A closed loop feedback method for a manual bar straightener

Automation of a unique manually controlled industrial bar straightener is proposed. A continuous-time closed loop model is constructed in Simulink for an event-driven process through the use of asynchronous timers. The system is simulated with linear and nonlinear PD controllers. A nonlinear filter, called the tracking differentiator, is introduced as an alternative to a linear approximate means of providing accurate derivative feedback in the presence of noise. In both cases, the nonlinear techniques outperformed their linear counterparts while retaining tuning simplicity.