Stepper Motor Research Articles

A flood detection system and flood door control based on Arduino

Flooding has become one of the most serious problems for Indonesians, particularly in flood-prone areas. Floods can be hazardous to the community, particularly if they occur suddenly, at night, or at unpredictable times. The answer to these problems is the installation of a flood detection system and a flood barrier door control system. In this paper, a flood detection system and flood door control based on will be presented. Ultrasonic sensors monitor the air level, a SIM800L module delivers signals, a stepper motor operates the door, an LCD shows the air level, and a buzzer offers an immediate warning. The accuracy and precision of the ultrasonic sensor are 98.83% and 99.40%, respectively. Based on the accuracy and precision of the system, it can be concluded that the system can be used for flood control systems.

Improving Instantaneous Angular Speed Monitoring by Means of Sinusoidal EMF Signals Delivered by a Two-Phase n Poles AC Generator Used as a Sensor

Abstract This paper introduces a new approach in instantaneous angular speed monitoring using a two-phase n poles AC generator as sensor. A two-phase n poles (n=50) stepper motor plays the role of sensor. Its rotor is firmly connected to the rotary part whose instantaneous angular speed should be measured. The sensor produces two identical sinusoidal EMF (electromotive force) signals (theoretically shifted with π/2 radians) with the same periods T. This paper proposes to use the mathematical product of the numerical descriptions of these EMF signals in order to define a new EMF signal with a period T/2 whose analysis allows the determination of 4·n=200 samples of instantaneous angular velocity on each full rotation. Each period of this new EMF signal (with an overlap of a semi period) is involved in the description of the instantaneous angular speed. In this way, the sensor is virtually converted in a single-phase 2·n poles (2·n=100) AC generator. The experimental results confirm the validity of this approach.

Development Method of Fully Automatic Wire Winding Device Based on Dual Motion Control System

In the construction of overhead contact wire for electrified railways, the entire process of wire drawing is manually made, especially for the winding and fixing of the back tie wire. With the length of construction lines often reaching hundreds or even thousands of kilometers, the task of wrapping and fixing the back tie line becomes very heavy and cumbersome. In addition, whether the entanglement is firm, tightly attached, and smooth greatly tests the wrist strength and craftsmanship of construction workers. The comparison between teachers and beginners in construction is obvious, and it is difficult to ensure the consistency of construction standards. In response to the above issues, the fully automatic winding machine adopts a mechanical dual transmission design, a mechanical moving slide mechanism, a reduction motor, and a stepper motor control system to achieve winding process standards such as tight adhesion, reliability, and smoothness, and improve manual operation efficiency by 3-5 times.

Staged Embankment Construction in Geotechnical Centrifuges

Abstract This study develops a novel apparatus to simulate the staged, automatic construction of embankments in geotechnical centrifuges with improved measurement accuracy. Modular test equipment was designed to incorporate the functionality of controllable and precise sand release; its structural components include a box-like sand storage module, a push-pull sand release module, and a stepper motor control module. Emphasis was placed on the design of segmented deflectors, the angles of which were derived with rigorous mathematical analysis to mitigate the Coriolis effect on falling sand. Calibration tests demonstrate that the post-construction embankment geometry approximates its target shape with a relative error of 0.72 to 7.37 % in different construction phases at an acceleration of 60 g. A trial was conducted on a staged embankment over the deformable ground, and the displacement of this system was monitored and characterized by tracking reflective marker technology. The results indicate that the proposed method is effective and reflects real-life situations.

Development of an Autonomous Measurement System for Estimation of Snow Profile on Road Surfaces

This paper presents the development of a novel prototype system to measure the profile of snow and detect ice on road surfaces. While researchers have previously developed methods to estimate the tire-road friction coefficient, methods to create a high resolution map of snow cover and ice on roads have not been developed. The prototype and data processing methods presented in this study provide a potential solution that would greatly benefit winter road maintenance teams. Having a device capable of creating a detailed map of snow and ice cover on roads would allow for more efficient plowing and salt deployment, better informing of the public about current road conditions, as well as better analysis of current plowing techniques to improve winter road maintenance operations. The measurement of the snow profile is based on the use of two types of inexpensive ranging sensors mounted on a rotationally controlled stepper motor platform. The technical challenges addressed in the development include analysis of the scan path over which the system scans the road, differentiation between asphalt, concrete, and snow surfaces using reflection amplitudes, accurate transformation of raw distance measurements to inertial coordinates, and identification of the Euler angles of the sensors using parameters associated with the scanned surface profile. Extensive experimental results and test data are presented, which show that the system is capable of measuring the snow profile on a road with an accuracy of ±1 cm when a reasonable portion of bare road is visible, and ±2 cm when only small portions of bare road are visible.

PLA material based development and advancement of low cost 3D printer using Fused Deposition Method

Printing in three dimensions, or 3D printing, is now recognised as one of the most cutting-edge innovations in the field of science. This technique is also known as fast prototyping, which refers to the process of rapidly producing three-dimensional items using a machine that is meant to be small and low weight and is controlled by computer-aided design (CAD) (Computer-Aided Design) software like Slic3r, and pronterface. The process adopted in this paper is the Fused Deposition Method (FDM) which includes materials like PLA (Polylactic Acid) filament and polycarbonate. In this paper, FDM based 3D printer is designed which is comparably fast and less expensive, and capable of proving fast complex sustainable design structures. Our project involves the use of a Ramps 1.4 board to control the stepper motor movement, an extruder, a hot end, a heated bed, and a 250 W power supply. Results show the fast processing of the complex designs, which indicates the competitive good printing speed.

A 3-D-printed precision sediment feed

Abstract Reproducible and regulated sediment feed rates are necessary for many flume experiments. A sediment feed mechanism capable of precisely providing a wide range of feed rates was developed for this purpose. It was constructed using wood, aluminum, and 3-D-printed components. It is powered by a stepper motor and controlled by an Arduino, and is easily programmable. Commercially available sediment feeds use augers or vibrating trays to move sediment; in contrast, this feed employs the novel design of a slotted wheel. While some commercially available sediment feeds can handle a wider variety of grain sizes, the error of their output (vol/t) tends to be slightly higher than the error of this feed's output, and this feed can deliver sediment over a much wider range of delivery rates. The most notable advantage of this sediment feed is that the cost of materials is only about $300 U.S.

Design and Development Automatic Fish Feed Measuring and Feeding System Based on Internet of Things

This research aims to design and implement an IoT-based automated fish feeding and dosing system to improve the efficiency of the feeding process through automation. The components used include the ESP32 microcontroller, RTC sensor, ultrasonic sensor, voltage sensor, stepper motor, LCD, DC motor, and relay. The system performs dosing and feeding based on user-defined schedules. Based on the research results, the system successfully monitors and controls the dosing and feeding process of the fish automatically. However, the overall success rate of the system is only 70%, with an average error rate of 1.36% for the voltage sensor and 1.33% for the ultrasonic sensor. The battery experiences an average hourly decrease of 0.19V during system operation. The system faced challenges such as relying on Wi-Fi connection to connect to the Firebase server, insufficient battery capacity, and the unreliability of the stepper motor for dosing purposes.

A Study on the Optimal Grasping Angle Algorithm for Plug Seedlings Based on Machine Vision

During the replanting operation of a seedling tray, the end-effector needs to repeatedly grab the qualified plug seedlings in the supply tray and release them to the target tray for replanting, and in the process of grasping, the end-effector may cause some mechanical damage to the plug seedlings, thus affecting their quality. Therefore, in order to be able to adjust the position of the hand claw grasping point according to the morphological characteristics of the plug seedlings and select the optimal grasping point, this paper proposes research on the optimal grasping angle algorithm for plug seedlings based on machine vision. Firstly, a rotatable three-jaw end-effector is designed, which uses a three-jaw structure for grasping the burrowing seedlings. The three claws are driven with a telescopic cylinder to carry out clamping and relaxing actions. The rotation of the three claws is controlled with the stepper motor to adjust the optimal grasping position. Secondly, based on the pre-processing of an image of the hole tray seedling, the extraction of feature points in the region of interest, and the calculation of localization, the angle between the angular bisector of the cotyledon leaf blade of the hole tray seedling and the horizontal positive direction is solved. In this paper, two methods are designed to calculate the coordinates of feature points: one is the geometric method and the other is the center-of-mass method. Finally, the optimal grasping angle is calculated by analyzing the angle between the angular bisector of the cotyledon leaf blade and the horizontal positive direction of the cavity seedlings. According to the test, the average calculation error of the proposed algorithm is 3.12 degrees, and the average calculation time is 0.512 sec/sheet, which meet the requirements of the replanting operation.

SPOT: Scanning plant IoT facility for high-throughput plant phenotyping

Many plant phenotyping platforms have been kept out of the reach of smaller labs and institutions due to high cost and proprietary software. The Scanning Plant IoT (SPOT) Facility, located at the University of Florida, is a mobile, laboratory-based platform that facilitates open-source collection of high-quality, interoperable plant phenotypic data. It consists of three main sensors: a hyperspectral sensor, a thermal camera, and a LiDAR camera. Real-time data from the sensors can be collected in its 10 ft. × 10 ft. scanning region. The mobility of the device allows its use in large growth chambers, environmentally controlled rooms, or greenhouses. Sensors are oriented nadir and positioned via computer numerical control of stepper motors. In a preliminary experiment, data gathered from SPOT was used to autonomously and nondestructively differentiate between cultivars.

Open source framework for a Broadly Expandable and Reconfigurable data acquisition and automation device (BREAD)

Though open source data acquisition (DAQ) systems have been published, closed source proprietary systems are the standard despite often being prohibitively expensive. High costs, however, limit access to high-quality DAQ in low-resource settings. In many cases the functions executed by the closed source and proprietary DAQ cards could be carried out by an open source alternative; however, as desired function count increases, the simplicity of integrating the designs decreases substantially. Although the global library of open source electronic designs is expanding rapidly, and there is clear evidence they can reduce costs for scientists one device at a time, they are generally made to carry a function well, but are often not capable of scaling up or easily being integrated with other designs. Just as other open source projects have found success by having modular frameworks and clearly documented specifications, a framework to unify and enable interoperation of these open source electronics systems would be greatly beneficial to the scientific community. To meet these needs and ensure greater accessibility to high-quality electronics sensing and DAQ systems, this article shares and tests a news framework where new open source electronics can be developed and have plug-and-play functionality. The Broadly Reconfigurable and Expandable Automation Device (BREAD), consists of a basic set of guidelines and requirements to which others can contribute. Here 7 slices (boards) are provided, demonstrated, and validated: 1) Amplified Analog Input, 2) Audio Analysis / Fourier Transform, 3) +/- 10A Current Sensor, 4) 4-Channel Relay Controller 5) 4 Channel Stepper Motor Controller, 6) 4 Channel Type-K Thermocouple Reader and 7) 2 Channel USB Port. Implementing systems using BREAD rather than closed source and proprietary alternatives can result in cost savings of up to 93%.

Design and Development of an Internet of Things Based Package Reception Box System

Parkage delivery services play a crucial role in facilitating the easy and prompt sending and receiving of goods to the public. The package delivery sector has witnessed significant growth of 33.62% since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, package receipt often presents challenges, including instances of damaged or lost packages. To address these issues, a system for package reception was designed and developed utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT) technology. The system operates by incorporating a UART GM66 Barcode Scanner, ESP-32CAM, Solenoid Door Lock, and Motor Stepper Nema 17. The primary objective of this research is to construct an automated package-reception system that can be controlled securely through a smartphone, thus ensuring protection against theft and package damage. System testing was performed on the functionality of the tool and communication with the telegram bot.

Quantitative validation of two model-based methods for the correction of probe pressure deformation in ultrasound.

The acquisition of good quality ultrasound (US) images requires good acoustic coupling between the ultrasound probe and the patient's skin. In practice, this good coupling is achieved by the operator applying a force to the skin through the probe. This force induces a deformation of the tissues underlying the probe. The distorted images deteriorate the quality of the reconstructed 3D US image. In this work, we propose two methods to correct these deformations. These methods are based on the construction of a biomechanical model to predict the mechanical behavior of the imaged soft tissues. The originality of the methods is that they do not use external information (force or position value from sensors, or elasticity value from the literature). The model is parameterized thanks to the information contained in the image. This is allowed thanks to the optimization of two key parameters for the model which are the indentation d and the elasticity ratio α. The validation is performed on real images acquired on a gelatin-based phantom using an ultrasound probe inducing an increasing vertical indentation using a step motor. The results showed a good correction of the two methods for indentations less than 4mm. For larger indentations, one of the two methods (guided by the similarity score) provides a better quality of correction, presenting a Euclidean distance between the contours of the reference image and the corrected image of 0.71mm. The proposed methods ensured the correction of the deformed images induced by a linear probe pressure without using any information coming from sensors (force or position), or generic information about the mechanical parameters. The corrected images can be used to obtain a corrected 3D US image.

The Design of a Piston Extruder for the Production of Gelatin Filaments Available for Hydroxyapatite Biocomposite 3D Printing

Hydroxyapatite is naturally found in bone tissue. Tissue engineering often utilizes synthetic hydroxyapatite biocomposite for bone alloplastic grafting. The bone graft shape and size accuracy can be realized using three dimensions (3D) printing technology. The most important part of the 3D printer is an extruder producing printable filament of the material. This work presents a design of the extruder employed to create a gelatine filament. The gelatin will be used as the matrix of a hydroxyapatite biocomposite in the future. The main components of the extruder are a 10 mL acrylic syringe and a non-captive stepper motor. Three parameters, i.e., extrusion speed, material viscosity, and nozzle size, are examined to find the optimum filament production. The extrusion speed was controlled by programming the frequency step of the motor, and the viscosity was controlled by varying the composition of the aquadest-gelatine mixture. The results showed that the stable operation and the best filament were obtained with a motor speed of 0.17 mm/s, the aquadest-gelatine composition of 10 mL aquadest and 3 grams of gelatine powder, and a nozzle diameter of 0.3 mm.

MINIMIZING ERRORS IN PCB MILLING PROCESSES THROUGH A 3-AXIS PCB ROUTER

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) can be produced by chemical or mechanical methods. Continuous copper paths are difficult to print in the chemical method and breaks may occur in copper paths. In addition, this method is harmful to human health and the environment, as various chemicals are used. In the mechanical method, PCB is processed with computer-controlled numerical workbenches (CNC). Although prototyping can be done quickly and without harming the environment with these benches, the desired results may not be obtained. Reasons for unsuccessful machining in CNC machines; manufacturing and assembly errors in the production of benches, the use of low quality mechanical and electronic components, and the reference of a single point especially for the Z-axis of the part connected to the benches. In this paper, a precise and stable PCB Router is presented to make fast, cost-effective and successful PCB machining. In order to minimize the vibration and oscillations of the PCB Router caused by manufacturing and assembly errors, the dimensions of the router were kept low and metal material was preferred for the router body. Precision is ensured by quality motor drivers and stepper motors. The PCB Router is controlled by an original control board. This card is equipped with a multi-point referencing feature for the Z-axis. Thus, homogeneous machining in the Z-axis for the entire surface of the PCB can be realized by performing referencing operations on the PCB connected to the workbench as many points as the user enters. With the developed router, PCBs with rectangular and circular patterns were engraved at cutting depths of 0.030 mm and 0.050 mm with 0.20 mm and 0.30 mm diameter milling tools with a 30-degree tip angle, respectively. Moreover, a 16-terminal integrated circuit element was successfully engraved at a cutting depth of 0.040 mm with a 0.34 mm diameter V-tip with a 30-degree tip angle. Homogeneous milling was achieved utilizing the proposed multi-point referencing feature. Each milling operation was completed in approximately 30 min - 45 min.

Ultrasensitive Ionophore-Based Liquid Sensors for Colorimetric Ion Measurements in Blood.

The self-monitoring of electrolytes using a small volume of capillary blood is needed for the management of many chronic diseases. Herein, we report an ionophore-based colorimetric sensor for electrolyte measurements in a few microliters of blood. The sensor is a pipet microtip preloaded with a segment of oil (plasticizer) containing a pH-sensitive chromoionophore, a cation exchanger, and an ionophore. The analyte is extracted from the sample into the oil via a mixing protocol controlled by a stepper motor. The oil with an optimized ratio of sensing chemicals shows an unprecedentedly large color response for electrolytes in a very narrow concentration range that is clinically relevant. This ultrahigh sensitivity is based on an exhaustive response mode with a novel mechanism for defining the lower and higher limits of detection. Compared to previous optodes and molecular probes for ions, the proposed platform is especially suitable for at-home blood electrolyte measurements because (1) the oil sensor is interrogated independent of the sample and therefore works for whole blood without requiring plasma separation; (2) the sensor does not need individual calibration as the consistency between liquid sensors is high compared to solid sensors, such as ion-selective electrodes and optodes; and (3) the sensing system consisting of a disposable oil sensor, a programmed stepper motor, and a smartphone is portable, cost-effective, and user-friendly. The accuracy and precision of Ca2+ sensors are validated in 51 blood samples with varying concentrations of total plasma Ca2+. Oil sensors with an ultrasensitive response can also be obtained for other ions, such as K+.

Electricity Generation using Solar Power

Today energy is the main inspiration for socio-economic development. But due to incremental rate of environmental concern renewable energy provide a significant interest. This alternative power source is continuously achieving greater popularity due to continuous reduction in fossil fuels. It is the energy comes from sun, wind, rain etc. Among the non-conventional, renewable energy sources, solar energy affords great potential for conversion into electric power. Maximizing power output from a solar system is desirable to increase efficiency. In order to maximize power output, needs to keep the panels aligned with the sun. This paper deals with the electricity generation using solar power. The proposed system ensures the optimization of the conversion of solar energy into electricity by properly orienting the panel in accordance with the position of the sun. The operation of the paper is based on a Stepper motor intelligently moves a panel according to the light intensity of the sun sensing by light sensor

Magnetic bed for the treatment of different somatic diseases: design and simulation

At present, sports injuries that occur during the practice of a sport or physical exercise are becoming more and more common, due to a series of predisposing factors that make an individual more susceptible to suffer these injuries. In Cuba there is a high prevalence of articular affections of knees and ankles, with a high prevalence in people older than 60 years old and soft tissue injury consultations are in the order of 45%. One of the applications of the electromagnetic field is in the treatment of different pathologies of the osteomuscular system (Soma). The objective of this work lies in the design of a magnetic bed with permanent magnets, in analogy to a circular Halbach type configuration for the treatment of different diseases of the soma, which consists of three main parts: the magnetic system, which generates magnetic induction for therapeutic purposes, the opening and closing system of the magnetic system, which allows the radial variation of the magnetic system and the patient-support bed system, which allows the positioning of the patient in the treatment area. The principle of operation is that the therapist selects the induction of the magnetic field and the homogeneity of the magnetic field, depending on the pathology(s) to be treated, through a software that controls the movement of the opening and closing system of the magnetic system and the patient-bed support system, which is coupled to a stepper motor reducer that ensures a precise and accurate positioning of the sample (or patient) according to the area to be treated, which allows more than 80% effectiveness of the therapy with respect to conventional treatment.

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT A SCARA ROBOT FOR CLASSIFY PRODUCTS USING IMAGE PROCESSING

In this paper, a SCARA robot arm is designed and developed using stepper motor to classify objects according to their color. Four stepper motors are mounted at each joint of the robot to provide precise movement. The Arduino Mega board is used to create signal for stepper motor driver. The mechanical model of the robot is designed on the Autodesk Inventor software. All links of robot is fabrication by laser cutting method. The assembly of the parts of the robot and the motor’s mechanical shapes produce the final prototype of the arm. The Arduino has been programmed to provide rotation to each corresponding servo motor to the sliders in the designed mobile application for usage from distance. Product classification algorithm will be developed to detect objects based on color. The robot will pick up the products to different positions according to the detected color.

An open-source smart fraction collector for isocratic preparative liquid chromatography

Preparative liquid chromatography is a technique for separating complex samples or isolating pure compounds from complex extracts. It involves eluting samples through a packed column and selectively collecting or isolating the separated bands in a sequence of fractions. Depending on the column length and the sample complexity, a large number of fractions may be obtained, making fraction collection a laborious and time-consuming process. Manual fraction collection is also tedious, error-prone, less reproducible, and susceptible to contamination. Several commercial and lab-made solutions are available for automated fraction collection, but most systems do not synchronize with the instrument detector and collect fractions at fixed volumes or time intervals. We have assembled a low-cost Arduino-based smart fraction collector that can record the signal from the UV–vis detector of the chromatography instrument and enable the automated selective collection of the targeted bands. The system consists of a robot equipped with position sensors and a 3-way solenoid valve that switches the column effluent between the waste or collection positions. By proper programming, an Arduino board records the detector response and actuates the solenoid valve, the position sensors, and the stepper motors to collect the target chromatographic bands.