Pan Controls Limited

COMPANY SERVICES - REAL TIME CONTROL

Pan Controls Limited was set up in February 1986 specifically to provide services in the field of industrial automation. The company is now well established and has accumulated considerable experience in real time control for a wide range of automation projects.

MOTION CONTROL SYSTEM

The company has designed and produced a family of control systems, operator interfaces, and the software necessary to drive them. The controllers vary from single axis self contained units, which can be run with simple programmable logic controllers (PLCs) or switches, to complex multi-axis systems which can be integrated with other real time computing control operations. They can also be linked with higher level management computing systems.

The standard software has been developed to solve engineering problems, and a simple flexible programming language has been developed. This allows control over a large range of parameters, including overshoot, backlash, creep, regstration, and tolerances. It includes commands for executing sequences of moves, profiled moves, communicating with PLCs and responding intelligently to error conditions. The majority of engineering problems can be solved with the standard software. Particular attention has been placed on the precise coordination of several axes. In addition, sophisticated debugging tools have been developed to analyse the asynchronous activity of a complex control system. As far as a user is concerned this is now easy to achieve.

The control systems have been packaged in such a way that no knowledge of its internal workings is required by a user. Users can simply treat it as a black box which can be programmed to achieve any required motion. It can be thought of as a tool for the Mechanical Engineer to solve problems with.

Whilst there is a range of standard controllers which can be programmed for a wide range of applications, any specialised control requirement, which may not be soluble using the standard software and hardware can be catered for. A considerable amount of Pan Controls' business is based on solving customers' specialised problems. The approach is normally to extend the existing language syntax to cater for a particular requirement.

HARDWARE COMPONENTS

The control systems vary from simple single axis systems up to 8 axes. They can be used for closed loop servo control, using position encoders, or stepper systems, or a combination. Communication drivers (4 asynchronous serial channels CAN-bus, and stepper clock and direction drivers) are provided on backplanes integrated with isolated power supplies. Setting up can be carried out by from a Personal Computer, and free communication software is available. An operator interface, which consists of a keypad and 4-line Vacuum Fluorescent Display unit, and optional rotary knob (for inching set-up operations). Programming is all carried out from the motion controller.

THIRD PARTY COMPONENTS

Obviously any complete system will require motors, drives, encoders and other sundry components. We maintain links with several suppliers of these components and so can advise on the appropriate choice of motor etc. and can obtain them at advantageous rates.

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

The customer has a better understanding of the mechanics of their machine than we will have. We therefore prefer that they provide staff to fit motors, encoders etc. whilst we set up the electronics. If this is not possible we can arrange to sub-contract the mechanical work.

We maintain close links with a number of special purpose machine builders who have expertise in building a wide range of machines from heavy steel mill equipment down to tiny electronic component handling equipment. We are happy to arrange joint ventures with such companies to build custom machinery.

INDUSTRIAL COMPUTING

We have accumulated considerable expertise in the wider field of industrial computing. If there is interest in networking, data gathering, multiplexing, real time control or performance monitoring we may be able to help.

SUPPORT

As software is developed, it is made available on the Pan Controls Bulletin board. On the higher end controllers, these upgrades can be installed directly from a personal computer, without the need for an EPROM programmer. On the entry level single axis controllers, an EPROM programmer is required. A web site on the World Wide Web (Internet) is currently being designed, and software upgrades will be available from this site.

If you require local support or a complete automation system we have distributors who can provide this service.

Novel features

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• Pan Controls has experience of looking at and working on automation projects in a wide range of manufacturing industries. This enables a high degree of cross-fertilisation of ideas.
  
  
• As a consequence of designing systems which larger companies were not prepared to look at, Pan Controls has developed a "library" of novel techniques for solving problems in various industries:
  
  
• Wear compensation tables. This technique was developed for re-furbishing gear-cutting machines, and making use of less than perfect mechanical screws etc. From time to time a machine can be calibrated, and any non-linearity in its mechanics can be stored on the controller. These compensation figures are then used to make small adjustments when the machine is operating. This technique could usefully be used for precision machinery builders who want to save costs by using lower precision components.
  
  
• Effective variable circumference cylinders. This allows a single cylinder which is being used as part of a process (e.g. a cylindrical cutter, or a print roller) on a continuous web to operate at a variety of different pitches. The roller is synchronised with the web whilst it is printing or cutting, and is accelerated or decelerated during the "dead" period to allow a range of pitches to be printed or cut using a single roller or cutter (generally expensive components).
  
  
• High speed data logging. This can be linked to motion control, and allows the monitoring of a combination of analogue signals, positions, and counters down to 100s resolution. This information can be recorded in real time, and then downloaded to a personal computer by serial link for analysis on a spreadsheet etc.
  
  
• Mechanical component simulation tables. Mechanical components (e.g. cams, eccentric gears etc) can be created using internal tables. It has the advantage over mechanical components that they can be changed at the press of a button.
  
  
• Vision system controls. Commercial vision systems (Keyence) have been integrated to provide precise correction for placing operations. This is being used for aligning rain-detectors on motor car windscreens.
  
  
• Smart Card system. When a machine is being used to make a range of different complex components (e.g. a machine tool), each component can be stored on a smart card.
  
  
• "Soft" dynamic registration control. A technique for producing accurate (zero drift) but gentle corrections based on registration sensing for web based machines. This technique has been used for controlling print rollers which are not mechanically connected to the rest of the machine. It has also been used controlling bag manufacture at companies like Smith Anderson. It has been found that the quality of simple mechanically linked printers on bag machines has limited the market available to bag manufacturers. The solution has been to pre-print higher quality material, before it gets to the bag machine. The bag machine then has to respond to the print and cut the bags in the correct place, without making to big corrections (which would tear the material).
  
  

EXISTING CLIENTS

We have done work for a wide range of clients from the commercial, industrial, research and educational fields, including such names as: