Hi
Just wondering if this is possible and where to start:
Im looking to use an adxl345 accelerometer with an uno board and a display to measure the impact a football player has on a tackle sled, i would like to take that max g reading and insert it into an equation along with the mass and coefficient of friction and then relay this value back onto the display.
I'm completely new to this, is it as simple as this or quite complex
Cheers
Nick
I'm completely new to this, is it as simple as this or quite complex
Well, that depends. It isn't putting somebody on the moon, but it isn't the BLINK sketch (do you know what that is?) either.
That sensor want I2C or SPI for communication, so you'd have to learn how to talk to it.
Who know what "display" means? A 2 line LCD perhaps? Have to learn to talk to that.
Have to learn a little programming.
Coefficient of friction for a blocking sled? Don't know what I'd do with that.
If you are wanting a self contained thing you can stick on the back of a blocking sled, you'll have to figure out a box and batteries and attaching parts so they don't fall off, etc.
It's involved.
The first thing you need to do is to study the problem from a physics point of view and figure out what you actually want to measure.
The accelerometer measures its own acceleration, and what that acceleration might be when it is connected to one of two colliding objects is anyone's guess. It would depend on the masses, relative speeds and orientations of both objects, as well as many other details of the collision process.
The plan is to put the unit on the back of the sled and yes read off a 2 line LCD.
The unit casing will be 3d printed so that everything is tight.
The acceleration would be used in a simple F=ma equation, the reason i mention the coefficient of friction is that is hitting the sled with the same force on different surface would give different acceleration readings as the friction force would be subtracted..... its needs to be accurate on different surfaces.
The acceleration would be used in a simple F=ma equation,
Sorry, but the problem is not that simple.
Its not too complex and ive modelled it using xsens so i know my calculations work, i now just want it on a format where it can be in a self contained unit.
If you align the accelerometer with the axis you want to measure along then you can read the acceleration along that axis at regular intervals and remember the peak value.
I don't know whether you're planning to know the mass and coefficient of friction in advance. I don't see any way to determine them from the accelerometer data.
Given the formula you want to evaluate, it ought to be possible to implement that calculation in code.
Reading from an accelerometer, reading button presses, displaying text on an attached screen, are all things you will need to learn to do but they are all things that many other people have already done so you should have no trouble finding examples.
Hi,
I am also looking for a very similiar thing (measuring the maximum acceleration when throwing a ball onto the "measuring plate").
Unfortunately I have not seen whether I can get this maximum value from the sensor or whether I need to continuously read the measurements and remember the maximum.
In the latter case I would fear to miss the maximum.
Have you found your answer?
Warm regards,
Markus