The main objective of this work is to design a system capable of simultaneously measuring rotation and translation, based on the unification of signals from linear and rotary encoders through an electronic circuit, and a mechanical solution to separate the two movements. The development of this product was driven by the demand within the medical industry.
Suitable communication protocols and electronic components were selected. An electrical scheme was designed, and a printed circuit board (PCB) layout was created with Altium design software. The firmware code was written in programming language C, using CubeMX and Keil uVision software. The success of communication between the master and slave devices was analysed with Matlab software. A graphical user interface (GUI), written in programming language Python was added. An alternative concept was designed with Solidworks software and proposed following an independent experimental analysis of the existing mechanical system.
The primary outcome of this paper is a PCB which successfully communicates with both encoders, unites the position information, and forwards it to the user. It is supplemented by a GUI which provides both the rotary and linear position in a numeric and graphical form and allows the user to alter the parameters of communication. The result of the mechanical part of the task is the rejection of the existing holder solution and a proposal for a new concept design.
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