Latest Industrial Automation Technical Articles

Categories

ADC Resolution vs. Accuracy—Sub-range ADCs, Two-step ADCs, and TUE

Learn about characterizing different analog-to-digital converter (ADC) error sources such as resolution and accuracy.

January 08, 2023 by Dr. Steve Arar

An Introduction to Current Sources

Current sources are less familiar than voltage sources like batteries and AC wall power. Current sources usually are buried, unseen, inside electronic circuitry. Learn what they are and how they are designed.

January 02, 2023 by Harry Trietley

Digital Square Wave Generator Design Via a Ring Oscillator, 555 Timer, and Arduino

Learn about digital square wave generators using a ring oscillator, a 555 timer-based oscillator, and an Arduino-generated square wave oscillator.

December 11, 2022 by Nicholas St. John

Trim Out ADC Offset and Gain Error Using Two Point Calibration

Learn about the two-point calibration method and the fixed-point implementation to compensate for analog-to-digital converter (ADC) offset and gain errors through an example.

November 20, 2022 by Dr. Steve Arar

RTD Signal Conditioning—4-Wire Configuration, Ratiometric Measurement, & Filtering

Learn about RTD (resistance temperature detector) signal conditioning through a four-wire configuration, ratiometric measurement, and input RC filters.

November 18, 2022 by Dr. Steve Arar

RTD Signal Conditioning—Voltage vs Current Excitation in 3-wire Configurations

Learn about resistance temperature detector (RTD) signal conditioning techniques such as voltage vs. current excitation and the three-wire configuration for dealing with the lead and wire resistance error.

November 11, 2022 by Dr. Steve Arar

Is Assembly Language Still Relevant for Embedded Software Development?

As embedded systems continue to evolve, you might wonder: should I learn assembly language for embedded software development? Learn the answer in this article.

November 06, 2022 by Darby Hewitt

Understanding CMRR and its Relationship With ADC Offset Error

Learn how variations of the common mode rejection ratio (CMRR) can affect an analog-to-digital converter's (ADC) performance.

November 04, 2022 by Dr. Steve Arar

An Introduction to RTD Sensor Signal Conditioning Circuits

Learn about the basics of different signal conditioning circuits for RTD applications, including a voltage divider, Wheatstone bridge circuit, and delta-sigma (ΔΣ) converter.

October 30, 2022 by Dr. Steve Arar

Magnetic Field Strength Meter and Calibrator

This project will explain how to develop a system to measure magnetic field emissions at frequencies up to 150 kHz from high-current power cables without cutting or disturbing the cable.

October 28, 2022 by John Woodgate

Modeling RTD Resistance-temperature Characteristics

Model the characteristic curve of a resistance temperature detector (RTD) and the common standards used to characterize these devices like the alpha parameter and Callendar-Van Dusen equation.

October 23, 2022 by Dr. Steve Arar

RTD Basics—An Introduction to Resistance Temperature Detectors

Learn the basics of RTDs, namely the trade-offs of using RTD temperature sensors, the metals used in these sensors, thin film RTDs, and wire-wound RTDs.

October 09, 2022 by Dr. Steve Arar

Ratiometric Resistance Measurement Basics Using an Analog to Digital Converter

Learn the basics of ratiometric resistance measurements in analog to digital (A/D) converters, how it's measured, and example uses in a digital multimeter (DMM), microprocessor, and various resistive sensors.

October 07, 2022 by Harry Trietley

Exploring Monolithic Thermocouple Signal Conditioning Using AD849x and LT1025

Learn about thermocouple signal conditioning and thermocouple nonlinearity through two different monolithic thermocouple amplifier solutions: the AD849x family and the LT1025.

October 06, 2022 by Dr. Steve Arar

Introduction to Temperature Sensors: Thermistors, Thermocouples, RTDs, and Thermometer ICs

Learn about different temperature sensors, namely: thermistors, thermocouples, RTDs (resistive temperature detectors), analog thermometer ICs and digital thermometer ICs.

September 16, 2022 by Nick Davis

Thermocouple Cold Junction Compensation Using Analog Temperature Sensors

Learn how analog circuits can be used to implement cold junction compensation using examples from Analog Devices and Texas Instrument's TMP35 and LM335 temperature sensors, respectively.

September 09, 2022 by Dr. Steve Arar

H-bridge DC Motor Control Using Complementary PWM, Shoot-through, and Dead-time

Learn about the role of non-overlapping or complementary pulse width modulation (PMW) in DC motor control using an h-bridge circuit, taking into consideration PWM shoot-through and dead-time PWM.

August 29, 2022 by Jake Hertz

Finding Summary Statistics and Probabilities with the Binomial Distribution

Article two in our binomial distribution series, this article explains the process of calculating mean, standard deviation, and probabilities after integrating your analytical task into the binomial framework.

August 17, 2022 by Robert Keim

Thermocouple Basics—Using the Seebeck Effect for Temperature Measurement

Learn about the Seebeck effect and how the Seebeck voltage and Seebeck coefficient come into play within the scope of thermocouples and temperature measurement.

August 14, 2022 by Dr. Steve Arar

Offset Error and Gain Error in a Bipolar ADC and Differential ADC

Concerning analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), learn about offset errors and gain errors in a bipolar ADC and differential ADC as well as offset error single-point calibration.

July 24, 2022 by Dr. Steve Arar