DSchrubbe
Centrifuge Display
My employer, the Experimental Aircraft Association, has a model of a centrifuge used for testing astronauts. The old sensor and LED display failed earlier this year, and instead of going back to the company that originally built it, I was given the chance to make a new one.
The design is pretty simple - in the base of the centrifuge, an H21B2 photointerruptor is connected to an Arduino to measure RPMs. That number is then sent to a second Arduino (connected via I2C) in the display itself. The second Arduino calculates Gs (based on the speed and the radius of the centrifuge) and drives the 2.3" 7-segment LCDs (using Allegro A6278EA-T ICs).
Yeah, it's not the prettiest or cleanest job, but it works, and I was able to reuse some of the old parts...
Centrifuge Display
My employer, the Experimental Aircraft Association, has a model of a centrifuge used for testing astronauts. The old sensor and LED display failed earlier this year, and instead of going back to the company that originally built it, I was given the chance to make a new one.
The design is pretty simple - in the base of the centrifuge, an H21B2 photointerruptor is connected to an Arduino to measure RPMs. That number is then sent to a second Arduino (connected via I2C) in the display itself. The second Arduino calculates Gs (based on the speed and the radius of the centrifuge) and drives the 2.3" 7-segment LCDs (using Allegro A6278EA-T ICs).
Yeah, it's not the prettiest or cleanest job, but it works, and I was able to reuse some of the old parts...