Re: Books on microprocessor-controlled instrument design
- From: Spehro Pefhany <speffSNIP@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 07:39:47 -0400
On 26 Sep 2005 19:18:43 -0700, the renowned donshep@xxxxxxxxxxxx
wrote:
>Hi!
>
>I need to design a board to control a pressure tester. I need to create
>a 1 to 5 volt 12 bit ramp for a pressure command and read a 4-20 ma
>pressure transducer to 12 bits at 10 samples per sec. I also need to
>read some switches, drive some solenoids, and drive a display. Lastly,
>I need to interface to a laptop to graph my data.
>
>I figured I'd use a microprocessor to do all this. The only problem is
>that I don't know how. This is where all yinz guys come in...
>
>I need recommendations for books to select, design, and program such a
>thing. I got a few months so I have time to read and digest a few books
>on the subject. But they have to be the right books that give me what I
>need.
>
>All recommendations will be appreciated, at least somewhat.
>
>TIA, YMMV, EIEIO,
>
>Don
Sounds like you want to design the electronic portion of a complete
product. I suggest you start with manageable chunks of it- start with
blinking an LED with a microcontroller, or displaying the pressure on
a DVM.
This is a very straightforward and quick project for someone who has
done this sort of thing before, however there are a lot of things that
can slow you down.
If you need a commercial product, you're probably best to contract the
development out. Assuming competent work, you'll end up with a design
that works right off and can be produced with minimal risk.
If you need a one-off test rig, you're probably best to use a
single-board computer wot comes with a software toolchain and enough
analog capability to handle your application. A PLC might be an
option. You can use a signal conditioner module for the pressure
transducer or buy one that has it built in. That means essentially no
soldering or PCB design and you can concentrate on the software, which
will be enough of a challenge. This trades materials cost for some of
your time.
If your goal is learning, and your time schedule is flexible, then
your suggested course of action is reasonable. Books? For the analog
stuff, you could do worse than Art of Electronics, Horowitz and Hill.
I can't say I've looked at it much myself, but I have heard Mike
Predko's books on the PIC recommended, if that microcontroller family
appeals to you. The one book of his which I looked at seemed to have a
lot of errors. If you do go with PICs (as opposed to one of the more
pleasant architectures such as MSP430 or HC08), I'd suggest you avoid
3rd party programmers entirely, as that can be a real source of
frustration for beginners. Many of them are flakey or only work with
certain combinations of computer/power supply/chip.
For 10 measurements per second, you'll probably want to avoid the very
low end of the 8-bit range of micros speed-wise, particularly if you
plan to use floating point calculations and/or do curve fitting.
Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
speff@xxxxxxxxxxxx Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com
.
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