Regulation of the temperature using PID

Question

I'm making a control system for the heating of a plate using a PID control.

the goal is to regulate the temperature of the plate by changing the power dissipated by the resistance. By using a sensor I read the temperature of the plate and is then used as the input in the PID control. I programmed also a signal wave square for the PWM.

but the thing I don't understand is what I'm exactly supposed to do with the output signal I receive. and I cannot connect between the PWM and the PID.

Code of the square signal:

void setup()
{
  pinMode(9, OUTPUT);
}
void loop()
{
   // phase haute
   digitalWrite(9,HIGH);
   delay(30);
   // phase basse
   digitalWrite(9,LOW);
   delay(70);
   //ton+toff = 0.1;
//   ton = 0.1*Output;
}

Code of PID and the sensor

/********************************************************
 * PID Basic Example
 * Reading analog input 0 to control analog PWM output 3
 ********************************************************/

#include <PID_v1.h>

int val; 
//Define Variables we'll be connecting to
double Setpoint, Input, Output;

//Specify the links and initial tuning parameters
PID myPID(&Input, &Output, &Setpoint,2,5,1, DIRECT);

void setup()
{
  Serial.begin(9600);
  //initialize the variables we're linked to
  Input = analogRead(1);
  Setpoint = 37; //temperature a reguler 

  //turn the PID on
  myPID.SetMode(AUTOMATIC);
}

void loop()
{
  val = analogRead(1);
  float mv = ( val/1024.0)*5000; 
  float Input = mv/10;
  myPID.Compute();
  analogWrite(3,Output);
  Serial.print("input temperature is :");
  Serial.println(Input);
  delay (1000);
//  delay(1000);
  Serial.print("output is :");
  Serial.println(Output);
  delay(1000);
}

Thank you in advance

Answer 1

A PID only has one input and one output. In your case, the input will be the temperature. The use of the arduino would be to process the raw data of the temperature sensor and relay the temperature to the PID. Depending on the make and model of the PID, there could be certain transfer protocols you must adhere to. There are most likely open source libraries that will take care of transferring the data properly.

Your PID is the piece of hardware that will "decide" when it is appropriate to turn the heater on and off, therefore it shall be responsible for driving the heater. That is what the output of the PID is responsible for.

Lastly, your PID has a set point. In your case, the set point would be the desired max temperature of the plate. This set point is set and altered manually through user input.

On a side note, if this is a personal project or a non deliverable, I'd recommend not using a PID. Try processing and analyzing all of the data exclusively on the Arduino, as it would be a challenging and rewarding task.