Study on the motion control of pneumatic actuator via wireless Bluetooth communication

Abstract

Industrial 4.0 was proposed by Germany in 2011. It was aimed to promote and integrate the modern industrial technology, after-sale service and product manufacturing. Three important foundations include Intelligent Sensing System, Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data Analysis. On the other hand, pneumatic systems have the characteristics of fast speed, precise control and easy maintenance. Therefore, it is currently widely used in modern automation industry. The pneumatic actuators can be divided into single-acting, double-acting and rodless cylinders. Through various types of pneumatic solenoid valves, it is possible to control their movements. This paper is aimed to develop a novel control scheme which is able to send wireless signals to control various pneumatic solenoid valves and cylinders by integrating the microcontroller, intelligent handheld device application and the Bluetooth mobile phone. Both open loop control and closed-loop control schemes are discussed. The open-loop control system controls several single-acting cylinders and double-acting cylinders. It is successful to real-time monitor their movements. Furthermore, the closed-loop feedback control scheme is used to control the position of a rodless cylinder through a pneumatic proportional directional valve and the PD controller. Finally, the proposed two control schemes are integrated successfully into the same microcontroller and the control results are both satisfactory.