Industrial control system

<p>An industrial control system (ICS) is an electronic <a href="/facts/Control_system/8CEjIDlS">control system</a> and associated <a href="/facts/Instrumentation/znu7yF5t">instrumentation</a> used for <a href="/facts/Industrial_process_control/tmjQhchm">industrial process control</a>. Control systems can range in size from a few modular panel-mounted controllers to large interconnected and interactive <a href="/facts/Distributed_control_system/8cS2KoMS">distributed control systems</a> (DCSs) with many thousands of field connections. Control systems receive data from remote sensors measuring <a href="/facts/Process_variable/h33sdXTG">process variables</a> (PVs), compare the collected data with desired <a href="/facts/Setpoint_(control_system)/UqfThpJu">setpoints</a> (SPs), and derive command functions that are used to control a process through the final control elements (FCEs), such as <a href="/facts/Control_valve/7cE7Jt09">control valves</a>.
</p><p>Larger systems are usually implemented by <a href="/facts/Supervisory_control_and_data_acquisition/nKL6Mfd1">supervisory control and data acquisition</a> (SCADA) systems, or DCSs, and <a href="/facts/Programmable_logic_controller/bqh0GAdb">programmable logic controllers</a> (PLCs), though SCADA and PLC systems are scalable down to small systems with few control loops. Such systems are extensively used in industries such as chemical processing, pulp and paper manufacture, power generation, oil and gas processing, and telecommunications.
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Industrial control system open-in-new

Industrial control system