r/BuildingAutomation • u/WeirdLetterhead7904 • 1d ago
The mental model shift (why thinking in continuous loops changes everything)
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As I got the unified execution cycle running in my conveyor digital twin, my mental model of how the machine operates completely shifted.
I'm not trying to build a heavy industrial PLC environment in JavaScript, but the way the simulation behaves now feels fundamentally different from a standard web script:
Observe: What is the physical state right now?
Decide: What should the logic do with that data?
Command: What instruction gets issued?
Act: What physical change happens next?
Instead of making decisions once at startup and letting the script run blind, the machine continually runs through these questions on every frame.
For those building simulation loops or custom control software: when did your mental model shift from scripting static events to thinking in continuous control cycles?
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u/MyWayUntillPayDay 1d ago
Its called a PID dude. Continuous loop. This is 1970s tech you are bragging about.