
I am very thankful for having found your product and think it was money well spent.
I was nearly ready to leave our systems as an open loop control thus missing out on all the performance benefits we'll have with it being a closed loop control system.
I am also impressed by the apparently personalized encouraging emails you sent in the days following my purchase. A product isn't successful, if the end user doesn't use it after all. I found that using your PID Blueprint was indeed the shortest path to a successfully tuned loop. I've never been someone to sit down and read a manual cover to cover before. Typically, I would jump to page 60 and try and get things going.
Fortunately, since your manual wasn't a War and Peace volume on PID loop tuning. In fact, I found your style of writing the guide rather refreshing, making light of an otherwise wearisome topic.
However, one can sense the love you have for the topic because you speak of it in such personal terms. I really appreciate your writing style because you cut through the technical jargon that I can never remember and provide simple illustrations and analogies that are right on point. I can easily remember something I understand, and now I have a clearer understanding of PID loops than I've ever had thanks to the PID Tuning Blueprint.”
“In implementing the PID Tuning Blueprint, I was able to uncover instability in the glycol cooling loop.
The company was impressed by how the PID Tuning Blueprint was able to be used as such an effective tool in identifying deficiencies in the glycol control loop, at a fraction of the cost of software such as RSTune ”
“I showed my Engineering Professor your Blueprint and he said it was extremely good - that's saying something because it takes a lot to impress this guy!”
"Easy to use and to follow. Probably is the best down-to-earth material for tuning PIDs that I have ever seen.
Really,.. it is Idiot Proof. It is like you follow the lines painted on the floor and you will arrive safely.
Using your Blueprint, my process was tuned with just PI. PID was not necessary after it was so well tuned."
"We had a new control system installed with 3 valves with new pid loops.
We got all 3 done with your blueprint and they are all stable over the entire operating range."
“Its power and utility is embedded in its simplicity.
Your Blueprint launched our process from ‘expect the worst, but hope for the best’ process to one that is reliable and predictable. ”
“I liked it. I felt it was well written. And yes it did help me understand loop tuning.
I used it to tune a thermal process. Everything from temperature loops to level, pressure and flow.
I liked the format. I liked how it was written and I felt it like the author was talking to me. So I did not feel like I was just reading some other text book. ”
“I like the fact it is plain English with humor interjected ”
I liked the practical approach:
1) Collect info
2) Perform calculation
3) Implement - It worked first try.I tuned several chilled water temperature control loops quickly and easily. ”
" What I liked most about the PID Tuning Blueprint was it’s simple approach. We have implemented it on our clients’ processes and the results are great. "
“Finally, the ability to show the Automation Engineers that there is more than just "Trial and Error" to tuning PID loops!!! ”
" Good step by step instructions "
" Straight forward no nonsense approach to loop tuning. "
" Applicable and Real World.
Direct translation to real world problems. "
" The primary reason for purchase was to help tune a difficult loop that had resisted other tuning methods. It was used to tune about 8 loops in total. On all of these the results from the worksheet looked a bit odd at first but when applied to the loops the figures resulted in stable, but rather over-damped loops (This included the difficult loop). The over-damping may have been a result of the difficulty of measuring the open loop process parameters on the SCADA/HMI being used. "
" I thought that the blue print layout was excellent, each step was clear and concise.
The clear text and diagrams demonstrate the theory very well.
It is nice to deal with a company that stands by their product and passes on any upgrades improvements at no charge.
Well done on a great product. "
" Simple, easy to understand explanations
The "Idiot's Guide to the PID Algorithm" helped me and it help me to explain loop tuning techniques and constraints to clients."
" I liked that it was to-the-point and left out all the theory crap… "
" I like the ease of use of the Blueprint.
It worked well for tuning a difficult control loop. "
"Thank you very much. This is the best thing I have ever done to improve my job performance and stay employed."