Calibration Code

[TerryRWood]

Hey guys... I'm looking for alternative ways to calibrate a vibrating feeder system, maybe someone has attacked this problem already... What I have is a multiple Vibrating feeder system, that the speed of each feeder is regulated by a 0-10v signal. I feed to a scale which gives me a 4-20ma return, I use the scale output to control my feeder cutoff and ramp down commands. My dilemma…. The feeders can get out of adjustment so that at slow speeds they do not feed the same rate, and the biggest problem is that some feeders may stop feeding at lower voltages. I want to get away from a person having to calibrate feeders at all. I want a routine to ramp down the voltage to each feeder and monitor the scale to determine when the feeder quits feeding, then compare the results from several feeders and then I will set my lower limit for all feeders to the highest value recorded. Seems simple enough, I have learned that everyone approaches a problem from a different perspective. I appreciate and Value your suggestions Terry

[Chris Elston]

I know this is NOT going to help your application now...however in the future... We purchase REO controllers for feeder bowls. http://www.reo-usa.com They are closed-loop controllers. Simply amazing. They feature an accelerometer you mount on the bowl, (at the same angle as the springs below) and that is feed back into the Reo controller. When the bowl is full, the controller puts out more power to keep the set point in amplitude you need to drive your product out of the bowl. When your bowl is low on product it decreases the power to keep the set point so the feed rate remains constant. Just like a PID, AKA, closed loop controller. We use the MTS 441 and MFS 168 a lot. http://www.reo-usa.com/Tech_Docs/Applicati...ion%20Notes.pdf We've been using them for two years on all our bowl, they are wonderful! -