MEM 639 Real-Time Microcomputer Control I Web Page

The objective of MEM639 is to equip mechanical engineers with the necessary electronic and computer interfacing skills required to digitally control a system. As such, each 3 hour class is comprised of lectures and hands-on lab work to reinforce concepts. This course webpage will be updated weekly for three purposes. First, weekly lesson plans serve to illustrate the topics to be covered; second, hand outs, homeworks and relevant slides are posted for viewing; third, hard print and web references for further readings, as well as miscellaneous material are accessable through this site.

Given the dynamic nature of this site, students should habitually view this site, at least weekly. Lesson plans and post-class synopsis are posted for both student preparation and feedback of the material covered. Documents are posted as Adobe PDF files which are viewable with Acrobat Reader (preferable Version 4.0). If you don't have Acrobat installed on your PC, you can download a free version from Adobe's website.

paul@coe.drexel.edu

Jump to a Lecture: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

Jump to a section: Web links and References

Lecture 1 - 09/25/06

: Introduction Hardware and Software General introduction to the course, syllabus, assessment, hardware and software introduction

Handouts, slides and Homeworks

Announcements: For next lecture

Synopsis:

To be added

Lecture 2 - 10/02/06

Lesson Plan: Implementing a Digital System I

At heart, a digital control system demands appreciating its discrete nature; a signal is either on or off. To both motivate and appreciate digital control, some theory will be explored and a PC interface card will be constructed.

Handouts, slides and Homeworks

Turbo C: C-related all homework problems must use the Turbo C compiler as demoed in Lecture 2. Turbo C runs on all versions of Windows and DOS. Once downloaded, use Winzip to uncompress it and extract the files to a directory on your hard drive (e.g. C:\turboC).

With Windows-based PCs, click Start-Run and type command in the input text box. This should open a DOS console session. Type cd c:\turboC to get to your Turbo C directory. Typing tc will begin a Turbo C session, where you can then enter your C programs, compile and execute. If you get any error messages, don't worry and just hit the A key to abort the error.

Before you begin C programs, set up your directories as follows. Hit ALT and O to get into the Options menu. Hit D to get to Directory. The line reading Include Directories will be highlighted. Hit ENTER and type C: and ENTER. Hitting the DOWN arrow key will enable you to change the Library, Output and Turbo C directories too. Lastly, hit ESC and select SAVE OPTIONS.

Synopsis:

To be added

Lecture 3 - 10/16/06

: Columbus Day last week

Lesson Plan: Implementing a Digital System II

With an 8-LED test circuit and 8255 PC Interface card, students install, program and test their cards. DAC and op-amp theory will be introduced.

Handouts, slides and Homeworks

Synopsis:

To be completed

Lecture 4 - 10/23/06

Lesson Plan: Digital-to-Analog Converters

"Real-world" devices like motors, relays and solenoids require voltages to run. As Week 4 showed, a computer only understands binary where +5V is ON and 0V is OFF. A DAC is to medium to connect a computer to devices.

Handouts, slides and Homeworks

Synopsis:

Voltage divider, DAC and op-amp derivations were covered. Lab time concentrated on constructing the 8-LED circuit, wirewrapping and crimping.

Lecture 5 - 10/30/06

Lesson Plan: Power Op-amps

Last week's DAC circuit enabled the PC to generate a variable voltages. Beyond voltages, analog devices like motors, typically need current as well. By constructing a power op-amp, the DAC will be able to control motor RPM.

Handouts, slides and Homeworks

Synopsis:

To be completed

Lecture 6 - 11/06/06

Lesson Plan: Motor Dynamics

Handouts, slides and Homeworks

Synopsis:

To be completed

Lecture 7 - 11/13/06

 Lesson Plan: Closed-book Mid-term

Lecture 8 - 11/20/06

 Lesson Plan: System Identification

To effectively design a controller, the system must be properly modeled. Practical identification is achieved by acquiring frequency and/or time response data. An IR sensor is introduced for measuring motor speed

Handouts, slides and Homeworks

Synopsis:

To be completed

Lecture 9 - 11/27/06

Lesson Plan: Digital Inputs and Sensors

Sensors provide data in the form of signals that are digitally inputted to a PC. A switch is the simplest sensor and will be experimentally explored in this lesson.

Handouts, slides and Homeworks

Synopsis:

To be completed

Lecture 10 - 12/04/06

 Lesson Plan: Project Due

Closed-book final next week

Handouts, slides and Homeworks

Lecture 11 - 12/11/06

 Lesson Plan: Final Exam

Student Learning Metrics - Assessment

See mem639Assessment.html

Tool Box Contents and Vendor Sources

The tools and electronic components used in MEM 639 were purchased by several electronics mail order stores. Namely, JDR, Jameco, Circuit Specialists and Radio Shack. All of these vendors sell items on-line as well.

The tool box contents include items like the multimeter, soldering iron, wirewrap tool, protoboards, wire etc. along with the vendor, part number and price.

C Programming

There are plenty of C programming tutorials on the web at all different levels. Some introductory-level ones are listed below. Questions can be posted and answers read on the comp.lang.c newsgroup. comp.os.msdos.programmer is an excellent DOS programming discussion group.

Personally, I learned C by getting a DOS C compiler and playing around with it. Imprise (formerly known as Borland) now provides its Turbo C compiler for free at this site. Some of my favorite books on the topic are:

Basic Electronics

There are plenty of on-line resources on electronics at all levels. Some deal with specific topics while others are more general. Some excellent newsgroups are: sci.electronics.misc, comp.robotics.misc, comp.arch.embedded, sci.electronics.basics, sci.electronics.design and sci.electronics.misc. These newsgroups are very friendly and helpful in answering questions in all areas of electronics. Some useful web links are

My first electronics project was building a joystick for my Atari 400 computer when I was in highschool. I began by going to my local Radio Shack and buying a solderless breadboard, some wire and Forrest Mim's "Getting Started in Electronics". This $5.00 book is still sold at Radio Shack (part no. 276-5003) and I find it excellent for both the amateur and experienced electronics hobbyist. Other books are:

Control Theory

Control theory often means different things to different people. For some, control entails just turning something on or off. For others, it is mathematically abstract; a tool for those who enjoy manipulating linear and non-linear differential equations and matrices. I've found that latter is easier to appreciate if you keep you eye on the big picture and the math often follows much easier. Some webpages are:

Some general control systems theory books that I've enjoyed are:

Computer Interfacing

Much of what will be learned in MEM 639 will involve computer interfacing. The web is abound with references.

Some books that are useful are:

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