Steering and control system of the friction testing station (so-called tribometer, tribometer - using a servo motor and sensors)

View of the linear module

For teaching purposes, a steering and control system for the so-called friction testing station was developed. tribometer. A distinguishing feature of the station is the reciprocating mode of operation of the part responsible for causing the friction effect.

Scheme of the tribometry station (tribometry)

The position includes:

  • Wobit MLA linear module with a Kinco servo motor, which in turn was controlled by a Kinco CD420 servo drive;
  • force sensor with force-to-voltage transducer – 0-5V;
  • inductive displacement sensor;
  • PT100 temperature sensor with Pt100/4-20mA transducer;
  • Advantech USB4704 measurement card.

View of the servo drive

Measuring card

The entire system is controlled by a PC program that also archives data. The data is saved to a file in the EXCEL format (file with the *.xls extension), which facilitates further processing and analysis of the received data. The control program was written in VB.NET.

View of the control program

The user enters test parameters in the control program, such as speed and distance. Measurement data is collected via the Advantech card and sent to the application, where it is visualized and archived at a set frequency. The Advantech card communicates with the control program via a USB connector and exchanges data with the measurement card thanks to the ActiveX control. Communication between the Kinco servo drive and the computer is carried out using the RS232 standard. Commands are issued in accordance with the internal communication protocol of the servo drive.

The scope of work included:

  • writing a program in VB.NET for a PC;
  • designing the electrical diagram of the system;
  • selection of electrical equipment;
  • construction of a control cabinet.
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