READOUT SYSTEMS FOR LINEAR TRANSDUCERS

There is much time lost in the manufacturing industries in setting up complex cutter forms on production machinery. This has a detrimental e ffect on machine utilisation and hence on profitability. Certain areas have been identified that could derive direct benefit from a suitable calibration or 'referencing' device to provide data to ease machine s et-ups and reduce down time. Having chosen Spherosyn transducers for r uggedness and reliability in harsh environments, a mechatronic approac h has been taken to achieve an integrated design. The paper details th e design and development of suitable drive and interface electronics u tilising a microcontroller. The design has been thoroughly tested and the techniques have been transferred into industrial usage. The treatm ent of the theory and the practical embodiment is suited for use in ca se-study exercises for undergraduate and postgraduate engineering stud ents.