Controller Performance of Air Blowing Heater Applicable on Forming Process of UHMW Sheet Material

This paper presents the performance of an air-blowing heater controller used with UHMW sheet material. Temperature control is implemented within the range of 80°C to 110°C to achieve the re-crystallization temperature of the UHMW sheet material. A PID controller was applied, and its performance was analyzed by varying the temperature set point (SET VALUE), the fan’s flow capacity, and the use of dual heaters to heat both surfaces of the UHMW sheet simultaneously. This paper also examines the effects of auto-tuning and self-tuning PID methods on control performance. The test results indicate that balancing the fan’s flow capacity and the heat generation of the heater unit is the dominant factor in PID controller performance. In addition, with the use of double heaters, the material’s energy accumulation becomes the main factor, causing a slower PID controller response in reaching the target temperature. Implementing self-tuning PID constants yielded better controller performance compared to the auto-tuning method.