A Giftware Guide for Software Guys

The thought of special holidays coming up isn’t always what gets us scrambling to check off our gift lists. For most of us, gift-giving occasions happen all year round, with someone’s birthday or anniversary to commemorate almost every month. While gift ideas abound for teachers, doctors, or hobbyists, it is a little more challenging to find the perfect present for that loveable computer geek or software engineer in your life. Techies can be quite particular about the latest gadgets that get them excited. But it’s not always about model kits or computer hardware. To find the right gift, a little imagination and resourcefulness are all that’s required. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Coffee Break Gift Basket

Hardworking computer engineers often work round the clock, and may need some reminding to take much-needed breaks. After all, the best ideas usually come to a mind that’s refreshed and rested. To create a coffee-themed gift, simply find a decorative box or a roomy basket and fill it with coffee essentials, including your friend or loved one’s favorite blend. If your budget allows it, you can even opt to include a funny mug or a single-serve coffee press. If putting together an appealing coffee break gift basket seems daunting, there’s no need to worry. You can simply order one, ready made, from one-stop online gift shops that provide specialty gift baskets and delivery services. Gift baskets are a thoughtful and crowd-pleasing idea that won’t fail to delight its recipient, especially during those long, exhausting workdays. Our favorite source for gift baskets are here.

Circuit Board Novelties

Software engineers may have little to do with circuit boards, but the idea is quirky and fun, nevertheless! They’ll look sharp like the geek gods that they are as they sport a necktie with a circuit board print, or when they entertain guests using a set of coasters made of actual circuit board parts. A whole range of similarly themed items are available online, from jewelry and accessories, to notebooks and clocks made out of recycled and repurposed circuit boards. Not only is this idea creative, it’s eco-friendly, too!

Raspberry Pi Starter Kit

This efficient little device is perfect for student engineers and beginner enthusiasts. It enables anyone, young or old, to explore computing and learn basic programming. It’s capable of equipping users with the tools to build homemade versions of laptops or netbooks, portable gaming consoles, music systems or radios, scanners, weather detectors, and even household appliances. It’s safe to say that your engineer is sure to flip over this gift, if he doesn’t possess one already.

Geek Games and Puzzles

Software engineers live and breathe codes. Computer language is what they use to communicate their best ideas. Give them a gift that challenges their intellect and their penchant for finding solutions to every problem. Have them solve tough puzzles that require them to crack complicated codes, or brainteaser games that will provide hours of challenging amusement.

Decode the Possibilities

If someone’s special day is just around the corner, this list is your springboard to finding the perfect gift. In fact, any of the above suggestions is sure to be a hit with your computer engineer friends. They’re useful and lighthearted, and show how much you know your buddies. There are more items and possibilities to be explored out there, and matching the right gift to the right person is part of the fun. One rule of thumb in gift hunting: if you love the gift you’ve chosen yourself, chances are your recipient will love it, too. Be guided accordingly, and let the search begin!

Your First Machine Learning Project in Python Step-By-Step

Hi Friends! Hope you’re well today. I welcome you on board. In this post today, I’ll walk you through the Machine Learning Project in Python Step by Step. A lot of machine learning guides concentrate on particular factors of the machine learning workflow like model training, data cleaning, and optimization of algorithms. But those who are not familiar with machine learning, it can be hard to grasp the fundamental end workflow with no full simple explanation. In this article, we will give a simple guide for making a supervised machine learning model in python. Keep reading!

Machine Learning Overview

Perhaps, you are asking what machine learning is (Learn here more about machine learning). Well, it refers to the capability of a computer to know the mapping between data features and data labels without being clearly and openly programmed. The objective is that given new inputs with unidentified outputs, the machine can forecast the labels correctly. Input to output mapping is done through mathematical functions, first and foremost, from the portions of calculus and linear algebra, which are done at a scale and accuracy which cannot be obtained without computer skills. Many various algorithms can achieve this job, from regression-based techniques to complex deep learning methods. Luckily, a python programming language is an active community of open source developers and has developed many libraries that abstract away the requirement to code the algorithms.

Data

Since machine learning algorithms are solely based on mathematics, the information should be numeric. This data set is wholly numeric, but if you have categorical features, you have to do some preprocessing to change them into numeric.

Test Train Split

Once making a machine learning model, it's essential to assess how it can map inputs to outputs. It is also vital to know how to make precise predictions. On the other hand, once you were using data in which the model is seen to assess the presentation or performance, then you can't be aware of such issues as overfitting. What is overfitting anyway? Well, it refers to a model learned either noise or too much information in the data that will not essentially survive in unseen data. So, in this event, the model will emerge to do well on the training data. It will, however, do poorly on confidential information. More often than not, this refers to the model that is not sorting out well. In machine learning, it is common to split the training data into a set for training and then for testing. There's no regulation as to the precise size split to do. Still, it is reasonable to reserve a more significant sample for training, 20 percent testing data, and 80 percent training is a typical split. The data must be split randomly to get better performance of the outlines present in the data in any setting. There are many tools available that perform well in this process in one code line.

Baseline model

Your next step is the baseline model. It's a smart idea to train a dummy classifier to come up with a baseline score to scale or target mode iterations of model expansion. You can use a tool with the capability of allowing you to train models and, at the same time, make forecasts based on easy and straightforward regulations, like forecasting at random.  This is valuable to assess that the model development is enhancing as you iterate in the next methods or steps.

Model Selection

When you already have a trained baseline model, model selection is the next step. It is essential to assess if there is an algorithm, which might do well on the data. You can use a tool with a cheat sheet as this will provide you ideas of the diverse algorithms on hand to address or give a solution to some classification issue.

Hyperparameter Optimization

Every algorithm in machine learning has a broader number of parameters utilized in managing the process of learning. You can alter these parameters; however, it all depends on the set of data that can lead to an augment in the model's presentation. The course of looking for the most excellent set of parameters for a data set and algorithm is called hyperparameter optimization. A common technique to make use of this kind of optimization is called grid search. There are many tools that you can use that offer the ability to do this. You have to pass this purpose a grid in the type of a python library or dictionary, which has the names of the parameters as well as a matching list of parameters. Then, this becomes the parameter space wherein the function will look for. Then the function will create a model for each amalgamation of parameters for the classifier. When this has been done, you can access the outcomes in the type of the most excellent model, as well as the most extraordinary combination of parameters.

Final Assessment

You can use the superb model to forecast labels on the test set and print a report to assess the performance in full detail. You can see that the performance, in general, has improved vastly from the baseline model. This guide has shown the most straightforward workflow needed to make a model of machine learning in python. There are other steps usually involved in making models when you're using data set such as data cleaning, cross-validation, and feature engineering, among many other steps possible.  If you have seized the fundamental steps in this guide, it is now the right time to move ahead to know different elements, which are involved in machine learning. That’s all for today. I hope you find this article helpful. If you have any questions, you can approach me in the section below, I’d love to help you the best way I can. Thank you for reading the article.

Why a Bill of Materials is Important

Hi Friends! Hope you’re well today. I welcome you on board. In this post today, I’ll detail why a bill of materials is important. One of the most essential aspects of a business is making sure that materials can be organized and obtained within a budget. This is where having a bill of materials can come in handy, and many companies utilize this comprehensive list to the layout in which specific parts and materials are required for the assembly of their products. Manufacturing industries utilize a bill of materials as an essential part of their operations, and having a simple way to create these lists can prove most efficient.

Key Aspects of a BOM

A bill of materials is a thorough list containing part numbers, part names, descriptions, quantities, measurements, and more. These lists contain everything that suppliers would need to know to provide businesses with the correct parts. With a bill of materials system in place, businesses keep all material information up to date, make any necessary revisions at a moment’s notice, and deliver it to suppliers instantly. Successful product design depends on a thorough bill of materials to reach the market. As designers and developers begin the planning stages of how to create products, they rely on this list to show them what they will have available, how much it will cost, and whether or not the project is feasible in the first place. Not only that, but each item in the list needs to be detailed thoroughly with instructions on usage, quantity available, and when they can be procured to make sure that they can be utilized effectively.

How a BOM Can Be Made Easily

Thanks to a special bill of material generating software, this can all be done with several advantages that make the entire process smoother. Businesses who study the program can create a bill of materials as easy as any other kind of online spreadsheet, edit them in real-time, and keep track of all inventory at all times, and make necessary calculations. These platforms are all cloud-based, so a business can create their list and edit it automatically, and anyone can access them without confusion. When businesses can seamlessly share their data like this, it makes the entire manufacturing and inventory process much more efficient, and manufacturers can ensure that every single part is well detailed and will be included in each order when it comes time to create the products that will be sent to consumers. Having software that generates a bill of materials, like https://www.openbom.com/, can allow businesses to have all the necessary information on their needed items in one convenient place. Data from older bills can be reused and reorganized into newer lists, and edits can be made with changelogs tracking each revision. Bills of materials can also be shared with all necessary data available to anyone the business chooses to give the list to. As manufacturing gets more complex with more intricate parts needed to make successful products, having access to a thorough and complete bill of materials becomes a far more necessary part of the entire process. That’s all for today. I hope you find this article helpful. If you have any questions, you can approach me in the section below. I’d love to help you the best way I can. Thank you for reading the article.

Future Projects that Could Be Possible with Software Development

Hi Guys! Happy to see you around. I welcome you on board. In this post today, I’ll detail the future projects that could be possible with software development. Software development in 2020 is taking over many industries and innovating on so many levels.  We have already come so far with the inventions and ideas in today’s age, but there is certainly more to come.  We are always on the lookout as humans for the next big thing that will impact lives in a positive way. Some of the examples are not life-altering by any means, but they are certainly winning for the software development industry.  The examples are not currently in place, but I am sure that some of them are being perfected as you read this and might become a reality in the near future if things keep improving as we gain knowledge.

Fingerprint ATM’s

It is impressive that we can even access our money from anywhere with your ATM card.  Moreover, we can log onto our bank accounts from our mobile device and do certain tasks such as depositing a check from a mobile phone right from the comfort of our homes. But what if we could access an ATM without a debit card and just use our fingerprint?  That would be an amazing invention and an innovative way to access our money.  There are certainly a lot of kinks to get worked out before we could do this.  Some criminal activity like copying a fingerprint is likely to happen. If this ever becomes a reality, it would be a pretty neat system and thing to do to use your fingerprint at an ATM!

Fingerprint Voting

Another side note to this example is also the ability to vote with our fingerprint.  That would make the election process much smoother than ever.

Weather Forecasting

One part of science that we have not figured out much with is the ability to predict the weather accurately.  We are generally right, but not always exact.  What if someone could produce software that was very accurate with the weather? That would be a winning innovation and would be a game-changer for the meteorology area of science and understanding the Earth much better.  Only time will tell if we will be able to do it.

Health Protection

The final problem that could be solved with software development is to connect patients with an expert in whatever their problem is.  Sometimes people have a hard time getting into contact with the right professionals for their condition. A major development for the healthcare industry would be to have a software that takes all of the guesswork out of it and gets people in contact with the right medical staff.  There are endless possibilities with software like that because the healthcare sector is always in need of innovation to make people’s lives much better. Certain software development niches like microcontroller firmware development and other sectors of software development will help us advance through the problems and come up with solutions, and it is probably only a matter of time before the software is developed for any of the problems that are listed above. That’s all for today. I hope you find this article helpful. If you have any questions, you can ask me in the comment section below. Thank you for reading the article.

Apps Are Saving Lives in the Wilderness

Hi Friends! Hope you’re well today. I welcome you on board. In this post today, I’ll detail how apps are saving lives in the wilderness. Whenever disaster strikes in the wilderness, be it from fires, storms, or other natural disasters, it can be a daunting task for people and animals to get the help they need to get out of potentially life-threatening circumstances. Animals, particularly endangered species, get caught in all kinds of situations that require attention, but obviously, they can’t just pick up the phone and call for help, and for people, they might not have the means to fare much better if their phones are out of service or they get injured and can't move. When it comes to wildlife rescue operations and conservation, location-based apps can actually make a huge impact and may lead to lives being saved thanks to the services they provide.

How Apps Can Get the Right Help Notified

Wildlife rangers and emergency service teams take to the field to resolve issues including natural disaster assistance and rescue. Thanks to location-based apps, their jobs can be made a whole lot easier because they can quickly find people in need and can evaluate injuries of wildlife right on their phones directly. Some quintessential features include GPS and location-based data, and location based app development takes these into account when they create apps that are meant to be used in emergency situations. This not only helps rescue operatives, but also everyday users who might be stuck in certain situations or come across injured wildlife. For example, the Animal Help Now! the app allows you to quickly make a call to the nearest rescue center or rehabilitation facility, while also providing helpful tips that anyone can understand.

The Uses of Location Data

Location data allows users to quickly find out where they are in relation to the surrounding area, and send out signals to nearby areas of assistance. By using geolocation, tracking, and GPS functions, rangers are able to expedite the process of getting people and wildlife the help they need by pinpointing an exact location and contacting the proper emergency responders. Some GPS data can be used without a phone signal or wifi, making it so that even in remote areas, help can still arrive thanks to these apps giving a general read of a victim’s location. This helps in situations where a quick response is necessary, and contacting the right help leads to reduced suffering and lives saved. For example, the ISOS Emergency App on Android is able to send an alert to contact with your current location, complete with alarms and area-specific emergency service list. Not only do these apps provide location data, but they can also be informative outside emergency scenarios. They can provide warning messages, displays of information on how to properly handle injured animals, and help them identify where help is immediately needed. Emergency services can use these apps to pinpoint trouble areas and respond quickly, but the apps aren't limited to being helpful just for them. Thanks to these location-based apps, anyone has the means and resources to help those in need, and lives can be saved as a result. Hope you find this read useful. Thank you for reading the article.

Why Cybersecurity in the Healthcare Industry is Vital

Hi Friends! Hope you’re well today. I welcome you on board. In this post today, I’ll walk you through why cybersecurity in the healthcare industry is vital. The days of keeping records with pen and paper and storing the information into a file cabinet are gone.  Now, we can effectively keep confidential information since technology saves both space and time, and it is more accessible. The only problem with this new trend seen in the last couple of decades is the security issue.  The healthcare industry, one of the most important industries in the world,  contains information that must stay in safe hands, away from the eyes of hackers. Below are some reasons why healthcare and healthcare cybersecurity professionals are so mindful to protect this information.

Reputation

When you go to a hospital or go to see your family physician, I bet you don’t worry about your information getting accessed or released to people that should know your situation. The reason for this is because that is the biggest priority of healthcare workers because if they did have a data breach, you would probably not go back to that place and they would lose potential patients. The reputation of a healthcare institution is at stake if they find it hard to protect your information because that is private, and it is unacceptable for some people if they get to know someone has accessed their information. Protecting a hospital’s reputation is so important for all parties involved because once a reputation is ruined, it is hard to earn it back.  In any business relationship, when trust is lost it is almost impossible to get back in sensitive topics like health history.

HIPAA

Another aspect of the healthcare industry that must be highlighted is HIPAA compliance.  In general terms, HIPAA was created to protect the information of patients and give patients peace of mind that their information is safe from the general public. There are components of HIPAA that make any security breaches a problem and not in compliance with the guidelines.  Security is a major proponent and it is even worse to have a security breach since HIPAA is obviously going to frown upon any kind of security issue. For more information in regards to HIPAA, you can check out some of the pretty neat HIPPAA compliance software development that is being developed as we speak. Those two reasons alone are some of the biggest reasons why the healthcare industry must protect their information and patient information at all costs.  All it takes is one data breach for all trust to be lost and patients to not ever trust that facility again. Cybersecurity is taking major steps in this industry to protect information at all costs, and hopefully, we will never have to deal with a large security breach, and millions of records are compromised. Hopefully, now that you have read this, you now know how vital security is to the healthcare industry and the weight that it holds.  Please share this post if you find it interesting. Thank you for reading this post.

5 Strategies to Optimize Your Digital Presence in Search Engines

Hi Friends! Hope you’re well today. I welcome you on board. In this post today, I’ll walk you through the 5 strategies to optimize your digital presence in search engines. The digital presence is very important for all types of websites. Simply put, the website’s ranking is very important to increase its traffic and recognition, whether it is an e-commerce store or a personal blog. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the term used to define the ranking of your site in the search engine result page. Want to know the SEO factors that can influence the website’s ranking? Keep reading.

Why is your digital presence so important?

The digital presence of your brand is important since almost the entire world has turned into a digital sphere. The following are the reasons why the digital presence of your brand is so critical.

a. The first impression of your customer

The customer when they decide on a service or product; the first impression is very important since they search online for the information of the particular brand. Say… you want to buy the car, you’ll look for the specifications of the car online, instead of physically going to the showroom and asking for the car specifications.

b. Your customer finds the brand on the Internet

In this modern world, most people find the solution to services or products online. If they Google and find it hard searching your brand online, you’ll have a less chance of converting that visitor into a customer.

c. Audience is itself a teacher

Earlier there were ambassadors for the brands to give information to the new audience, but now the time has changed as websites and social media platforms are used to introduce the new audience. This way, if you have the presence online, you can better understand the needs and requirements of your targeted audience.

d. Powerful customer representative

The online presence is a great way for the company to present itself to customers. If, for example, customers want to get help from the company, they don't have to physically go to the store. Instead, your digital presence online can solve their problems on the fly.

Strategies to optimize your digital optimization

The following are the strategies you can use to optimize your digital presence.

1. High-quality plagiarism free content

In addition to optimizing readability, high-quality content plays a critical role in the ranking factor of your website. For better outreach, you need to consistently upload the quality content that touches your customers’ problems. Most brands commonly use check for plagiarism to make sure if their content is unique and without plagiarism. By writing high-quality and engaging content for your website and social media, you can improve your website's ranking for a specific keyword you have selected. According to modern research, people believe more by reading the article than by watching the advertisements on TV or even on the website. Again, your content should be engaging, relevant, compelling, easy to find, and easy to digest. Writing on your website is also important because it communicates with your audience and new customers read the portfolio of the brand through this content.

2. Get high-quality backlinks

The number of links to your website and the quality of these links has a big impact on the ranking of your website. If you are willing to rank higher among your competitors in the SERP, then make the strategy of getting more backlinks from high-ranking websites. This not only redirects traffic to your website but also sends a positive signal to Google that you’re linked to other websites online. And more backlinks mean more traffic to your website, thus increasing the authority of your website in the eyes of Google search bots. Avoid getting backlinks from other websites in exchange for money. The best way to get the backlink is to reach out to journalists and bloggers who are willing to share the content you have posted on your site. If your content is worth sharing, influencers will definitely find no hesitation in sharing your content on their websites. On the other hand, if you get the backlink that doesn't fit naturally in the article, the search engine can affect your ranking because Google bots are intelligent enough to hunt down the real backlinks.

3. Improve the loading speed of your website

Since we know that the search engine wants the web pages to offer maximum services to the users who use the search engine, they always want the web pages to have an optimized loading speed. If your website takes more than seconds to load, it will not only bring a bad rap to your website but also affects your website’s ranking. In today's world, users do not want to experience the loading time delay, and that is why your website should have a better loading speed. When your site is published or updated, the search engine crawlers look for your site to index webpages, and if they find out your site is slow, this will result in indexing fewer web pages, thus badly affecting the overall ranking of your website.

4. Optimize your images

The optimization of the pages uploaded on your website is directly related to the web page speed. And if you upload large size images without optimization, it will take more time to load your website. This will result in the bouncing off the visitors from your web page which can surely affect your sales. Therefore, before you upload images online, make sure they are optimized and reduced in size.

5. Do some keyword research

Do you know how and when your website is placed in the search engine?

Your site will be ranked when a specific keyword is entered into the search engine by the user. This keyword is a word used to find the relevant content on the site.

In SEO, the first job is to find the relevant keywords for which you want to rank your website. And if the words put by the visitors on search engines exactly match the keywords stuffed in your article, you will be able to snatch more traffic on your website.

That’s all for today. I hope you find this article helpful. If you’re unsure or have any questions you can approach me in the section below, I’d love to help you the best way I can. Feel free to keep us updated with your valuable suggestions and feedback, they help us generate quality content. Thank you for reading the article.

Application of massage chair STONE TFT LCD with ESP32

Hi Friends! Hope you're well today. I welcome you on board. In this post today, I'll walk you through the application of a massage chair STONE 10.1 inch STVC101WT-01 TFT LCD with ESP32. Let's get started.

Brief Introduction

Massage chair with modern mechanical technology to reproduce the traditional Chinese medicine meridian massage is an important daily health care equipment. The function of the massage chair is to integrate meridian massage of traditional Chinese medicine with modern high-tech means to help users enjoy a comfortable massage, reduce fatigue, and achieve the effect of health care and physical fitness. With the development of single-chip microcomputer intelligent control, a massage chair with a large screen control application is also added. What we need to do here is such an application, select different modes through STONE TFT LCD screen, realize the control of MCU through serial port communication, and then realize the speed and rotation time control of stepping motor by controlling the level of specific IO, to realize the massage function of head and back. The system uses a STONE TFT LCD serial port screen, which can be used to do touch display function. It is very convenient to develop. Only through the serial port can the MCU be controlled. It is used in the massage chair, which can easily realize the setting of a massage function and the adjustment of massage strength, to achieve the effect of self-cultivation and reduce fatigue.

Project Overview

Here we do is a home massage chair application, will STONE TFT After the LCD serial screen is powered on, a start interface will appear. After a short stay, it will jump to a specific interface. This interface is used to set our current time. When setting, a keyboard will pop up. After setting, click OK to enter the massage mode selection interface. Here, I have set three modes: head massage, back massage, and comprehensive mode. In the mode, the massage intensity can be set, the high, middle and low gears can be set, and the corresponding LED light will be used for intensity indication; the massage times can also be set, after reaching the set number, it will automatically stop; in the comprehensive mode, the head and back will be massaged at the same time, and it can be turned off when it is not needed. These actions are through the STONE TFT LCD serial port screen to achieve command transmission.  

The communication functions are as follows:

 

• ? The serial port screen of STONE TFT LCD realizes the function of button switching interface;
• ? The serial port screen of STONE TFT LCD realizes the function of an automatic jump when starting up;
• ? The serial port screen of STONE TFT LCD realizes time setting;
• ? The serial port screen of STONE TFT LCD realizes data variable distribution;
• ? STONE TFT LCD serial port screen realizes serial command communication.
• ? STONE TFT LCD serial port screen realizes the function of menu bar selection;

Modules required for the project:

• ? STONE TFT LCD;
• ? Arduino ESP32;
• ? Stepper motor drive and module;
• ? LED array module;

Block diagram:

Hardware introduction and principle

STVC101WT-01

• 10.1 inch 1024x600 industrial grade TFT panel and 4-wire resistance touch screen;
• brightness is 300cd / m2, LED backlight;
• RGB color is 65K;
• visual area is 222.7mm * 125.3mm;
• visual angle is 70 / 70 / 50 / 60;
• working life is 20000 hours. 32-bit cortex-m4 200Hz CPU;
• CPLD epm240 TFT-LCD controller;
• 128MB (or 1GB) flash memory;
• USB port (U disk) download;
• toolbox software for GUI design, simple and powerful hex instructions.

Basic functions

• Touch screen control / display image / display text / display curve / read and write data / play video and audio. It is suitable for various industries.
• UART interface is RS232 / RS485 / TTL;
• voltage is 6v-35v;
• power consumption is 3.0w;
• working temperature is - 20 ? / + 70 ?;
• air humidity is 60 ? 90%.

STVC101WT-01 TFT display module communicates with MCU through a serial port, which needs to be used in this project. We only need to add the designed UI picture through the upper computer through the menu bar options to buttons, text boxes, background pictures, and page logic, then generate the configuration file, and finally download it to the display screen to run. In addition to the data manual, there are user manuals, common development tools, drivers, some simple routine demos, video tutorials, and some for testing projects.

LED array module

Product features

This is a galloping lamp display module with 8 LEDs on board. The external voltage is 3-5.5vdc, and the corresponding LED can be lighted at a low level. It is especially suitable for the IO test of a single chip microcomputer to realize indicator control.

Electrical parameters

• Working voltage: 3 - 5.5VDC
• Working current: 24Ma (maximum)
• Effective level: low level
• Number of LEDs: 8
• Display color: red (D1 / D2 / D3 / D4 / D5 / D6 / D7 / D8)
• It is very suitable for MCU experiment and DIY

ESP32 EVB

Esp32 is a single-chip scheme integrated with 2.4 GHz WiFi and Bluetooth dual-mode. It adopts TSMC's ultra-low power consumption 40 nm technology, with ultra-high RF performance, stability, versatility, and reliability, as well as ultra-low power consumption, which meets different power consumption requirements and is suitable for various application scenarios. At present, the product models of esp32 series include esp32-d0wd-v3, esp32-d0wdq6-v3, esp32-d0wd, esp32-d0wdq6, esp32-d2wd, esp32-s0wd and esp32-u4wdh. Esp32-d0wd-v3, esp32-d0wdq6-v3 and esp32-u4wdh are chip models based on Eco v3.

Wi-Fi

• 802.11 b/g/n
• 802.11 n (2.4 GHz) up to 150 Mbps
• wireless multimedia (WMM)
• frame aggregation (TX / RX A-MPDU, Rx A-MSDU)
• immediate block ACK
• defragmentation
• beacon automatic monitoring (hardware TSF)
• 4x virtual Wi-Fi interface

Bluetooth

• Bluetooth v4.2 complete standard, including traditional Bluetooth (BR / EDR) and low power Bluetooth (BLE)
• supports standard class-1, class-2, and class-3 without external power amplifier
• enhanced power control

Output power up to +12 dBm

• nzif receiver has – 94 DBM ble reception sensitivity
• adaptive frequency hopping (AFH)
• standard HCI based on SDIO / SPI / UART interface
• high-speed UART HCI up to 4 Mbps

Support for Bluetooth 4.2 br / EDR and ble dual-mode controller

• synchronous connection-oriented/extended synchronous connection-oriented (SCO / ESCO)
• CVSD and SBC audio codec algorithms
• piconet and scatternet
• multi-device connection with traditional Bluetooth and low power Bluetooth
• support simultaneous broadcast and scanning

ULN2003 Stepper Motor

Product features

ULN2003 is a Darlington display with high voltage and high current. It consists of seven Silicon NPN Darlington tubes. Each pair of Darlington of ULN2003 is connected in series with a 2.7K base resistor. Under 5V working voltage, it can be directly connected with the TTL and CMOS circuit, which can directly process the data that needs a standard logic buffer. Here we use the DIP-16 package, 4-phase 5-wire 5V stepping motor.

Structure and Application

Development steps

Arduino ESP32

Download IDE To complete the code development of esp32, Arduino is used to developing and compiling. First, you need to install the environment and enter the Arduino official website: https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software, and download the version for your platform.

Install Arduino

Double click automatic installation. It should be noted here that Arduino ide relies on the Java development environment and requires PC to install Java JDK and configure variables. If double-click fails to start, it may be that the PC does not have JDK support.

Code

• HeadGearHigh is used to set the gear to high in receive head mode
• HeadGearMiddle is used to set the gear to middle in receive head mode
• HeadGearLow is used to set the gear to low in receive head mode
• HeadTiming is used to receive the number of times set in head mode
• HeadModeStart is used to start in receive header mode
• HeadModeStop is used to stop in receive header mode
• BackGearHigh is used to set the gear to high in receive back mode
• BackGearMiddle is used to set the gear to middle in receive back mode
• BackGearLow is used to set the gear to low in receive back mode
• BackModeStart is used to start in receive back mode
• BackModeStop is used to stop in receive back mode
• IntegratedModeStart is used to receive a start in integrated mode
• IntegratedModeStop is used to receive stop in integrated mode

After the code is written, we start to compile. After the compilation is successful, download the code to the esp32 EVB board. The operation is as follows:

STONE TOOL 2019

New Project

Find the tool 2019 directory and double-click to open STONE Tool 2019 Click new project and make changes to the resolution, project name, and save path. Then set the boot page, and set the communication packet header: By default, there is a blue back image after a new project is created. Right-click 0.jpg and select remove to delete it. In the same way, select Add to add the image required by the project.

The setting of a selection interface

RTC

To set the time function, first add a clock setting control. Add an RTC control. To make input keyboard, we need to add a button control to each array and give the corresponding key value.

Menu bar selection

Add the menu bar control, set the initial value, and add the corresponding ICO library.

Page jump function

You can set the button effect and the switch page, and the switching interface effect of other buttons is also similar.

Key command setting

Each button needs to be given corresponding action, so the following settings are made: //HEAD uint8_t   HeadGearHigh[9]       = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x0E, 0x01, 0x00, 0x03}; uint8_t   HeadGearMiddle[9]     = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x0E, 0x01, 0x00, 0x02}; uint8_t   HeadGearLow[9]        = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x0E, 0x01, 0x00, 0x01}; uint8_t   HeadTiming[9]         = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x11, 0x01, 0x00, 0x09}; uint8_t   HeadModeStart[9]    = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x19, 0x01, 0x41, 0x61}; uint8_t   HeadModeStop[9]     = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x24, 0x01, 0x46, 0x66};   //BACK uint8_t   BackGearHigh[9]       = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x1A, 0x01, 0x00, 0x01}; uint8_t   BackGearMiddle[9]     = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x1A, 0x01, 0x00, 0x02}; uint8_t   BackGearLow[9]      = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x1A, 0x01, 0x00, 0x03};   uint8_t   BackModeStart[9]      = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x0C, 0x01, 0x42, 0x62}; uint8_t   BackModeStop[9]     = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x0D, 0x01, 0x43, 0x63};   //Integrated uint8_t   IntegratedModeStart[9]= {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x0F, 0x01, 0x44, 0x64}; uint8_t   IntegratedModeStop[9] = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x1F, 0x01, 0x45, 0x65};  

Connection

Code

/* Stepper Motor Control - one revolution This program drives a unipolar or bipolar stepper motor. The motor is attached to digital pins 8 - 11 of the Arduino. The motor should revolve one revolution in one direction, then one revolution in the other direction. Created 11 Mar. 2007 Modified 30 Nov. 2009 by Tom Igoe */ //#include <Stepper.h> #include "stdlib.h" #include <AccelStepper.h> const float STEPCYCLE = 2050;//A Cycle by Step is 2050; //  myStepper.setSpeed(100);//5V, it can be set up to 180 const float TheMaxSpeed = 1000.0;  // change this to fit the number of steps per revolution const float headspeed_str[4] = { 0, TheMaxSpeed / 4, TheMaxSpeed / 2, TheMaxSpeed, }; const float backspeed_str[4] = { 0, TheMaxSpeed, TheMaxSpeed / 2, TheMaxSpeed / 4, }; // for your motor // initialize the stepper library on pins 8 through 11: AccelStepper HeadStepper(AccelStepper::FULL4WIRE, 15, 0, 2, 4);//The middle two IO are reversed AccelStepper BackStepper(AccelStepper::FULL4WIRE, 16, 5, 17, 18);//The middle two IO are reversed const int ledPin_1 =  14;      // the number of the LED pin const int ledPin_2 =  27;      // the number of the LED pin const int ledPin_3 =  26;      // the number of the LED pin const int ledPin_4 =  25;      // the number of the LED pin const int ledPin_5 =  33;      // the number of the LED pin const int ledPin_6 =  21;      // the number of the LED pin const int ledPin_7 =  22;      // the number of the LED pin const int ledPin_8 =  23;      // the number of the LED pin //buf uint8_t   cout_i = 0; uint8_t   RecievedTemp[9]       = {0}; float     settingbuf[2]       = {TheMaxSpeed, 0}; float   MorenCycle      = 100; //HEAD uint8_t   HeadGearHigh[9]       = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x0E, 0x01, 0x00, 0x03}; uint8_t   HeadGearMiddle[9]     = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x0E, 0x01, 0x00, 0x02}; uint8_t   HeadGearLow[9]        = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x0E, 0x01, 0x00, 0x01}; uint8_t   HeadTiming[9]         = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x11, 0x01, 0x00, 0x09}; uint8_t   HeadModeStart[9]    = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x19, 0x01, 0x41, 0x61}; uint8_t   HeadModeStop[9]     = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x24, 0x01, 0x46, 0x66}; //BACK uint8_t   BackGearHigh[9]       = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x1A, 0x01, 0x00, 0x01}; uint8_t   BackGearMiddle[9]     = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x1A, 0x01, 0x00, 0x02}; uint8_t   BackGearLow[9]      = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x1A, 0x01, 0x00, 0x03}; uint8_t   BackModeStart[9]      = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x0C, 0x01, 0x42, 0x62}; uint8_t   BackModeStop[9]     = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x0D, 0x01, 0x43, 0x63}; //Integrated uint8_t   IntegratedModeStart[9]= {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x0F, 0x01, 0x44, 0x64}; uint8_t   IntegratedModeStop[9] = {0xA5, 0x5A, 0x06, 0x83, 0x00, 0x1F, 0x01, 0x45, 0x65}; void setup() { //Serial port initialization Serial.begin(115200); //The motor starts running separately //  HeadStepper_Setting_Run(TheMaxSpeed, 5); //  BackStepper_Setting_Run(TheMaxSpeed, 5); // initialize the LED pin as an output: pinMode(ledPin_1, OUTPUT); pinMode(ledPin_2, OUTPUT); pinMode(ledPin_3, OUTPUT); pinMode(ledPin_4, OUTPUT); pinMode(ledPin_5, OUTPUT); pinMode(ledPin_6, OUTPUT); pinMode(ledPin_7, OUTPUT); pinMode(ledPin_8, OUTPUT); digitalWrite(ledPin_1, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_2, HIGH);  // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_3, HIGH);  // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_4, HIGH);  // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_5, HIGH);  // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_6, HIGH);  // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_7, HIGH);  // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_8, HIGH);  // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) } void loop() { if(Serial.available() != 0) { for(cout_i = 0; cout_i < 9; cout_i ++) { RecievedTemp[cout_i] = Serial.read(); } //    if(HeadStepper.isRunning() == true) //    { //      HeadStepper.stop(); //    } //    if(BackStepper.isRunning() == true) //    { //      BackStepper.stop(); //    } //  else //  { //    Stepper2_Setting_Run(TheMaxSpeed, 5); //  } //  Serial.write(RecievedTemp, 9); switch(RecievedTemp[5]) { case 0x0E://head gear if(HeadStepper.isRunning() == true) { HeadStepper.stop(); } settingbuf[0] = headspeed_str[RecievedTemp[8]]; if(RecievedTemp[8] == 1) { digitalWrite(ledPin_1, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_2, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_3, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_4, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_5, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_6, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_7, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_8, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) } else if(RecievedTemp[8] == 2) { digitalWrite(ledPin_1, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_2, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_3, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_4, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_5, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_6, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_7, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_8, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) } else { digitalWrite(ledPin_1, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_2, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_3, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_4, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_5, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_6, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_7, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_8, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) } break; case 0x11://head timing if(HeadStepper.isRunning() == true) { HeadStepper.stop(); } settingbuf[1] = RecievedTemp[8]; break; case 0x19://head start if(settingbuf[1] == 0) { settingbuf[1] = 5; } break; case 0x24://head stop if(HeadStepper.isRunning() == true) { HeadStepper.stop(); } break;   case 0x1A://backgear if(BackStepper.isRunning() == true) { BackStepper.stop(); } settingbuf[0] = backspeed_str[RecievedTemp[8]]; if(RecievedTemp[8] == 3) { digitalWrite(ledPin_1, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_2, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_3, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_4, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_5, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_6, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_7, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_8, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) } else if(RecievedTemp[8] == 2) { digitalWrite(ledPin_1, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_2, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_3, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_4, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_5, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_6, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_7, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_8, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) } else { digitalWrite(ledPin_1, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_2, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_3, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_4, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_5, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_6, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_7, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) digitalWrite(ledPin_8, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level) } break; case 0x0C://backstart BackStepper_Setting_Run(settingbuf[0], MorenCycle); break; case 0x0D://backstop if(BackStepper.isRunning() == true) { BackStepper.stop(); } break; case 0x0F://integratestart if(HeadStepper.isRunning() == true) { HeadStepper.stop(); } if(BackStepper.isRunning() == true) { BackStepper.stop(); } break; case 0x1F://integratedstop if(HeadStepper.isRunning() == true) { HeadStepper.stop(); } if(BackStepper.isRunning() == true) { BackStepper.stop(); } break; default: break; } //    Serial.write(&Targetvalue, 1); //    Serial.print(Targetvalue); } }

Application of massage chair Appendix

That's all for today. I hope you find this post helpful. If you have any question, you can approach me in the section below, I'd love to help you the best way I can. Thank you for reading the article.

Introduction to Electric Motors

Hi Guys! Welcome you onboard. Interested to know the Introduction to Electric Motors? Keep reading… A motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. It works exactly opposite to generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. The first electric motors were introduced by Andrew Gordon and Benjamin Franklin in their experiment in 1740 which were nothing but electrostatic devices. From household to industrial applications, you’ll see motors everywhere. Motors can be divided into two main categories:

• AC Motors
• DC Motors

Motors in cars, rectifiers, and batteries are a source of direct current motors while motors incorporated in electrical generators, power grid stations, and invertors operate by alternation current motors. Electric motors are used as a reverse source for generators to recover the energy dissipated by generators. And they are installed in disk drives and computers to generate the cooling effect that prevents devices from overheating and burning eventually. We’ll dig deep into these machines later in this post. So, bear with me. I assure it will be worth your time. Before going any further let’s jump right into the nitty-gritty of motors.

Introduction to Electric Motors

• A motor is an electrical device that converts electrical energy into mechanical.
• Motors are designed to produce rotary or linear motion when their electric current and magnetic field interact with each other which is commonly known as electromagnetic interaction – A term coined by Hans Christian Orsted in 1820.

• It was Andre Marie Ampere who explained the generation of mechanical force by this electromagnetic interaction and introduced the Ampere’s Force Law.

Electric Motor Working Principle

• The electric motor working principle mainly depends on the interaction between electric current and magnetic field which is nothing but a Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction that reads
• “Whenever a current-carrying conductor is placed in the magnetic field, flux is induced in the circuit, due to which a current starts to flow which is called induced current”.
• In simple words, when the electric current is passed through a coil it generates a magnetic field that allows the coil to rotate its own axis.
• The direction of this force is explained by Fleming's left-hand rule which says if the thumb, forefinger, and middle finger of the left hand are placed perpendicular to each other and if the forefinger shows the direction of the magnetic field, the middle finger represents the direction of the current, then the thumb will show the direction of the force.

• Fleming's left-hand rule is applicable for motors and is different than Fleming’s right-hand role which is mainly defined for generators.

The magnitude of the generated force is given by F = BIL where, B = magnetic flux density I = current in amperes L = length of the conductor within the generated magnetic field

Components of Electric Motor

Here are the main parts of the motor: 1. Rotor 2. Stator 3. Bearings 4. Air gap 5. Windings 6. Commutator

• Rotor is the rotating part of the motor that is mainly responsible for delivering the mechanical motion to the shaft or subject attached to it. The rotor comes with conductors that interact with the stator magnetic field to produce the force for turning the shaft.
• Stator is the stationary part (body) of the motor that is mainly composed of permanent magnet or windings.  Laminations made up of thin metal are used in stator core for minimizing the energy losses.

• Both rotor and stator, come under the influence of the magnetic field that interacts with an electric current. One magnetic field is generated by permanent magnetic and another is generated by the electromagnet.

• Bearings are used to make the rotor turn on its axis and are supported by motor housing.
• Air gap is the distance between the stator and rotor which is made minimum to avoid magnetizing current and negative effects on the performance.
• Commutator is composed of slip rings that are insulated from each other and are used to toggle the input of the DC motors.
• Windings are nothing but wires wrapped around an iron magnetic core that are responsible for generating magnetic poles in the presence of electric current.

Types of Electric Motors

Two types of motors are mainly used in domestic and industrial applications known as: 1: AC Motors 2: DC Motors

1: AC Motors

  On the other hand, AC motors, also known as alternating current motors, come with an ability to reverse the current direction with regular intervals. AC motors are further divided into two parts: 1. Synchronous Motors 2. Asynchronous Motors AC motors come with controlled acceleration and low power is required to start them. Controlled starting current & adjustable operating speed is what makes them suitable for instrumentation and industrial applications. Synchronous motors come with constant speed under varying load where the rotation of the rotor is perfectly synchronized with the current frequency, making them an ideal choice for driving a load with constant speed. Asynchronous motors, also known as induction motors, are commonly used in industrial applications for their remarkable load capacity. These motors, work on electromagnetic induction where electric current is produced with the magnetic field of the stator windings. Induction motors are further divided into two types: a. Single-phase induction motor b. Three-phase induction motor

• Single-phase induction motors are mostly preferred for smaller loads i.e. mostly used for domestic purposes. While three-phase induction motors are designed to drive large load and are mainly used for industrial applications like pumps, compressors, lifting gear, etc.

2. DC Motors

• DC motors, also known as direct current motors, are the type of motors whose speed is mainly dependent on the intensity of the electric current and they come with the power distribution system.
• Before installing motors on specific machines, make sure the temperature rating of the machine doesn’t exceed the temperature ratings of the motor. Doing so can result in burning the motors and the whole system eventually.
• Load characteristics, power available, cost, and mission goals are very important for motor selection.
• Similarly, running toque plays a key role in determining the motor size. A minor change in load characteristic can cause a drastic change in running toque.

• So, it is wise to keep the supplied torque more than the toque required for a machine going from start to full speed.
• The DC motor speed can be controlled by varying the supply voltage and these motors are variable over a wide range of voltages having high starting torque, easy installation, and quick starting and stopping acceleration.
• The speed control ability makes them a remarkable choice for home appliances, vehicles, and lifts.

DC motors are divided into two major types: 1. Brushed DC Motors 2. Brushless DC Motors

1. Brushed DC Motors

In a brushed DC motor, the current flow is mainly dependent on the brush orientation of the stator.  These are the most basic type of motors that come with a simple control system design, and can be categories into five major types:

a. DC Series Motor

• In DC series motors, field windings and rotor windings are connected in series.
• These motors operate on the electromagnetic principle where rotational motion is produced with a magnetic field generated around the conductor meets and interacts with the external magnetic field.
• These motors provide a speed control with varying voltage, making them suitable for cars, cranes, hoists, and elevators.
• Here torque and motor speed are inversely proportional to each other, increasing one will decrease the other.

b. DC Shunt Wound

• DC shunt motor comes with one voltage supply and a medium level of starting torque where rotor windings and field windings are connected in parallel to each other which is commonly known as a shunt.
• These motors can generate maximum torque when the motor current is increased.
• This generated torque, mind you, doesn’t affect the motor speed.
• Shunt motors mainly run with a constant speed that makes them an ideal choice for many applications including conveyors, grinders, cleaners, and lathes.

c. DC Compound Motors

• DC compound motors are basically a combination of both: shunt and series DC motors where shunt and series windings are present.
• In compound motors, rotor and stator windings can be connected both ways: in series or in parallel to each other with the purpose to integrate the polarity of both windings.

• A small resistance path is created when series windings are developed with copper wires. In order to obtain high input voltage, multiple copper windings are used connected in a shunt.
• These motors are mainly used where high torque is required like centrifugal pumps, compressors, circular saws, conveyors, and shearing machines.

d. Permanent Magnet DC Motors (PMDC)

%?9
• In PMDC motors, the permanent magnet is used instead of electromagnetic that plays a key role in the motor operation.
• Both armature windings and field windings are present in these motors and a permanent magnet allows to create the flux in the air gap between the rotor and stator.
• The rotor is mainly composed of a commutator, armature core, and armature windings and is almost similar to the regular DC motor in construction.

e. Separately Excited Motor

• Separately excited motors are different than shunt DC motor based on their connection with the energy source.
• In these motors, both rotor and stator are connected with separate power supply where armature windings are used to generate a large amount of flux with an ability to control the shunt value.

2. Brushless DC Motors

• DC brushless motors were mainly designed to operate in hard to reach places. In these motors slip ring or commutator is replaced by an embedded controller for creating a feedback loop.
• They are simpler in terms of mechanical design and more efficient compared to brushed DC motors, making them a great choice for long-lasting and high power applications.
• The motor speed is controlled by an incorporated controller that uses Hall Effect sensors to determine the rotor position.

• These motors are more complicated to handle for the presence of the controller and are more costly than brushed motors. They are mainly used where positional and speed control is required like pumps, fans, compressors.

Following are two famous examples of brushless DC motors: a. Servo Motor b. Stepper Motor

• Servo motors come with a feedback loop, providing extra control over motor speed. Linear and rotary actuators are used to control torque, speed, and position. These motors are the nuts and bolts of the instrumentation and embedded systems.

• Stepper motors are typically used in open-loop position control and come in four-wire and six wire layout.
• They are controlled electronically by external magnets where rotor can be made either way: with soft metal or a permanent magnet. The rotor teeth are made to rotate from point to point when they interact with the magnetic field.

• Industrial equipment like pick and place systems and printers are mainly composed of stepper motors.

Applications of Electric Motors

• Electric motors are incorporated in blowers, pumps, industrial fans, machine tools, power tools, and household appliances.
• Electric watches impart a useful application of electric motors that are responsible to accelerate the hands in wristwatches which were previously conducted by the mechanical spring method.
• They are differentiated by multiple factors including internal construction, applications, power source and the type of output generated.
• For example, electric motors are used on a large scale where the pump is attached to the motor to lift the water up and distribute it for domestic or agricultural purposes.
• These motors are also embedded in hybrid cars to drive them under a certain limit without petrol.

That’s all for today. I hope you enjoyed reading Introduction to Electric Motors. If you have anything to share, you are most welcome to comment in the section below. Thanks for reading the post.

Introduction to Electric Generators

Hi Friends! Good to see you on board. In this post today, I'll walk you through the Introduction to Electric Generators. A generator is a machine that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy that is further used in power grid stations. Gas turbines, steam turbines, water turbines, internal combustion engines are some sources of generating mechanical energy for generators. In an electric generator, a rectangular coil of electric conductors is used in a changing magnetic field of the poles of a horseshoe type magnet. The current is generated in the coil when it rotates and cuts the magnetic field lines. The electric generator is opposite to the electric motor in the working principle and similar in construction. A generator that comes with a permanent magnet is also known as PMSM or permanent magnet synchronous generators. In this post, we’ll discuss the electric generators, how they work, construction, types of generators, and their applications. Before going any further, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of generators.

1. Introduction to Electric Generators

• A generator is a device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy. It is opposite to electric motor that converts electrical energy to mechanical energy.
• The first generator was introduced by British scientist Michael Faraday in invented in 1831 which is commonly known as the Faraday disk.
• Generators are mainly used to deliver power to electric grid stations. The produced electrical power goes through high-voltage transmission lines that stretch across the country.

• Before high voltage electrical charge reaches the houses, it goes through a substation, where some steps are applied to lower down the voltage in order to make it reliable and feasible for domestic purposes.

• The electric generator gets mechanical power from a rotating shaft and is equal to the rotational, or angular, velocity multiplied by the shaft torque.
• The speed and construction of the electric generator mainly depend on the characteristics of the mechanical prime generator.
• The generators driven by steam turbines are commonly used in solar thermal electric power plants, waste incineration plants, coal, geothermal, natural gas power plants. They are also excessively used in paper, chemicals, cement, sugar, and steel industries.

2. Generator Working Principle

• The generator working principle is mainly based on electromagnetic induction which is the process of producing induced current in a closed circuit or in a coil by changing the magnetic field linked with the coil.

• This process was discovered by Michael Faraday who stated when a conductor is put in a varying magnetic field keeps, it produces a voltage across the electrical conductor which is also known as EMF (Electromotive Force).

3. Generator Construction

• A single rectangular copper made up of coil is allowed to around its own axis in a varying magnetic field provided by either electromagnet or a permanent magnet.
• The two ends of the coil are combined with two split-rings that are insulated from the central shaft and from each other.
• Two collecting brushes made up of carbon or copper are used to press against the slip rings.

Generators are mainly divided into two major types:

• AC Generators
• DC Generators

DC generator is a machine that converts mechanical energy into DC electrical energy. On the other hand, the AC generator does the same but the electrical current reverses direction periodically. In a DC generator, the current flows in one direction only.

• The working principle, however, is the same in both cases with the main aim to convert mechanical energy to electrical energy where the turning of a coil in a magnetic field produces EMF on both sides of the coil.
• Generators are mainly driven by diesel engines, water turbines, or steam turbines to convert energy generated by fuel combustion, water flow, gas flow, or nuclear fission into mechanical energy that is transmitted to the generator which is then converted to electrical energy.

4. Main Parts of Generator

• Similar to the electric motor, the generator also comes with one rotating part and other stationary parts called rotor and stator respectively.

a. Rotor

• A rotor rotation occurs mainly due to the interaction between the magnetic field and core windings which generates torque around the rotor's axis. The rotor sits inside the stator and is mounted on the motor's shaft.

b. Stator

• The stator is responsible for converting the rotating magnetic field to electric current. The alternator contains both the stator and the rotor and produces electrical voltage.

• The generator regulates the voltage to generate a constant current available for practical use.

c. Armature

• The armature is the primary part of generating power to the external circuit. Armature windings, depending on the design, are located on either stator or rotor, with the field coil covering the other part.

d. Field winding

• The field winding is responsible for generating a rotating magnetic field inside the generator. It is an insulated current-carrying coil on a field magnet that induces a voltage in the armature windings.

e. Split-Ring

• The split-ring, also known as commutator, ascertains that the generated magnetic field is observed by the external circuit.
• It is mainly used to reverse the current direction.
• There is a difference between split-ring and slip-ring. A split-ring commutator reverses the current direction for every half-rotation, whereas a slip-ring is commonly used to maintain a connection between the stationary stator and the spinning rotor.

• The connection between the rotating coil and external circuit reverses each time a half-period of rotation is completed, allowing the metal brush to recalibrate every time the generated electromagnetic field around the coil passes through zero.
• Slip rings are incorporated in DC motors and split-rings are used in generators.

f. Engine

• The generator comes with a separate engine that is mainly used to convert the fuel source into electrical energy.
• Actually, it is responsible for performing the mechanical function in the generator.
• Engines are generally known as the machine’s prime mover where fuel source like propane, bio-diesel, gasoline, diesel, natural gas, water, sewage gas or hydrogen is used to create mechanical energy, which is then converted into electricity.
• Each generator engine is designed to generate a power supply using a certain amount of fuel source.
• The engines commonly used in generators are turbine engines, reciprocating engines, and steam engines.

g. Fuel System

• Generators are mainly composed of a fuel system used to pump and store the required fuel to the generator engine.
• The generator tank is occupied with the fuel to generate the desired power where the fuel pipe is used for connecting the tank to the engine and the return pipe is used for connecting the engine to the fuel tank.
• The fuel filter is connected to the tank for the removal of dust particles before it enters the engine.
• The fuel injector is another part that atomizes the fuel for injecting it directly into the engine combustion chamber.

h. Lubricating System

• The generator components are designed to sustain a certain temperature. A minor increase from the given ratings can cause the generator to explode or the whole system eventually.
• Generators mainly use coolant like a fan or lubricant material to keep the temperature under a certain limit.  The generator generates exhaust as the combustion chamber converts fuel into electricity.
• Generators come with multiple parts where each requires consecutive oiling to ensure proper functioning for a long period.
• The lubricating system is installed for this purpose.

5. Types of Generators

The following are the five types of generators.

a. Gasoline

• Gasoline generators are mostly used because they are low-cost and gasoline is easily available.
• Gasoline, mind you, becomes short in the areas facing power scarce as they need electricity to run.
• They are an ideal choice for home and commercial purposes because they are small in size and are available in portable models.

• Make sure, these generators are placed in hard to reach places because the fuel used is highly flammable and can damage the surrounding areas.
• Gasoline generators have the ability to generate relatively high emissions compared to biodiesel and diesel fuel generators.
• And they come with less lifespan and less likely to survive in a cold atmosphere due to the highly flammable quality of the gasoline.

b. Emulsified Diesel

• Emulsified diesel is a combination of diesel fuel and water that is commonly blended with a mixing agent.

• These generators produce fewer emissions than ordinary diesel generators, making them more efficient and ideal for working in a rigorous environment.
• Maintaining the required ratio of water with diesel is a little bit tricky and expert professional is needed for their proper maintenance.

c. Bio-Diesel Generator

• Bio-diesel, as the name suggests, runs on fuel made up of a mixture of diesel and another biological source i.e. animal fat or vegetable oil.
• The bio-diesel generator shares the pros and cons of ordinary diesel fuel generators. However, added environmental benefits put them ahead from other generators.
• They burn with less waste and come with lower emission ability, allowing them to utilize less non-renewable energy sources of fossil fuels.

• Although these generators are installed with noisy engines, they are less flammable compared to regular engines.
• These generators are hard to handle due to difficulty in maintaining the diesel to oil ratio in exact proportion i.e. 80:20
• Like diesel generators, they last for two years or less in storage, and they are not readily available.

d. Diesel Fuel

• Like gasoline, diesel is also easily available and comes with the least flammable feature among other fuel sources. Diesel fuel generators are economical and lost longer than gasoline generators.
• They are more efficient and can endure a stern environment if taken care of properly. What makes them stand out is their ability to start easily in a cold environment.
• Diesel generators store the fuel for 24 months and storing larger qualities are not feasible in terms of price. When a power outage occurs, it is almost impossible to pump these generators because they come with quite a high engine emission.
• These generators are not appropriate for wet environments as fuel moisture severely affects the overall performance of the engine residing inside. Regular maintenance is required for these generators and they are less portable for their heavyweight.

e. Natural Gas

• These generators never run out of fuel, because natural gas is readily available almost everywhere. These generators are not portable and come with a heavyweight.
• Natural gas burns smoothly inside the engine, with little to no noise production. They are highly economical and can stand in a cold environment pretty well.
• What comes with affordable unit price, covers up higher installation costs for gas lines.
• These machines don’t last longer compared to diesel generators.
• Stern measures are required while installing the gas lines, as little leakage can cause severe damage.

Applications

• Generators are commonly used for industrial, commercial, and domestic purposes as backup power when the electricity goes down.
• Mini-hydro plants, high-pressure gas streams, wind turbines make use of generators.
• Used in power grid station for electricity generation that is then transferred to the whole city using power grid lines.
• They are used as a standby in events, exhibitions, and converts.
• DC generators, a source of a stable current generator, are used in arc lamps for lighting.

That's all for today. Hope you find this read helpful. If you have any question, you can approach me in the section below, I'd love to help you the best way I can. Feel free to share your valuable suggestions and feedback, they help us create content customized to your exact needs. Thanks for reading the article.