Control and sensor system paradigms: a case study in disruptive innovation in the web forming industries

Covers some of the issues involved in using control systems sciences in engineering innovation. In particular, the author focuses upon product innovation in engineering, and argues that control systems theory is a powerful agent for technological innovation. As an illustration the author shows how a holistic use of modelling methods, identification tools, signal processing and controller synthesis methods can be used to define a generic class of systems from apparently disparate manufacturing processes. This unified approach leads in turn to a disruptive change in technological approaches to the general class. The holistic solution is given its unifying focus by a suitable choice of control paradigm-in this case two dimensional (2D) systems. The presentation is in two parts, the first part is a look at pre-project assessment and planning. The second part addresses questions to do with the technical issues of a particular control problem. To illustrate part 2, the author uses experiences in the sheet/web forming industries, and shows how by consistently applying the procedures of part 1 it is possible to systematically achieve both general and specific control engineering goals. In the case study the general research aim was to create a paradigm shift in the analysis and control of sheet/web forming processes by developing the family of two dimensional signal processing, control and sensor concepts that underpin the new paradigm.