Force Control:position control:electric brake manufacturer:clutch brakes

OVERVIEW

Force Control Industries, Inc. entered into the controls business in 1994 when it became apparent that many of the clutch/brake positioning problems associated with the Posidyne® clutch/brake were actually related to the controls, and not the fault of the clutch/brake. Many systems were built around a PLC, and scan time caused variable delays in the signal timing causing positioning errors. As the speeds increased, response became more and more critical, and millisecond variables caused unacceptable positioning errors.

The Posidyne® clutch/brake was often picked in critical positioning applications because of it’s stopping consistency, however there were still position errors. The cold start to hot run change was most prevalent, as it is in all clutch/brakes. Many times the stop position flag would have to be adjusted after r unning for awhile, and if the machine was shut down for awhile, it may have to be readjusted again.

Positioning errors could also be caused by changes in temperature, speed, actuation pressure, or many other variables.

Force Control Industries, Inc. built the first control by buying components and installing into a box. This solved the scan time problem, but still left the adjustment needed due to other variables. A commitment was made by management to take a clean sheet of paper, and design and build a control that would not only solve the scan time problem, but would continuously self adjust to compensate for all of the other variables that affect clutch/brake drives.

A control was developed that, using an encoder, was able to determine the clutch/brake output shaft position, and could then make an adjustment automatically when it saw a position error. This was the beginning of the CLPC® Closed Loop Positioning Control. A program was written, and equipment purchased to manufacture the CLPC® Series II Closed Loop Positioning Control.

Today the department has grown, and there are now 3 different versions of the CLPC® control, plus the new LC designed to door mount into a panel.

As technology improved and engineering and software personnel were added, several new controls were developed. Then in 1998 a truly new control, the CLPC® -LC, was developed which is faster, more flexible, smaller, and more cost-effective.