Mechatronics-motion control for teaching and research

The interface between desk top computers and equipment or plant is examined in this paper. The emphasis is on simple low cost interfaces which are easily connected or removed from personal computers so that class sets of PCs can be used for several different types of teaching on an hourly basis or even at the same time. The interfaces presented here illustrate a range of techniques which vary from pulse processing units plugged directly into the PC data bus to simple switches and sophisticated constant current servo amplifiers which plug directly into a PC printer port. Motion control is emphasised because students can visually relate system behaviour to the computed performance thus providing immediate learning feedback. The use of interrupts to provide timely control is also discussed.