What is the difference between Manual, Open Loop and Closed Loop control?
A. Manual Control Tension is controlled manually by operator adjustment. Similar to: While driving a car and ascending a hill, the operator attempts to adjust the accelerator by visually estimating the incline. (No speedometer) OpenLoop control Tension is controlled by a control based upon calculations made from a sensor input or follower arm input. However, there is no direct measurement of actual tension. Similar to: A car is equipped with a sensor that detects changes in incline and a controller that makes an accelerator adjustment to try to keep speed constant. (Sensor is not directly measuring speed. Closed Loop Control Tension is controlled by the Controller, which corrects for errors between the tension set point and the sensor feedback signal. Feedback can be provided by load cells or a dancer arm sensor. Similar to: Controlling the speed of a car by adjusting the accelerator based upon the speedometer reading.
