Control System Design Guide, Third Edition: Using Your Computer to Understand and Diagnose Feedback Controllers [Hardcover]

George Ellis (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0122374614 | ISBN-13: 978-0122374616 | Publication Date: March 2, 2004 | Edition: 3

Control System Design Guide, 3E will help engineers to apply control theory to practical systems using their PC. This book provides an intuitive approach to controls, avoiding unnecessary mathematics and emphasizing key concepts with more than a dozen control system models. Whether readers are just starting to use controllers or have years of experience, this book will help them improve their machines and processes.

* Teaches controls with an intuitive approach, avoiding unnecessary mathematics.
* Key topics are demonstrated with realistic models of control systems.
* All models written in Visual ModelQ, a full graphical simulation environment available freely via the internet.
* New material on OBSERVERS explained using practical applications.
* Explains how to model machines and processes, including how to measure working equipment; describes many nonlinear behaviours seen in industrial control systems.
* Electronic motion control, including details of how motors and motor feedback devices work, causes and cures of mechanical resonance, and how position loops work.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"No matter how much you think you may know about the subject, there is something everyone can learn from this book. This book is control systems A-Z, and is the best book I have seen on the subject."
- Dave Trapasso, Senior Project Engineer, Delphi Automotive Systems

"I enjoyed reading this book. Although I have some experience in control engineering, it gave me a lot of insight into the implementation issues of drive control systems. This book is also written simply enough to be useful for self-study, even for engineers without a control system background. It covers classical approaches, as well as the recent developments in motion control. It is the most complete book on servo drive and motion control."
- Wodek Gawronski, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

Book Description

Make machines work better with this updated edition of Control System Design Guide.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Academic Press; 3 edition (March 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0122374614
• ISBN-13: 978-0122374616
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #243,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #66 in Books > Computers & Technology > Computer Science > Artificial Intelligence > Robotics

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Controls systems A-Z, September 9, 2000

By 

David J Trapasso (Bloomfield, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Control System Design Guide:, Second Edition: Using Your Computer to Understand and Diagnose Feedback Controllers (IDC Technology) (Hardcover)

While the 1st edition of the book is itself a good text on the subject, how could this book be improved upon? It appears that the 1st edition is at best only an outline of what appears it the 2nd edition. Each of the subjects is covered in much more detail than the 1st edition. New subjects have also been added. Just the section on motors makes this book worth reading. The appendix is very interesting reading, and could almost be made into a quick reference book itself!

The book is well organized, and subjects are presented in a logical sequence: The Z domain makes a lot more sense if one first understands the S domain. The writing style is excellent, and has a way of explaining potentially confusing material, in a simple, clear manner. The mathematics throughout the book helps explain the much of theory, but if the reader doesn't care for the math, an understanding of the subject can still be gained without it.

Many college texts approach the subject from theory alone. While this book also provides the theory, it also presents the practical application side in a perfect balance. It is apparent that the author has worked in the real world. Also appreciated was the free Model-Q software examples sprinkled through out the book. They enable a reader the ability to experiment with the examples, and gain a better understanding of each of the subjects.

While this text is a very thorough, where a reader wants to explore a subject further, the numerous references to other sources are everywhere. No matter how much you think you may know about the subject, there is something everyone can learn from this book. This book is control systems A-Z, and is the best book I have seen on the subject. I highly recommend this book to anyone regardless of his or hers expertise level.

-Dave Trapasso

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most useful book available on control theory, November 5, 1998

By 

John Nagle "downside" (Menlo Park, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Control System Design Guide: Using your Computer to Develop and Diagnose Feedback Controllers (Hardcover)

I have a whole shelf of control theory books, and this one is the one I use most. Ellis is one of the few people writing on control theory who actually designs working industrial control systems for a living. All the usual theory is in there: Laplace transforms, Z-transforms, and the S-plane. But this author has a much clearer idea about what actually works in the real world than most control theorists.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good tutorial of basic control system, June 22, 2002

By 

R. Wang (Silicon Valley, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Control System Design Guide:, Second Edition: Using Your Computer to Understand and Diagnose Feedback Controllers (IDC Technology) (Hardcover)

This is a really good book that simplified control system for the real world. Most text spend too much time on theory and analysis and end the discussion with a bunch of equations and graphs without explaining how to implement the design. This book covers both analog and digital control, and lets you download a software from the author's web site. This software, ModelQ, lets you play with various parameters so you can see how the system behaves when it is not optimized.

One drawback with the book is it only covers PID control and its variants, but doesn't cover state-space control. While state-space control may be considered "overkill" by many control engineers, state-space is used in industry. The decision to use state-space is often not in the hands of individual engineers, so it may not be an option to ignore state-space. It would be nice if Mr. Ellis could cover state-space in his next edition of the book.