Abstract
This chapter discusses the concept of control in mechanisms, singly or in series. They must be adjusted or controlled so that they do what is required of them. In the language of control, the result of the act of adjustment, that is, of pressing a button, pulling a lever, or closing a valve, is called a command while the subsequent behavior of the system is called a response. The automatic or self-actuated adjustment of mechanisms is no new thing, long-standing examples being the centrifugally actuated ball governor linked to a valve (throttle) and the rotation of a windmill head by a wind-actuated vane (fantail) so as to maintain the plane of the sails normal to the wind direction. The so-called process industries, where production is characterized by continuous flow through consecutive treatments, are particularly amenable to control by automatic methods as these make, in turn, an important contribution to the uniformity and quality of the product. Also, by reducing the time spent in machine watching, automatic control either releases a proportion of the labor force for more useful work or makes possible a reduction in the wage bill. Alternatively, shift working may be introduced with the same amount of labor. Process control is defined as the automatic control of variables encountered in industrial flow production.
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