1.

Preliminary Design
 Table 1 - Typical components and function within mechatronic pusher

Function /
Feed Modulate Convert Adapt Transmit
Technology

Spur gear,
AC network, Chopper, DC motor, Rod end,
epicycloid gear,
Electro- DC network, inverter, PMAC motor, thrust bearing,
worm gear,
mechanic battery, wire, contactor, induction motor, connecting
ball/roller screw,
filter, capacitor clutch, brake etc. rod
rack & pinion
 Pump, Rod end,
Orifice,
regulator, filter, Pump, hydraulic thrust bearing,
Fluid power control valve, -
hydraulic line, motor, linear jack connecting
servovalve
accumulator rod

2. Hardware and software used in the system

Table 1 gives the information about the hardware used in the system and software details
are provided in the table 2.

Table 1 - Hardware used in the system

Role in the
Sr. No Name of the Hardware Quantity Specifications
Project

Works as a
14 Digital I/O
controller in the
6 Analog I/O
1 Arduino Controller 1 system, which
32 Kb Flash Memory and a
accepts signals
serial port
from MATLAB

Actuates
Double Acting Actuators,
according to the
Linear Electro-Mechanic PMDC Motor driven through
2 1 PWM signals from
Actuator (EMA) rack & pinion gear, 13 cm
DC Motor Driver
stroke length
Modul

Sliding-linkage with linear Moves along

3 Pusher Linear Mechanism 1 motion guide, 13 - 19 cm direction as EMA
stroke length actuating

Table 2 Software used in the system

Sr. No Name of the Software Specifications

1 MATLAB MATLAB 2013b is used, Arduino I/O packages are essential to download

2 Arduino IDE Arduino IDE 1.6.6 used, programming Language is embedded C

 In order to control operation of the pusher and its drives, it was decided to apply an electronic
circuit based on a microcontroller. The microcontroller executes a control program and controls other
subsystems. The pulse generation circuit closes the feedback loop of the DC motor. As the central
control unit, an Arduino microcontroller was selected. It is one of the most simple microcontrollers by
the Atmel Company; nevertheless, it features many functions as well as embedded) circuits enhancing
application possibilities of the unit (two 8-bit and one 16-bit counters, SPI and USART interfaces, 23
input/output lines, A/D converter, etc.). The microcontroller in a form of a mini-module was used; it
contained few additional elements, e.g. voltage stabilizer and a circuit for UART/USB conversion. The
module can be supplied via the mini-USB port, as well as by using an external voltage. The standard
supply voltage of the applied microcontroller is of 5 V, and this level was accepted as the basic, also
for the other logical circuits. The module is equipped also in a quartz resonator with vibration
frequency of 16 MHz.

To regulate the control voltage of the DC motor, PWM circuits are currently used in numerous
applications. This method consists in supplying pulses of a high frequency to the motor terminals. Due
to the time constant of the current rise/fall in the motor winding, the pulse signal corresponds to a
constant voltage, whose value equals the average value of the PWM course, which can be simply
adjusted by changing the width of the supplied pulses. An advantage of such kind of control is its
simple implementation using digital circuits. A lot of microcontrollers are even equipped in special
outputs designed to generate a PWM signal; the outputs are usually connected with internal
timing/counting circuits by means of hardware. For the needs of controlling the DC motor, an
integrated H-bridge was selected, which makes it possible to supply to the motor terminals a voltage
of a desired polarization. Change of the polarization results in changing direction of rotations of the
rotor. A nominal voltage of the motor is 12 V. An H-bridge circuit type L298D was applied, which
was additionally equipped in embedded diodes protecting the circuit form rushes of the voltage induced
in the motor windings while switching direction of rotation. Fig. 3 presents a simplified block diagram
of the control system.