Newbie here trying to work out if this can work.
Ok, not sure if the title is a good description… (if I can change it to something that makes more sense, let me know) So, I’ll try to explain. (Sorry for the long description)
We will be running material though a metal detector before it goes through a cutting press. The metal detector is several feet from the cutting machine. Material is a continuous roll. I am working on a device to mark the material if metal is present. It needs to be marked as close as possible to the actual location of the metal. So, this means a “delayed” marking method. The marking device will be several inches past the point of detection.
So… RUN CYCLE
- The material is running though the detector
- If metal is present = output from detector (trigger)
- Material continues to advance
- Distance of travel tracked by rotary encoder (counter)
- When material travels appropriate distance, marking device activates
This would mark the material close to the location of the metal so I can skip that section of material
I think this should be relatively easy for the Arduino. (Though I'm not quite sure how to do it. Yet.)
But my question is:
How would you deal with multiple “triggers” where the cycles overlap?
If a cycle is: detect>advance material>mark
Can you start a second cycle if more metal is detected during the “advance material” step and not break the first cycle? So you would end up with multiple marks in a short distance.
Can this be done using the Arduino?
About me..
I have some experience with the Arduino and programming. But would still very much consider myself a newbie. My sketches are still mostly “copy>paste>modify”.
Thanks