PID...?

[ablahblah]

I didn't know what PID was until I started really browsing the forums today...From what I can gather it's being used as speed control for a launcher.

I dunno, the way we're controlling our launcher (Arm based launcher powered by flywheel. We can gauge flywheel speed via an encoder that's strapped onto the Toughbox; the output shaft rotational speed levels off as the flywheel reaches maximum speed at a set motor controller power output.

Now PID sounds sort of interesting. What difference does PID make, though, when compared to just making a few case structures in LV where the launcher is brought and adjusted every, say, 10ms, to a set speed (I'm assuming the speed comes from a scaled Joystick axis in some way, like the throttle on the Atk 3's)?

[Ether]

Originally Posted by ablahblah

making a few case structures in LV where the launcher is brought and adjusted every, say, 10ms, to a set speed

Try a bang-bang control instead. Simpler and far more effective. You don't need CAN or Jaguar. You can do the same thing by connecting the encoder to the digital sidecar and letting FPGA process the signal.