Into Essay, Research Paper

The purpose of this lab was to gain an understanding of the operation of motion-type sensors such as a potentiometer, encoder, and tachometer. In the course of this experiment we learned how to properly calibrate this equipment and perform data acquisition on it.

BACKGROUND:

The most commonly measured physical quantities are position and velocity. This is because it is important to know how a mechanism moves in order to control its behavior. Rotary sensors are often employed because of the ease in converting rotational velocity to linear velocity, and vice versa. The three most common motion sensors will be briefly discussed:

Potentiometer:

Previously we learned that a potentiometer is a resistor with a variable resistance controlled by the movement of a rotating shaft. The resistance is expressed as: