How Can Financial Knowledge Help Your Engineering Career Succeed?

Hello friends, I hope you all are doing great. In today's tutorial, I am going to show you How Can Financial Knowledge Help Your Engineering Career Succeed? A solid foundation in financial knowledge is the most sought after trait not only in finance jobs but also in many other fields. Perhaps, it's because finance is a common denominator that impacts all industries. Not only does it communicate the overall health of an organization, but it also affects every person in a certain workplace. Whether it's public, corporate, or personal finance, understanding it can benefit you in many different ways. But for one thing, it can help jumpstart or advance your career in engineering. In fact, finance and engineering make up a powerful combination, especially in asset-intensive industries. Nevertheless, how does your knowledge in finance help your engineering career succeed? Keep on reading and learn how to take your career path to the next level.

Understand The Financial Aspect of Every Project

Engineering is largely based on building, designing, and creating projects. With that, one of the critical components of doing the job is determining what type of materials you should use and why. If you don't have a finance background, it can be challenging to calculate the operating and maintenance costs of every project. As an aftermath, the cost of a particular project may spiral out of control, which can significantly affect the overall budget of the organization you're working for. But knowledge of finance can help you execute more cost-effective projects. That's precisely why having a financial understanding is an essential reinforcement of your engineering skills.

Overcome Multiple Work-Related Problems

Similar to engineering, finance also utilizes higher-order thinking skills. But the advantage of studying finance after engineering is you can develop more skills in problem-solving. As a result, it's easier for you to identify potential problems and come up with workable solutions. Remember that an engineer's daily activities typically center on solving complex problems. When working on intricate matters, anyone can easily get lost in the details, failing to see the bigger picture. The good news was when you developed both engineering and financial skills, you'd be more capable of thinking outside the box. Thus, an engineer with a design vision is important to make every project successful no matter what the problem is.

Gives You An Edge For Leadership Roles

As you climb up the corporate ladder, you'll be more exposed to managing money and resources. Devising a plan on spending and justifying reasoning is part of the day-to-day activities of engineers. But since finance is also all about the wise allocation and spending of essential resources, it's definitely an excellent addition to your expertise as an engineer. Note that a company's CEO has to ensure that every money invested in a specific project won't go to waste. Your engineering skills most likely have taught you to use high-end material that is expensive. But you need financial knowledge to prove to the management that such an outlay is necessary. Having these two can give you an edge for leadership roles.

Leverage For A Raise Or Promotion

Once you develop your financial knowledge and skills, you can better understand how your work specifically contributes to your company's financial health. You can then leverage such information to elevate your earning potential. Although engineering jobs are known to have a high compensation, engineers feel the pinch when it comes to salary and benefits. Based on a salary and career survey, many of them complained about the compensation policies due to overloaded work. If you want to break that statistic, you have to know the value of your work in the company. It may not be an easy negotiation, but you can better prove your points when you have strong finance knowledge. However, make sure to research the standard pay range of your education, skills, and experience level before doing this.

Navigates Great Investment Opportunities

Engineering helps improve how the world operates, whether it's through commercial products or public engineering. But then again, analyzing the economic effects of these engineering projects is of great importance. Every project comes with a cost, and finance can empower you to push back against projects with little chance of success. With financial knowledge, you can take every engineering effort in a more promising direction, which may lead to great investment opportunities. Besides that, you'll have more advantages over a competing project in another industry.

Provides An Avenue For Employment Opportunities

Having both degrees in engineering and finance provide an avenue for more employment opportunities. Many industries nowadays prefer to employ people with more knowledge in a range of skills. But since engineering and finance are greatly beneficial in any industry, it will be much easier for you to find opportunities to advance your career path.

Final Thoughts

Like in other fields, it might be hard to find your place as an engineer in a competitive job market. But enhancing your business and financial knowledge can help you make a great impact on the company you work for and take your engineering career to the next level. It's like hitting two birds in one stone. You contribute to the company and boost your career at the same time.

Key points to increase productivity in Construction Companies

Hello friends, I hope you all are doing well. In today's tutorial, we will have a look at Key points to increase productivity in Construction Companies. The McKinsey Global Institute (MGI’s) Reinventing Construction: A route to higher productivity report showed many interesting results. For example, did you know that the lagging construction productivity costs the global economy 1.6 trillion dollars a year? The construction industry has a productivity problem, and the Coronavirus crisis - shutting down sites and limiting the number of people working on essential sites - will inadvertently raise it even higher. The report also shows the reasons behind it:
  • Stringent regulations and dependence on public sector demand
  • Informality (and sometimes even corruption!)
  • Industry fragmentation
  • Mismatched in risk allocations and rewards
  • Subpar project management and execution > leading to inadequate design processes and underinvestment in skills development / R&D / innovation
All the points above have an underlying reason: the way the companies are organized and the way they react to outside and inside factors. We all know that you are only as successful as you are prepared. So how do we achieve that? How can we make sure that no time is wasted?

Time Waste Prevention

However, there are many ways to streamline your process to achieve more efficiency, here are the most common ones that work for most companies. The points below focus on how you can get organized and increase your productivity by:

Controlling your projects

With the help of the Best Construction Management Software in the UK, you can keep your files in order by having control over your workflow and easy access to information whenever and wherever needed. A software that gives you access to each project detail, allows you to track its progress throughout all stages. You will be able to create To-Do lists for each project and easily follow up on that. With the help of a good fit software, you will be able to create a Schedule of Works in advance - holding tasks for both your employees and subcontractors alike - saving time and money!

Accurate time management/allocation

By correctly allocating time, setting priorities, you will be able to avoid wasting time on figuring what needs to be done. You will know in advance what must be done and when, what can wait, and what you have completed the previous day. If you are a Project Manager you know that is crucial information! With the correct time setup and allocation of resources, you can establish your action plan easily. The selected tool will help you by giving you all that information readily available for your usage.

Technical assistance: digitize your work

We live in a century filled with technological advancements, so why not use technology to boost your productivity? There are many solutions out there that are designed to back you up by increasing productivity, streamlining processes, and saving your companies time. With the help of the best construction management software in the UK, you can digitize the way your company works. Take some time for that, as it is indeed a big step forward: what is the most important change you wish to bring, with the help of the new tech selected? In order to select Construction Management Software Solutions that are the right fit for your company and your team, keep these points in mind:
  • Innovation - lookout for solutions that are innovative, that think outside the box, that focuses on the processes inside the company, and models the solution after your needs  and not the other way around. If you will invest in something modern, make sure it meets the latest standards.
  • Scalability - the Construction Management Software Solutions that you choose should be able to grow alongside your company.
  • Implementation - prepare a plan with your team. You need to make sure your team is on board with the decision and the chosen solution - speak with them on how this solution will be implemented. By having them in the decision-making process, you will be able to successfully implement the chosen app - as your team will be with you, every step of the way.
  • IT security - Last but not least you should think of the way your data is protected by the software you choose. There is the constant threat of cyber attacks, so making sure your data is safe matters.
With that being said, we hope that our tips will have you boosting your productivity in no time. Remember though, implementing a good solution for your business takes time and money, so make sure you do your research right and pick the very best fit for your processes and way of working.

Discover Opportunities Accessible With a Live Fx Trading Account

Hello friends, I hope you all are doing great. In today's tutorial, we will have a look at how to discover opportunities accessible with a Live Fx Trading Account. Are you learning to trade Forex? Beginners build skills using free demos, but these only simulate the real market. The live mode is where profits are made. Switch to a live account and dive in — there is more than one way to earn money through a broker in South Africa. So, what exactly will you get?

Access to the Real Market

The foreign exchange is the most enormous market in the world. Today, it is electronic, without any physical centre. Buyers and sellers find each other online through dedicated platforms and apps. Brokers merely function as intermediaries: they provide the necessary tools and process transactions. The sheer volume of the currency market is 6+ trillion US dollars daily. Demo accounts are free, but they are only good for training purposes. It is impossible to enter the real trillion-dollar market. To go live, you need a live account. Registering one is easy. You will be asked to upload some documents, though. The broker is obliged to verify your identity.

How Rates Are Set

Live trading may take two forms. If your broker is a market maker, they will include the costs into rates, so the Ask and Bid you see will slightly deviate from the actual market quotes. The alternative is ECN trading when you get charged a commission per trades. Execution is performed according to actual market quotes.

Range of Instruments

Accessibility of financial instruments depends on the type of a Live trading account you make use of. International brokerage firms provide a broad range of choices. Currency pairs are the basic ones as their logic is the least complex. Besides, every adult has exchanged currencies at least once in their lives, so the mechanics are intuitively clear. Your goal is to buy low and sell high, making predictions based on technical and fundamental factors. Both methods have been thoroughly studied and described over the past few decades. Beyond currencies, there are many fascinating opportunities. First, consider spot metals. You may trade gold or silver valued against one of the major currencies. Common examples are XAU/USD (Gold/US Dollar) and XAG/EUR (Silver/Euro). These metals never go out of fashion. Demand and therefore profit potential are always present. Secondly, there are stocks of the largest corporations. Here, profit is made in two ways. First, you may purchase actual stocks and shares online. Traders buy low and sell high, capitalizing on the difference. Secondly, you may profit from stocks indirectly. Here is how. Contracts for Difference are modern derivatives that are entirely virtual in nature. They are connected to underlying assets, including corporate equity. When an asset gains value, so do the respective CFDs, and vice versa. Profit is the difference between entry and exit — hence the name. Other underlying assets include:
  • market indices like the S&P 500 or Dow Jones;
  • cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, etc.;
  • commodities like crude oil or wheat.
All CFDs follow an identical logic. Through famous brokers like Forextime, a trader may compile a diversified portfolio across markets. Expansion lowers one’s overall risks and boosts potential profits. This is what every experienced investor recommends.

Guidance From the Broker

Brokers do not just provide the tools, they also guide their clients when necessary. As a rule, you have access to support 24/5. Any questions regarding your real trades, payments, and other operations are resolved through different communication channels. Send an email, chat with the experts or give them a call — the options depend on your provider and location.

Copy Trading

Traders can make money through delegation — this is known as copy trading. Large brokers allow holders of live accounts to choose a strategy manager. The companies compile detailed performance ratings, so you can make an informed decision. A connection is established. Subsequently, all market moves made by the expert are replicated in your account. Importantly, clients may cancel separate trades or terminate the connection altogether. Strategy managers receive a fee only if their trading action is profitable.

Automatic Tools

Traders have a range of robots at their disposal. These smart pieces of software are integrated into platforms and tasked with analysis. They may also execute trades on your behalf. These extras are known as Expert Advisors. They are compatible with the most popular terminals, such as MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. Robots may be bought or rented.

Become Your Own Boss

Forex trading is a lucrative domain for people with an analytical mind. Remember that traders without a strategy inevitably fail. Take time to study the fundamentals and hone your skills in a free demo mode. Live trading always feels different. When real capital is at stake, acting rationally is more difficult. The longer your training phase — the fewer mistakes you will make with real funds.

Top 5 Reasons a Survivalist Should Be an Amateur Radio Operator

Hello friends, I hope you all are doing great. In today's tutorial, I am going to share Top 5 Reasons a Survivalist Should Be an Amateur Radio Operator. With 2021 setting in, are you well prepared to survive if the world goes down? We live in uncertain times, and the pandemic has taught us that what we plan today might not be applicable tomorrow. Simply put, like survivalists, we should be mentally and physically tough and all geared-up for emergencies, disruptions, and the breakdown of society. If you are currently living the survival mode, also known as the prepper lifestyle, you are heavily self-reliant. We expect you to have your backpack ready with all the right emergency tools and gadgets, such as a survival knife and a ham radio set. Read on to learn more about the top five reasons that you, as a survivalist, should also be an amateur radio operator.

Social Networking

Currently, there are more than 700,000 license holders of amateur radios within the United States, and as ham radio sales increase rapidly during the current pandemic, you might be shocked to know that before social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, etc., ham radio users were originally hailed as social media geeks. Ham radio operators have amazing technology incorporated within their radio sets, such as voice boosting satellites and Morse code messages. Ham radio operators consider themselves the ultimate survivalists as they have been using a social media platform that is more than a century old. When survivalists use am radios over the air, they keep the conversation respectful. By bouncing signals off the ionosphere, survivalists can reach around the globe with their ham radios. Also, when shit hits the fan, ham radio might be the only platform to communicate.

Replete With Emergency Related Options

A survivalist should be an amateur operator because it enables them to make an emergency autopatch and then activates the autopatch system. With the ham radio, a survivalist can learn how to report an incident quickly and clearly without assuming that other people might be doing it already for you. Since ham radios are replete with emergency-related options, you have to turn up the radio's output power to maximum and state "Break Emergency" at your first opportunity. Survivalists can also learn how to make a distress call on a certain frequency where ham radio operators are more likely to be listening.

Listen in on Emergency Responder Frequencies

Some ham radios can receive many frequencies outside of the ham bands, which include the frequency of emergency responders, such as the police department and rescue services. Some of the ham radios can listen in on emergency frequencies and transmit on those frequencies. Nonetheless, only one circumstance is perfectly legal for a ham radio operator to transmit on emergency responder frequencies, irrespective of whether they are licensed or not. The exceptional case refers to an immediate emergency when no other communication method is available, and you attempt to get assistance via proper ham radio.

Cost-Effective

If you are preparing for the post-apocalypse era, you should be concerned about effective communication while staying within a budget. Ham radios are known as the best-budget radio in the communication industry. It is a cost-effective and powerful gadget for wireless communication. This means that you won't have to break the bank to get an effective communication tool for the darkest hours on earth.

You Can Practice Your Ham Radio Skills

Ham radio hail from the earliest radio technology. If you have ever been remotely interested in radio technology and looking for the perfect survival gear, Ham radio can be your go-to gadget. Amateur radio operators often practice their radio skills and electronics while communicating through high-frequency ham bands. By combining radio with computers and other technologies, data and texts can be sent via radio-frequency.

myRIO Ultrasonic Sensor Interfacing

Hello everyone! I hope you all will be absolutely fine and having fun. Today, I will give you a detailed discussion on myRIO Ultrasonic Sensor Interfacing. In this tutorial, you will learn about NI myRIO ultrasonic sensor interfacing. We will go into the details of the ultrasonic sensor and then will move forward towards its interfacing with myRIO. I have already shared many articles on ultrasonic sensors and will share their link in this article as well.

The ultrasonic sensor is also known as SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging). As it is clear from its name, it transmits sound waves and these waves are received back to it after getting reflected from any object. It measures the total time elapsed during the entire transmission as well as during the reception of the reflected waves. The sum of both the times is usually known as RTT (Round Trip Time). This RTT is equal to the distance between any external object and the sensor itself. Optical sensors have a transmitter for the transmission of optical waves and a receiver at the receiving end. But in comparison to an optical sensor, the SONAR sensor has a single structure for both transmission and receiving purposes.

SONAR sensor has four pins to perform different actions. It is the most common device and is specially used for obstacle avoidance purposes in robotics. It can also be used to estimate the distance of different objects. It is an inexpensive device and is easily available in the market these days. There is another sensor similar to the ultrasonic sensor available in the market named as PNG sensor. But it has three pins, that is the only difference between PNG and ultrasonic sensor. Both can be used for distance measurement and obstacle avoidance purposes. Further detail about the ultrasonic sensor and myRIO ultrasonic sensor interfacing will be provided later in this tutorial.

myRIO Ultrasonic Sensor Interfacing

An ultrasonic sensor is an electronic device/sensor/module used to estimate the distance of different objects. It works on a very simple principle. It transmits ultrasonic waves and these waves get reflected from the objects in surroundings. It receives the reflected waves and measures the time elapsed during the whole process which is equal to the distance between the specific object and the SONAR sensor. It has a wide range of applications including robot sensing, liquid level control, full detection, stacking height control, people detection for counting, presence detection, vehicle detection, thread/wire break detection etc. The ultrasonic sensor is shown in the figure given below.

Note: I have shred many tutorials on ultrasonic sensor introduction, about its libraries and its interfacing with a different microcontroller. Now, I am going to share their links again, you must go through all these articles for having a better understanding of the SONAR sensor.

Ultrasonic Sensor Pins

  • It has four pins having different individual tasks to perform.
  • Ultrasonic sensor pins are listed in the table shown in the figure below.
  • The ultrasonic sensor along with its pin names is given in the figure shown below.

Ultrasonic Sensor Pins Description

  • As we know each of them has been assigned a different task, so we should about each pin.
  • Ultrasonic sensor pins description is provided in the table given in the figure shown below.s
3. Ultrasonic Sensor Dimensions
  • The ultrasonic sensor is divided into different segments.
  • Dimensions of each segment are shown in the figure given below.
4. Ultrasonic Sensor Working Principle
  • It works on a very simple principle based on sound waves.
  • It transmits sound waves in the surroundings.
  • These sounds waves collide with the external objects.
  • After colliding with the external objects they reflect back to ultrasonic sensor.
  • It measures the total time elapsed during the transmission and receiving the reflected wave.
  • The total time is known as a Round Trip Time (RTT) and is equal to the distance between the object and the sensor.
  • That was the entire working principle of SONAR sensor.
  • I have provided the visual description of its working principle as given in the figure shown below.
5. Ultrasonic Sensor Features
  • The features of any electronic device that can make a device more popular among its competitors.
  • Ultrasonic sensor features are listed in the table shown in the figure given below.
6. Ultrasonic Sensor Ratings
  • Ratings show the voltage, power and current requirements of any electronic device.
  • Ultrasonic sensor ratings are listed in the table shown in the figure below.
7. Ultrasonic Sensor Applications
  • Electronic devices such as small sensors are usually known on the basis of their applications.
  • Ultrasonic sensor has a wide range of applications in real life.
  • Some of them are listed in the table given in the figure shown below.
8. myRIO Ultrasonic Sensor Interfacing Wiring Diagram
  • I have made a completely labelled wiring diagram for myRIO ultrasonic sensor interfacing.
  • A complete wiring diagram is given in the figure shown below.
 
9. LabVIEW Final Front Panel Design
  • As a result I have provided a complete front panel window for myRIO ultrasonic sensor interfacing.
  • The LabVIEW front panel window is given in the figure shown below.
 
  • Our team has designed this LabVIEW simulation with a lot of several testing stages.
  • After a lot of testing we got the accurate results, so we have imposed a very low cost on it.
  • But, the imposed cost is as low, that even a student can easily buy it.
In the tutorial myRIO Ultrasonic Sensor Interfacing, I have provided an environment where you can easily visualize and learn about the basics of ultrasonic sensor and its interfacing with NI myRIO. I have also shared the links of my previously shred articles for the interfacing of SONAR sensor with other micro-controllers. I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and will appreciate my efforts. I will also share different articles on myRIO interfacing with the other sensors as well, in my upcoming tutorials. Till my next tutorial take care and bye bye :)

Interfacing Flame Sensor with Arduino

Hello everyone! I hope you all will be fine and having fun. Today I am going to tell you that how can you make a simple program for Interfacing Flame Sensor with Arduino. Flame sensor is used in offices, home and at different places to detect the fire. First of all I would like to tell you about the working principle of the flame sensor. Flame sensor is a device designed for the detection of the fire and to respond it. They are usually designed for the detection of most frequently used industrial fuel e.g. diesel, gasoline, karosene, ethylene, hydrogen etc. They are designed in way to distinguish between the radiations from the sunlight and the actual flames. There different types of flame sensors e.g. Ultraviolet (UV) detectors, Infrared (IR) flame detectors, UV/IR detectors, IR/IR flame detectors, closed circuit video cameras. The purpose of these all flame detectors/sensors is almost similar i.e. to detect the fire and responding quickly to it. The flame sensors have a wide range of applications in our daily life e.g. fume cupboards, felt manufacture, nuclear industry, pharmaceutical industries, printing, spray booths, generator, storage tanks, industrial heating and drying systems etc.
Where To Buy?
No.ComponentsDistributorLink To Buy
1Flame SensorsAmazonBuy Now
2Arduino UnoAmazonBuy Now

Interfacing Flame Sensor with Arduino

In this section of the tutorial Interfacing Flame Sensor with Arduino, I will explain you the step by step procedure to make a simple algorithm or program in Arduino software for the interfacing of flame sensor with Arduino. The algorithm is pretty simple. I will set a threshold limit, when the temperature exceeds that limit, an LED will be turned on to show the there is something wrong. You can also attach a buzzer with the Arduino. When the fire will be detected buzzer will be turned on automatically. First if all I would like to share the complete source code for Interfacing Flame Sensor with Arduino with all of you guys.
  • You can download the complete source code here by clicking on the button below.
  • Just download the .rar file, extract it and enjoy the complete simulation.

Components Required

Here, I am going to show you the list of all the components used in this project.
  • Arduino UNO
  • Flame Sensor
  • LED
  • Soldering Iron
  • Soldering Gum
  • Power Supply (12V)
  • Jumper Wires
  • Varrow Board
Brief Description of the Components
  • Arduino UNO acts as the back bone of the project. It manipulates the whole source code uploaded to the board, prints the desired data on the serial monitor and also prints the executed commands on the LCD. Arduino UNO is shown in the figure below.
  • Power Supply of 12V is used to turn the entire system ON. Because, we can not test and verify our system until we have not switched it ON. Power supply used for this project is shown in the figure below.
  • Jumper Wires are used to make the connections of the all the components in order to make the complete circuit with proper working. Jumper wires are shown in the figure below.
  • Flame Sensor is used for the detection of the temperature and for showing the immediate response when the temperature is above the threshold. Flame sensor is shown in the figure below.
Circuit Diagram
  • Circuit diagram for the tutorial Interfacing Flame Sensor with Arduino is shown in the figure below.
  • You can run this project properly, by making the circuit first, identical to the circuit diagram shown in the figure above.
  • The analog pin A5 of the Arduino UNO will help us in reading the data from the sensor.
  • The other two pins of the sensor are connected to the supply of 5V and ground respectively as you can see from the above figure.

Block Diagram

  • The block diagram for the project Interfacing Flame Sensor with Arduino is shown in the figure below.
  • Power supply is provided in order to run the project properly.
  • Arduino is the backbone of the whole system and controls all of the devices used.
  • When the temperature crosses the adjusted threshold the LED will be turned ON to indicator that the fire is detected.
  • In normal condition LED will remain Off.

Source Code Descritption

  • Source code for Interfacing Flame Sensor with Arduino is given below.
  • Just copy the entire code and paste it in your Arduino software and upload it to the Arduino board.
#include<SoftwareSerial.h>//library for software serial object

int sensorPin = A0; // flame sensor is attached to A0 pin of Arduino

int sensorValue = 0; // Initial value of the sensor is 0

int led = 9; // an LED is attached to the pin no 9 of Arduino

void setup() //method used to run the code for the one time
{

pinMode(led, OUTPUT);//changint the mode of LED as an output

Serial.begin(9600);//rate at which arduino communicates with laptop

}

void loop()//method used to run the code repeatedly

{

Serial.println("Welcome to TechPonder Flame Sensor Tutorial");//prints on the serial monitor

sensorValue = analogRead(sensorPin);//reads the analog data from the sensor

Serial.println(sensorValue);//prints the sensor data on serial monitor

if (sensorValue < 100)//threshold for the LED indication

{

Serial.println("Fire Detected");//prints on the serial monitor

Serial.println("LED on");//prints on the serial monitor

digitalWrite(led,HIGH);//turning on the LED

delay(1000);//delay of 1 second

}

digitalWrite(led,LOW);//turning of the LED

delay(sensorValue);

}
  • First of all I have declared library of software serial.
  • Then I have defined the pins of Arduino UNO at which the flame sensor and LED are connected.
  • Then I have changed the mode of LED to output.
  • Then I have started reading the analog data from the flame sensor.
  • I have adjusted a threshold, when the temperature exceeds that value LED will be turned on.
  • When the temperature is below the threshold LED will remain off e.g in normal conditions.
So, that is all from the tutorial Interfacing Flame Sensor with Arduino. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you face any sort of problem you can ask me in comments anytime without even feeling any kind of hesitation. I will try my level best to solve your issues in a better way, if possible. I will explore Arduino by making different projects on it and will share all of them with you as well in my later tutorials. Till then, Take care :)

DC Motor Control using myRIO

Hello everyone! I hope you all will be absolutely fine and having fun. Today, I would like to provide a complete discussion on DC Motor Control using myRIO. I will first provide you a bit information about DC motor then we will move forward towards DC motor control using myRIO. DC motor is an electronic instrument which is used to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy. It plays a vital role in industrial applications. It has also great importance for the engineers to to study about its working principle. DC motor has basically two input terminals. At one terminal we have to provide voltage supply and the other terminal will be attached to the ground (0V). And if we change the polarity, the direction of the motor will also be changed correspondingly. DC generator can be easily made from the DC motor just by using it in inverse. Generator converts mechanical energy into electrical energy. So, both are inverse of each other. I have also posted a lot of articles on DC motor direction control as well as its speed control. I will share their links later in this tutorial too. You should go through those articles as well. They will be informative for you. DC motor has wide range of applications in real life. Its applications include robotics, home automation, automated door locking systems, home security systems, vehicles, computers, refrigerators, air conditioners and a lot more. The further detail about the DC motor and DC motor control using myRIO will be given later in this tutorial.

DC Motor Control using myRIO

DC Motor is a device frequently used to convert electrical energy to mechanical energy. Electrical power supply is provided to the DC motor and it generates mechanical energy. DC motor has two input terminals for power supply. We can easily change the direction of rotation of DC motor just bu changing the polarity of the applied voltage across its terminals. It has a lot of applications including robotics, vehicles, lifters etc. DC motor energy conversion is shown in the figure given below.
Note
I have also made different simulation for DC motor speed and direction control, as given below. You must go through these articles fo the better understanding of this tutorial.s

1. DC Motor Working Principle

The working principle of DC motor is pretty simple as given below.
  • When a current carrying coil is placed in side the magnetic field, torque is produced as a result.
  • Due to this torque, it becomes capable of rotating, usually known as the motor action.
  • If we change the direction of the current in the wire, direction of rotation of DC motor will also be changes correspondingly.
  • A mechanical force is produced due to the interaction of magnetic field and electric field.

2. DC Motor Direction Estimation

  • The direction of DC motor can be determined by left hand rule introduced by Fleming, a famous scientist.
  • If middle finger, index finger and thumb of your left hand are extended in such a way, that all of these are perpendicular to each other.
  • If the middle finger is in the direction of current and index finger represents the magnetic field.
  • Then thumb of your left hand will show the direction of rotation of the DC motor.
  • This left hand rule is shown visually in the figure given below.

3. Source code description

  • Go to the block diagram window and press Ctrl+Space bar.
  • You will see a new window named as Quick Drop has been appeared on your screen.
  • Type PWM in that window as shown in the figure given below.
  • Pick the blue colored highlighted box and place it over block diagram window, a new window will be appeared on your screen
  • The newly appeared window is shown in the figure given below.
  • Just press OK, and your block diagram window will look like the figure shown below.
  • Now to input terminal of duty cycle and right click on it.
  • Go to Create->Control as shown in the figure below.
  • After doing so your block diagram window will look like the figure shown below.
  • Now right click on block diagram window.
  • Go to Functions->Programming->Structures->For Loop.
  • Select while loop and place it over block diagram window.

3. DC Motor Control using myRIO VI

  • A complete NI LabVIEW VI for DC motor control using myRIO is shown in the figure given below.
  • You can download the complete NI LabVIEW VI here by clicking on the button below.
This is all from the tutorial DC Motor Control using myRIO. I have provided a lot detail about the working of DC motor and its control through myRIO. I have also provided the complete NI LabVIEW VI for DC motor control using myRIO. I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. If you feel any problem, you can ask us in comments. We will try our level best to solve your issues. I will also share further tutorials on NI myRIO. So, till my next tutorial taker care and bye :)

Interfacing Temperature & Humidity Sensor with Arduino

Hello everyone! I hope you all will be absolutely fine and having fun. In the tutorial Interfacing Temperature & Humidity Sensor with Arduino I will tell you that how can you interface temperature and humidity sensor named as DHT11 with Arduino and how can you observe the temperature and humidity level using this sensor. This sensor has usually three pins but some of its types has four pins but only the three pins are of importance for us e.g. VCC, GND and the third pin for reading the data from the sensor. In the tutorial Interfacing Temperature & Humidity Sensor with Arduino, I will make a simple Arduino program which will estimate the level of temperature and humidity continuously and will display the value of both temperature and humidity on the serial monitor. You will see that the sensor will give different readings for the different environments.
Where To Buy?
No.ComponentsDistributorLink To Buy
1LCD 16x2AmazonBuy Now
2DHT11AmazonBuy Now
3Arduino UnoAmazonBuy Now

Temperature & Humidity Sensor with Arduino

I will tell you the step by step procedure that how can you interface DHT11 sensor with Arduino and how to make a simple program in Arduino software to read the data continuously from the sensor and how to display the obtained data on the serial monitor. You can also display this data on Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) as I have discussed in detail in my previous tutorial DC Motor Direction Control using Arduino, DC Motor Speed Control using Arduino, Stepper Motor Direction Control in Arduino and Stepper Motor Speed Control using Arduino.
  • You can download the complete source code here by clicking on the button below.
  • Download .rar file, extract this file and enjoy the complete simulation code.

Block Diagram

  • First of all, I would like to explain you the algorithm with the help of a block diagram.
  • It will help in better understanding of an algorithm.
  • The block diagram for interfacing of temperature and humidity sensor with Arduino is given in the figure below.
  • Power supply in necessary to turn the whole system ON.
  • DHT11 is connected with the Arduino UNO.
  • Arduino UNO reads the data from the DHT11 sensor and displays the obtained data on the serial monitor.
  • That data will also be displayed on the LCD.

Circuit Diagram

  • The complete wiring diagram for this project is shown in the figure below.
  • You can run this project properly, by making the circuit first, identical to the circuit diagram shown in the figure above.
  • The analog pin A3 of the Arduino UNO will help us in reading the data from the sensor.
  • The other two pins of the sensor are connected to the supply of 5V and ground respectively as you can see from the above figure.

Flow Chart

  • The flow chart will help you to understand the flow of the program while executing.
  • The flow chart for this project is shown in the figure below.
  • The data from the sensor can be estimated on the serial monitor only after opening the serial port
  • Then data will be displayed on the LCD and at end serial port must be closed in order to avoid the exchange of unwanted commands.

Source Code Description

  • The source code for this project is given below.
  • You have to just copy and paste the code given below in your Arduino software after properly interfacing DHT11 with the Arduino.
  • After uploading the code onto your Arduino board you will be able to observe the humidity and temperature and humidity level on serial monitor.
#include<dht.h>// DHT11 humidity sensor library
#include<LiquidCrystal.h> //LCD library
dht DHT; //Creating sensor object
#define DHT11_PIN A3 // Sensor is connected to Arduino pin 3
LiquidCrystal lcd(8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13);// LCD connected with Arduino on these pins
void setup()
{
  Serial.begin(9600); //setting baud rate
  Serial.println("   =====================================================");
  Serial.println("   ||   Welcome to Temperarue and Humidity Detector   ||");
  Serial.println("   =====================================================");
  Serial.println("");
  lcd.begin(20, 4); // initialinzing the LCD order
  lcd.setCursor(4,1); //Setting the cursor on LCD
  lcd.print("Welcome to");//printing on LCD
  lcd.setCursor(2,2);
  lcd.print("Humidity detector");
  delay(2000);//adding delay of 2 secons or 2000 msec
  }
void loop()//method used to run the code repeatedly
{
  int chk = DHT.read11(DHT11_PIN); //Reading data from sensor
  Serial.print(" Humidity = ");//prints on the serial monitor
  Serial.print(DHT.humidity);// prints obtained humidity on serial port
  Serial.print(" g/m^3");

  lcd.clear();//clears all the data on LCD
  delay(1000);//adding delay of 1 second
  lcd.display(); //starting the display of LCD after clearing
  lcd.setCursor(0,0);
  lcd.print("Humidity=");
  lcd.print(DHT.humidity);
  lcd.print(" g/m^3");
  
  Serial.print("    \tTemperature = ");//prints on the serial monitor
  Serial.print(DHT.temperature, 1);//prints obtained temperature on serial port
  Serial.println(" degrees");

  lcd.setCursor(0,1);
  lcd.print("Temperature=");//prints on LCD
  lcd.print(DHT.temperature, 1);//prints the obtained temperature on LCD
  lcd.print(" deg");

  lcd.setCursor(1,2);
  lcd.print("www.TheEngineering");
  lcd.setCursor(4,3);
  lcd.print("Projects.com");

  delay(2000);//adding the delay of 2 seconds
  }  
  • I am going to explain you that how this code is working!
  • First of all I have added the library in the libraries folder at the destination where the Arduino software is installed.
  • I have defined DHT11’s library in the source code then.
  • Then I have defined the library for LCD.
  • I have defined the pin at which DHT11 is attached with the Arduino board.
  • Then I have defined the Arduino pins at which the LCD in interface.
  • Then by opening the serial port I have started to print the level of temperature and humidity on the serial monitor as well as on the 20×4 LCD.
  • At the end, I have added the delay of 2 seconds so that the speed of the data to be printed on the serial monitor can be reduced to some extent in order to observe properly.
  • This was the brief description of the source code.
That is all from the tutorial Interfacing Temperature & Humidity Sensor with Arduino. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you are facing any problem regarding any of my tutorials, you can ask me freely in the comments without even feeling any kind of hesitation, I will try my level best to solve you issues in a better way, if possible. I will explore Arduino by making further projects and will share them with you as well. So, till then, Take Care :)

Brushless DC Motor

Hello friends, i hope you all are fine and enjoying. Today i am going to share a new tutorial which is Brush-less DC motor. The basics of DC motor have been explained in one of my previous tutorial which was named as Difference Between DC and AC motors in that tutorial i explained in detail the basics of a DC motor, its construction and working.

Now in today's tutorial i am going to share a tutorial on one of the type of DC motor which is Brush-less DC motor. Brush-less DC motor is commonly known as Electronic Commutated motor. It is in fact a synchronous motor. From the word DC, one thing becomes clear that the supply voltage will be DC but as i mentioned in the previous line that it is a synchronous motor then, it will need AC supply to run. So what actually happens is that from source DC voltages appears and after the inverter circuit, we get AC voltages and these AC voltages are actually given to the motor to operate. The rotor of a Brush-less DC motor is actually a permanent magnet rotor. While some winding is done on stator. Brush-less DC motors are also commonly known as stepper motor but there is a very little difference in between both these motors and their operation. Like stepper motor are generally used at that placed where they have to stop again and again and the continuous operation of the motor is not required. There is also another big difference between Brush-less DC motor and stepper motor that the rotor of stepper is placed to work in proper angular direction. Now lets get started with the working and applications of Brush-less DC motor

Brush-less DC motor

Brush-less DC has 2 parts. One is called rotor and the other is called Stator. Here the rotor is a permanent magnet and it rotates inside the fixed armature. This assembly gives us a very big advantage which is, that it reduces the heating losses. Rotor is placed inside the stator and this allows the motor to produce more torque. It is our choice to make a brushless DC motor of different poles. For example we can made a motor having 2,3 or poles and all are DC brushless motors. Brush-less DC motor can be made in 2 different design. In first design, the rotor is placed inside the fixed stator. This configuration is also known as 'inrunner' because the rotor is running inside the stator.

While in the second configuration, we have a fixed stator inside and the permanent magnet rotor rotates around it.  This type of configuration is called 'outrunner'. We can also place the stator windings in 2 different configurations. If we place the stator winding in delta configuration and we are dealing with a 3 pole motor then, all the windings will be connected in series and the power supply from the source is applied to all the windings. The resulting configuration looks like a triangle shape. While on the other hand if we wish to place the stator winding in Wye (Y) then we will common the one terminal of each winding. And to the remaining 3 terminals, we will connect the power supply to all those three points.(Since we are working with 3 phase motor and we will have three wires and all of them will be phase wires).

Both these winding configurations have their own advantages and they are listed below as:

  • If you have made the stator winding configuration in Delta, then this motor will have a low starting torque. Which means at slow speeds it will generate a very low torque and at higher speeds its torque will also increase with speed.
  • The Star type stator motor possess high starting torque. At starting or at very low speed it generates much high torque but as the motor picks up speed, it torque doesn't builts up as compared to Delta type motor.
  • Efficiency also have a greater impact on the operation and reliability of motor operation. If we compare the efficiecies of both these motors then, we will see that motor having Star shaped winding is more efficient as compared to delta shape winding.
  • Reason is that the star shape winding motor have high starting torque and it is able to drag heavy loads even at low speeds.

Control circuit of Brush-less DC motor

As i explained earlier that the supply voltages may be DC but this motor requires AC voltages to operate actually. So, we have a control circuit which allows the motor this kind of operation of the motor on such voltages. Since the control circuit has to rotate the rotor so the control circuit needs to know the position of the rotor in rest position. To cope with this thing, we implement HALL EFFECT Sensor in control circuit. If you are using a 4 pole motor then the controller will energize the 2 coils with NORTH polarity and the other 2 coils with South polarity. When the stator coils will be energized then one set of coils will tends to push the rotor away from it and the other set of coils will tend to attract the rotor to itself, in this way the rotor will start to rotate and a torque will be established in it and afterwards it would be able to pick load.

Practical Applications

Brush-less DC motor possess a large no of industrial applications. Although, these types of motors are little costly and also complex to operate because of the control circuit but still we can't ignore the importance of this type of motor. Some of its industrial based applications are listed below as:
  • Biggest and most common use is that these motors are used in laptops and computers for cooling purpose.
  • An old use of low power and very low speed DC brushless motor was that they were used in gramophones records.
  • High rating and bigger size DC brushless motors are used in transport vehicles and also in Hybrid cars.
  • These motors may be of small size but have permanent magnet rotor and are able to develop high starting torque.
  • In refrigeration and cooling systems, Brushless DC motor is used in all appliances for the condenser cooling purposes. Both large and small air-conditioning systems uses Brushless DC motor.
  • When high voltages AC is generated and transmitted, so need a control mechanism for its safe operation and control. Brushless DC motors are also used at those places for proper cooling of micro processors.
  • Brushless DC are able to develop high starting torque and gives good speed response. That's why they are widely used in water pumps, fans and variable speed industrial applications.
  • These motors are preferred to work in industries because they possess high power density, can give good speed and torque characteristics and also high efficiency.
  • Brushless DC motors have good thermal conditions so they are able to operate at variable speed without excessive heating.
  • Brushless DC motor have the biggest demand in defense applications. Now a days they are commonly used in helicopter's rotors, because of their favorable power to wight ratio.
Alright friends, that's all from today's tutorial. If you have any questions then, feel free to ask. Till next tutorial Take Care !!! :)

Brushed DC Motor

Hello friends, i hope you people are fine and enjoying. Proceeding to my previous tutorial, in which i explained Brushless DC motor in detail. Now in this tutorial i am going to explain in detail the second type of DC motor which is Brushed DC motor. In this tutorial, we will see what is in fact a Brushed DC motor, how it works and what are the advantages and practical application of this type of motor on some other type of motors.

Brushed DC motors are also known as commutated DC motors. Reason is that these motors contain commutator and carbon brushes for rotor excitation. I will explain all these terminologies in detail, later in tutorial. These are the most important type of motors designed to run directly on DC power supply. These were the very first type of motors, which were designed to operate on DC voltages at industrial levels and as we also know that DC power system had been used in some countries like USA for power transmission and distribution. DC series motors are still in use for industrial applications. Reason is that these motors gives us the ease to vary the speed of motor by simply changing the supply voltages or magnetic field strength. We can also change the speed and torque characteristics of the motor by changing the power supply connections. Brushed DC motors contain carbon brushes, which wear out with time and continuous operation of motor, so where maintenance operation is required, Brushless DC motor is preferred. Now first of all, lets see the operating principle of Brushed DC motor:

Operating principle of Brushed DC Motor

Brushed DC motor rotates on the principle of Fleming's Left Hand Rule. When a current is make to pass through a coil placed in a permanent magnetic field, then a torque acts on the coil which makes it to rotate. The direction of rotation of the coil is given by the Fleming's Left Hand Rule. The process can be elaborated by the image which is shown below as:

The above figure a showing the basic operating principle of Brushed DC motor. I have chosen the example of permanent magnet Brushed DC motor to make it easy to understandable. From the above shown image, you can see that:

  • A DC supply has been connected to rotor circuit through carbon brushes and commutator.
  • Commutator is made of brass while carbon brushes are made of soft silicon material.
  • The reason why carbon brushes are made of silicon is to reduce the friction between carbon brushes and commutator.
  • If you use carbon brushes made of brass or copper then, conduction between carbon brushes and commutator will increase but a massive sparking will produce, which can damage our system.
  • When the rotor poles are at 90 degrees to the stator poles then zero torque is produced in rotor.
  • On the other hand, when rotor poles are at 0 degrees to the stator poles, then maximum torque is produced in rotor circuit.
  • So we can conclude that half of the supply cycles would be wasted in this way, that's why we have connected commutator in this system. It automatically change the direction of direction after every half cycle.
  • The resultant gives us maximum torque continuously during our operation.

TYPES of Brushed DC Motor

Based on the types of connections between Rotor and Stator windings, DC Brushed motors have been divided into 5 major types. All these types are given below as:

Series Type DC Motor

  • In these type of motors, the rotor winding is in series with rotor winding.
  • These type of motors have High Starting Torque.
  • The beauty of these type of motors is that, their speed varies automatically with the applied load. If load increases or suddenly vanishes then, this motor has the ability to maintain it's speed.
  • These motors are used at those places where the motor has to supply heavy load. For example in Electric trains DC series motors are used.

Shunt Type DC Motor

  • In these type of motors, rotor winding is in parallel with stator winding.
  • These motors have low starting torque as compared to Dc series motor.
  • These motors have constant speed and their speed doesn't varies with load.

Compound Type DC Motor

  • You can judge the properties of this motor by its name. In this type of DC motor, both series and compound windings are embedded together.
  • This type of motor have much dominating features than any other type of DC motor.
  • These motors have high starting torque, which is in fact a property of DC series motor.
  • While on the other hand, this motor is capable to run on constant speed and it speed doesn't vary as much with load, which is in fact a property of DC shunt motor.

Permanent Magnet Type DC Motor

  • It can be seen from the name of these type of motors that they contain a permanent magnet stator instead of a wound electromagnet stator.
  • No need of external energizing field current.
  • More efficient design.
  • This design is only possible for small size but much efficient motors.

Separately Excited Type DC Motor

  • In these type of motors, some heavy excitation system is required for the excitation of rotor circuit.
  • High field is drawn by these type of motors.
  • This motor has the ability to draw much heavy loads even at a very low speed.
  • The reason these motors are able to bear much heavy loads is that they draw much field current and much armature voltages.

Features and Practical Applications

Brushed DC motors possess a large no of features and practical applications. Some of them are listed below as:
  1. These motors have a very simple design and it is very cost effective to built them on large scale.
  2. Their operation is very simple and it doesn't requires any control mechanism.
  3. DC motors are used in both domestic and industrial applications, because of their simpler design and advanced features.
  4. They are commonly used in car power windows and seats.
  5. Car's wind wiper motor is also a DC motor. And it has variable speed and high starting torque.
  6. DC motors are enclosed in a solid frame and they don't have any environmental impact on their operation. They are capable to work under any severe condition.
Alright friends, this ends my today's tutorial here. If you have questions regarding my today's tutorial, feel free to ask. Till next tutorial Take Care!!! :)
Syed Zain Nasir

I am Syed Zain Nasir, the founder of <a href=https://www.TheEngineeringProjects.com/>The Engineering Projects</a> (TEP). I am a programmer since 2009 before that I just search things, make small projects and now I am sharing my knowledge through this platform.I also work as a freelancer and did many projects related to programming and electrical circuitry. <a href=https://plus.google.com/+SyedZainNasir/>My Google Profile+</a>

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Syed Zain Nasir