Carebot Board

[MnM-bbb]

Hi Guys/Gals.

Following a link to the NI Beagle Bone Black cape, came across this:

http://store.digilentinc.com/cerebot-mc7-advanced-motor-control-board-renamed-to-chipkit-pro-mx7/

It is used to drive four servo-motors with many bells and whistles so to speak.

My application is a drive by wire actuator. I am sure this will work but it seems overkill. Anyone have a similar application and board recommendation that uses less real estate?

Best, M

[JColvin]

Hi M,

I haven't done much with drive by wire technology, so I'm not the most familiar with it. Looking at the board though (and guessing at your needs) you may be able to get a much smaller microcontroller board (such as a WF32 or a uC32) and then use an appropriate Pmod to interface with your motor (PmodHB5 or PmodHB3 for DC motors, PmodCON3 for servo motors, PmodSTEP for a stepper motor).

I'm not sure if that works for your project or not, but let me know!

Thanks,
JColvin

[MnM-bbb]

Hi JColvin,

Thanks for the response and a few examples. 

Have some homework to do on the actuators driver requirements and research a board with programmable PID loop with safety inputs.

The carebot board is a promising choice and an external circuit could be added to alter the needs of the actuator.

PIC 32 is very desirable at this point.

I will do a write up on this if I decide to go this route so others can follow if desired.

Best, M 

[MnM-bbb]

Well I went with the uC32, and a couple of i/o boards. 

It is favorable for my application since it requires a bit of connection skills and a computer to access.

It is a drive by wire actuator but not throttle, The actuator controls a supercharger bypass valve. All retrofitted.

I am very pleased with the board so far My HP (AMD) opened up the port right away but the dell (INTEL) had some issues. Working like a champ now.

New to Arduino but an old MPLAB IDE assembly man. Matrix Flowcode does not support the 32 bit micro-controller either. I uploaded a simple knob control program example which seems to be close to basic and assembly. Right up my alley

I will up-date as the project progresses, hoping to program three different profiles based on input resistance. Traffic,Highway,Race

All the Best, M

 

[Commanderfranz]

Hi M,

After reading this thread, I'm excited to see how your project progresses. If you finish your project and want to show it off, feel free to post in in the project vault. 

 

Kaitlyn

[MnM-bbb]

Thanks Kaitlyn,

I will be happy to post the project when completed. In my spare time I have been collecting raw data from the actuator for creation of table and PID control.

Had a bit of research to do for OEM control sequence of operations. The original application enables the supercharger @ 3000 rpm. The actuator follows mass air flow closing as air is increasing. PID loop table here.

Easier method would be stepper motor program. The stepper motor program will allow me to collect EGT (exhaust gas temp) and boost pressure for engine safety.

Much mechanical to do's but beyond the scope of this forum. When the code is done I will put many  *****notes****  for those that wish to utilize.

Have not been on the computer much this weekend been kinda wrecked over the horror in Orlando (I am local) Pray for lost folks

Best, M