Using sensor data from Arduino in the Arduino

Projects General Guidance
1

Hi all, this is my first post.

this is the outline of my project

  1. interpret environment data (sensor,motor, etc. . )
  2. Modify this data into a more usable form
  3. send it back to the same motor for further operation from modified data.

As an example (this is not the project, just an example to make sure I am being clear)

A motor moves a conveyor belt with various size flasks on it . . .some large some small. Depending on the reading of the position of the motor (from encoder) another process (filling the flasks) will take place. If the first motor encoder data indicated the flask was small then the amount of liquid poured will be small. . .if large, the amount of liquid dispensed will be large.

More generally, read the location of an item based on motor encoder feedback. Modify this data. Send this modified data back to a different motor so that it does something specifically as a function of the first motor encoder data.

i am able to send the original encoder feedback to a file, manually massage it and paste it into n arduino script, compile and have everything work great. I just want to remove the manual steps (cut & paste) and data massaging (want arduino program to do that)

To further complicate things, I want this process to be part of a distributable package that does not require further compiling. reading from a sim card is fine. Also, I am not too price sensitive as the arduino is a small portion of the total cost of the final product.

I home someone can give me some insight to a solution.

All the very best

John

2

Depending on the nature of the data "massaging" you are doing, You can do some mathematics in your script. This is especially common when using things like analog temp sensors.

3

i am taking readings, performing text concatenations, sorting and then applying to a stepper motor controller. I investigated using a raspberry PI and arduino combination (raspberry for concatenating and sorting and arduino for sensor feedback and motor control) but am stuck on how to have the 2 talk without the end user having to be involveed (needs to end up being a distributed product)

4

Unless you need the RPi for high speed or large memory, there is no obvious reason to use two microcontrollers for this project.

But if you do, the two can "talk" to each other via several different serial links (TTL RS232, I2C, SPI).

5

It's a memory thing. . .Arduino is fast enough. Can I use a sd-card shield to get around the memory constraints somehow?

6

Hi,
I think what you are trying to do is.

You have a belt that is motor driven.
On that belt are containers of different volume that you have to fill from an overhead tank.

  • Start the belt

  • You need to detect the next container and its size.

  • Stop the container under the tank and fill it, knowing its volume.

  • Store the data about the container (volume,size) in SD or send it to a PC,

  • When filled go back to 1.

  • Your size sensor can be weight, height, bar code.

  • The sensor to locate the container position under the filler tank could be a light beam.

  • If you have constant flow from the tank, then just time interval to fill container, or use a flow meter to measure the tank output.

  • Your motor would probably need a speed control to start and stop the belt smoothly.

  • I don't think you need an encoder on the motor, unless you want super smooth motor control.

Is this what you want to do,?
Feel free to modify it, but keep it in 1,2,3 step form.
A diagram of how your system is physically arranged would help.
The arduino can do this for you, I am not an expert on transfering data from arduino to a PC application, someone else could possibly comment on that.

Invoice will be emailed.. lol
What is your electronics, programming, arduino, hardware experience?

Hope this helps.. Tom... :slight_smile:

7

Thanks Tom,
Well the flask thing was an example. I hesitated to use the real process as I was looking for a general answer to this "type" of situation" . . .I have to learn to be a better poster-er :confused:

Here is the real application. I am recording the movement of 2 stepper motors by the pulses from the encoders on each motor via interrupt pins. I apply a time stamp to the data as well as a motor number so that I can convert the steps to distance and speed (as I know the distance moved "per-click" of the stepper).

In order to sync the final movement, I need to sort the moves by time-stamp (in ms) as each motor initially sends it's information to its own data array, then I place this information (with motor number) in one big sorted array for use down stream.

I hope that helps a bit