Tinkercad Pid Control 【RECENT】

class PID 
  public:
    float Kp, Ki, Kd;
    float setpoint, input, output;
    float outMin, outMax;
PID(float p, float i, float d, float minOut, float maxOut) 
  Kp = p; Ki = i; Kd = d;
  outMin = minOut; outMax = maxOut;
  integral = 0.0;
  prevError = 0.0;
  prevTime = 0.0;
  firstRun = true;
float compute(float currentInput) 

private:
float integral, prevError;
unsigned long prevTime;
bool firstRun;
;

Open Tinkercad and start a new Circuits project. Drag these components onto the breadboard:

Note: Since Tinkercad lacks a physical heater, we will simulate the plant (the heating/cooling physics) using a variable inside the Arduino code. The LED brightness will represent the "power" applied to the heater.

Add a button that, when pressed, applies a "load" by subtracting 50 from the feedback pot value (or adding a constant offset to the error). This tests how well your PID rejects disturbances.

Most PID tutorials jump straight to hardware: an Arduino Uno, a DC motor with an encoder, an H-bridge, and a pile of jumper wires. If something goes wrong (oscillations, smoke, a loose wire), debugging is a nightmare for a beginner.

Tinkercad eliminates those barriers:

In other words, Tinkercad is the ideal PID sandbox.

Open the code editor. We will write a basic PID class from scratch (no library) to understand the mechanics.

// Tinkercad PID Position Control for DC Motor
double setpoint = 0;   // Desired angle (0-1023 from pot)
double input = 0;      // Actual angle from feedback pot
double output = 0;      // PWM signal (-255 to 255) sent to motor
double lastError = 0;
double integral = 0;
// PID Gains - Start with P only
double Kp = 5.0;
double Ki = 0.5;
double Kd = 0.8;
// Timing
unsigned long lastTime = 0;
double dt = 0.1; // seconds
// Motor pins
const int pwmPin = 9;
const int dirPin = 8;
void setup() 
Serial.begin(9600);
pinMode(pwmPin, OUTPUT);
pinMode(dirPin, OUTPUT); tinkercad pid control
// Initialize setpoint from pot (we'll update in loop)

double computePID(double setp, double inp, double dt) 
double error = setp - inp;
// Proportional term
double Pout = Kp * error;
// Integral term with anti-windup (clamp)
integral += error * dt;
double Iout = Ki * integral;
// Derivative term (on error, not measurement)
double derivative = (error - lastError) / dt;
double Dout = Kd * derivative;
// PID output
double outputRaw = Pout + Iout + Dout;
lastError = error; class PID public: float Kp, Ki, Kd; float
// Constrain output to -255 to 255 (PWM range)
if (outputRaw > 255) outputRaw = 255;
if (outputRaw < -255) outputRaw = -255;
return outputRaw;

void motorDrive(double cmd) 
if (cmd >= 0) 
digitalWrite(dirPin, HIGH); // Forward
analogWrite(pwmPin, cmd);
 else 
digitalWrite(dirPin, LOW);  // Reverse
analogWrite(pwmPin, -cmd);

void loop() 
// Read setpoint (0 to 1023)
setpoint = analogRead(A0);
// Read feedback position (0 to 1023 from "coupled" pot)
input = analogRead(A1);
// Time delta for derivative and integral
unsigned long now = millis();
double deltaTime = (now - lastTime) / 1000.0;
if (deltaTime > 0.05)  // Run PID every 50ms
output = computePID(setpoint, input, deltaTime);
motorDrive(output);
lastTime = now; Open  Tinkercad  and start a new Circuits project
// Debug serial plotter data
Serial.print(setpoint);
Serial.print(" ");
Serial.print(input);
Serial.print(" ");
Serial.println(output);