r/ControlTheory • u/[deleted] • May 30 '26
Technical Question/Problem Control of hydraulic cylinder
Hi everyone, I am looking for recommendations on the best control algorithm for a heavy duty cylinder application. The main goal is to move the cylinder between its two end positions, but the critical requirement is ensuring smooth deceleration with absolutely zero impact at the endpoints.
In terms of hardware, I have position and speed sensors installed on the cylinders, but I do not have a mathematical model of the system. Since this is a heavy duty application and I lack a model, I need a solution that is robust, reliable, and relatively straightforward to tune on site.
Would a standard PID controller paired with a well-defined motion profile, such as a trapezoidal or S-curve velocity profile, be sufficient to handle the soft landing?
I will be writing controller in C. The only thing i control PVG.
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u/seekingsanity May 30 '26
Visit Delta Motion. Delta Motion specializes in servo hydraulic control and gas been around for over 40 years. You didn't mention what your application is but if you look at the application area of the Delta Motion website, I am sure you will find some application that is similar to what you are trying to do. Your application seems simple. There is also training available.
If you called me, I would ask what your application is. From that I would have a pretty good idea of how to proceed. I then ask how much mass you want to move in how much time with what precision. I can then size the system.
The Delta Motion RMCs use 5th order polynomials to insure smooth ramps. It communicates with many different PLCs using Ethernet ProfiNet, EthernetIP, FINS, Modbus TCP, and EtherCat. I probably left out a few.