This painstaking design and construction provides the truest possible representation of the salient plant dynamics. Lesser quality mechanisms often cloud the underlying dynamics and limit the types of control approaches that may be successfully employed and hence the educational utility. With ECP systems, if uncertainty in the plant dynamics is desired for study purposes, it may be easily introduced in a controlled manner and resulting control effectiveness studied quantitatively, This allows you to get straight to work in designing controllers within a well known dynamic space rather than struggling with unmodeled idiosyncrasies unique to a particular mechanism.

Our apparatuses incorporate numerous protection features such as motion and velocity limiting devices to make them virtually "student proof" against damage. The exceptional reliability of our mechanisms pays high dividends in trouble-free operation. With hundreds of these plants in the field, we receive on average fewer than 1 per year returned for repair and have had no reports of unoperational equipment despite some being used continuously for over 10 years!

Detailed instructions for the students and complete solutions for the instructor greatly reduce your time in class preparation and assignment grading. Additional features such as summary review sections, Matlab® design and analysis scripts, and instructor optional assignments, let you efficiently utilize the system's broad functionality. Extensive use of graphical figures provides a concise depiction of control theory, experimental procedures, and expected results.

For our Model 205 and 210 systems, a full set of additional experiments in dynamics & vibrations is available with the modest purchase of the optional dynamics software / experiments package. This package allows you to use the same equipment used in control system study to demonstrate a broad range of important dynamics principals.

An example of our extensive coverage in controls experiments is shown at left.

The Executive™ and Executive USR™ programs provide unprecedented ease in implementing control and characterizing system behavior. They are plug-and play integrated with our turn-key systems. With the basic Executive(tm) program a full library of continuous and discrete time control forms plus a building block generalized algorithm let you rapidly implement essentially any linear form of up to 48 terms. Advanced trajectory generation, data acquisition, and plotting features let you rapidly characterize frequency response, transient response, stability margins, disturbance rejection, and dynamic tracking behavior.

The Executive USR™ allows you to efficiently implement virtually any control form imaginable from simple low order SISO, to complex nonlinear MIMO. It provides a built-in editor and auto-compiler that lets you easily write simple or complex algorithms and implement them - all within the same intuitive environment. It also incorporates the many powerful trajectory generation, data acquisition, and plotting features of the basic Executive™.

Our mechanisms are further designed to easily change dynamic parameters (e.g. mass, moment of inertia, spring constants, damping constants, etc.) through a broad range. This allows the study of parameter effects on such important properties as damping ratio, natural frequencies, transfer function zeros, time constants, mode shapes, and system gain. It also allows you to give quantitatively different (but qualitatively similar) experimental assignments to multiple work groups and to easily change assignments from one semester to the next - all using the same apparatus.

Our Model 205 and 210 systems serve equally well as both control systems and dynamics & vibrations workstations. A comprehensive range of fundamental principles are demonstrated in the optional dynamics experiments. Thus with the modest purchase of an optional software/ experiments package, the same equipment may be shared between both course types.

The standard Executive™ interface program includes a spectrum of features for compatibility with MATLAB® and Simulink®. It incorporates an easy-import feature that allows you to quickly implement MATLAB® generated control parameters in real time when using the Executive™ interface. ECPlink™ allows you to command ECP systems via the Executive(tm) from within MATLAB® allowing you to remain in that design environment while maneuvering the plant. For both the Executive™ and Executive USR™ programs, all acquired data is readily exported to MATLAB® and Simulink® for analysis, plotting or simulation.

ECP's DSP board executes control laws at the extremely high precision of 96 bits. It maintains this precision for control laws of up to 48 terms with sample rates in excess of 1 KHz (well beyond the typical 10 Hz maximum bandwidths achievable by most electromechanical plants) - all while simultaneously generating complex trajectory inputs and acquiring high resolution data.

Feedback is registered via ultra high range (48 bit) encoder counters or high resolution (16 bit) ADC's (as applicable) running at 20 KHz. Control effort is processed through precision DAC's with 16 bit resolution to effectively eliminate conversion induced finite-wordlength effects.

Our intuitive GUI interface lets you operate the system efficiently utilizing a wealth of advanced features for controller implementation, dynamic maneuvering, and data plotting and analysis. Most users require only a half hour or so of familiarization and rarely need to refer to the user's guide again. No special languages or programming protocols are necessary as with other systems that rely on third party interfaces. This is ideal for courses where students may not be familiar with such programs. (A seamless interface to Simulink(r) is available for those users that prefer that real-time environment)

In comparing costs, it is important to first gather all cost elements. Other manufacturers price necessary components individually and the combined cost (including required third party software) is not obvious and often higher than expected. ECP provides a single bottom line cost for all our systems with no hidden extras. (Optional enhancements are of course available.)

One manufacturer makes claims of "meeting or beating" costs on "equivalent" systems. Although our pricing remains competitive, it is important to recognize that such claims are not meaningful in light of the disparity in quality and features. It is analogous to claiming a basic vehicle is equivalent to a finer luxury car because it has the same number of wheels and doors.

ECP provides additional cost savings through the exceptional reliability of our products. With hundreds of systems in service, we average fewer than one plant returned per year for repair. Many systems have been in service for nearly ten years yet none are reported to be out of working order. This outstanding record assures you not only trouble-free operation but essentially zero operating costs as well.