`EDCON´: an educational control system analysis and design program

A PC-based software package called EDCON which is a useful tool for teaching basic control system theory is discussed. It provides a user friendly environment that allows students to vary system parameters and design requirements to see the effects on system response. The package is designed around the root locus plot of a unity feedback control system. It uses a second order approximation technique to calculate and graph the unit step response of the system for any value of gain, and gives all the time and frequency parameters of the system. The package was developed to be used as a complement to an undergraduate course in control systems analysis and design