DCU Expo 2024 - Final Year Projects

33 9. DrumTester Development The project aims to create a tester capable of delivering controllable and reproducible strikes to a drumor pad. ADCmotor drives a drumstick, generating the strikes. The force and point of impact are controlled using a Teensy microcontroller, which is similar to an Arduino but is faster and includes more electronic interfaces. An angle sensor measures the angle of the drumstick in real-time, allowing for precise control and adjustment of the striking force. The Teensymicrocontroller also controls a systemof four relays, which manage the polarity of the motor, enabling forward and reverse motion. The components of the tester are securely housed and assembled using 3D-printed parts. This setup provides an output from the drum, which would then be graphed and inspected. Student Programme Mechatronic Engineering (Year 5) Project Area Arduino, Circuit Modeling, Mechatronic Systems, Sensor Data, Software Development, Materials Testing Project Technology C/C++, Excel/VB, Solidworks, Audacity Student Name(s) MaxymMarchuk Email maxym.marchuk2@mail.dcu.ie Supervisor Dr Alan Kennedy 10. Delta Robot This project explores the design andmanufacturing process of the Delta Robot, focusing on its unique kinematic chain and 3-DOF parallel mechanism. It examines design decisions and constraints, aiming for precision in positioning the end effector via an external interface. The study delves into the mathematics, movement, and inverse kinematics behind the robot, illustrating how joint interactions achieve specific tasks and highlighting the role of the state vector loop in manipulation dynamics. Student Programme Mechatronic Engineering (Year 5) Project Area 3-DModelling, Arduino, Automation, Control Systems, Mechanical Design andManufacture, Mechatronic Systems, Robotics Project Technology C/C++, LabVIEW, Matlab, Solidworks Student Name(s) Conor Gildea Email conor.gildea4@mail.dcu.ie Supervisor Dr Harry Esmonde 11. Exploring the Feasibility of an Analog-Digital Hybrid Computer, using an FPGA to Combine Analog andDigital Elements This project is a study into a largely overlooked technology: Analog Computing, assessing its strengths and weaknesses by building an analog computer that models a springmass damper system using operational amplifiers on a breadboard and analysing it using the analog discovery kit by Digilent. Along with this, a Digilent Zybo Z7-10 board and AMD/Xilinx software (Vivado) are used to take the benefits of Analog computation and combine themwith software/digital elements to create a hybrid computer, that models the same springmass damper system to compare and analyse the tradeoffs between hybrid, analog and digital computers. Student Programme Electronic and Computer Engineering (Year 4) Project Area Circuit Modeling, Embedded Systems Project Technology C/C++, FPGA, Analog Circuit Design Student Name(s) MatthewO’Dwyer Email matthew.odwyer35@mail.dcu.ie Supervisor Dr XiaojunWang and LiamMeany