Experimental Investigation of Sensorless Tension Control System for Textile Processes

Sensorless tension control system is investigated for textile processes and machines in this paper. A prototype unit unit was designed and manufactured for this aim. Prototype unit consisted of winding and unwinding warp beams driven by a servomotor and an induction motor. Warp tension was measured by load cells for evaluating the sensorless tension control system performance. Diameters of winding and unwinding warp beams were measured by laser sensors. Wound warp length was measured by an incremental encoder fitted to the shaft of a cylinder rotated by warp yarns. Number of beam rotations of warp beams were measured by separate inductive switches. A software program was developed in LabVIEW to implemet sensorless tension control algorithms and record the performance data. Results showed that the desired tension can be kept constant within 5% deviation limits by the servomotor torque control.