MakerBotControlSystem

= MakerBot: Control System Design, Implementation and Characterization =

Time to brush off some of that rusty old control system design knowledge I once majored in.

Goals
My goals will be to:


 * Describe the MakerBot thermal, electrical and mechanical system in terms of a state-space model.
 * Model said system using the GNU Octave free open-source software (FOSS) suite of tools.
 * Design test and measurement criteria and data to generate a set of parameter estimation functions to calibrate the control system model.
 * Generate discrete-time state-space octave model.
 * Implement discrete-time algorithm using microcontroller or DSP (as required).

= The Model =

Extruder

 * Heater On/Off (PWM control code)
 * DC Motor Voltage (PWM control code)
 * Nozzle aperture diameter (fixed)
 * Incoming filament diameter (fixed)

X Axis

 * Stepper Velocity (step rate)

Y Axis

 * Stepper Velocity (step rate)

Z Axis

 * Stepper Velocity (step rate)

Extruder

 * Relative Nozzle Temperature (thermistor ADC code)
 * Closed loop
 * Calibrated Nozzle Temperature (thermocouple based digital thermometer)
 * Open loop
 * Incoming filament position (with encoder wheel/sensor)
 * Closed loop
 * Incoming filament travel (callipers)
 * Open loop
 * Outgoing filament diameter (callipers)
 * Open loop
 * Outgoing filament length (callipers)
 * Open loop
 * Outgoing filament mass (scale)
 * Open loop
 * Possibly closed loop with build platform integrated weight cells.

X Axis

 * Endstop activation
 * Closed loop
 * Position (ruler)
 * Open loop

Y Axis

 * Endstop activation
 * Closed loop
 * Position (ruler)
 * Open loop

Z Axis

 * Endstop activation
 * Closed loop
 * Position (ruler)
 * Open loop

Motion Control
= References =

Books

 * Digital Control Systems Design
 * Authors: Mohammed S. Santina, Allen R. Stubberud, Gene H. Hostetter
 * ISBN 0-03-076012-7
 * Modern Control Systems
 * Authors: Richard C. Dorf, Robert H. Bishop
 * ISBN 0-201-50174-0

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

 * 6.011 Introduction to Communication, Control, and Signal Processing
 * 6.231 Dynamic Programming and Stochastic Control
 * 6.241 Dynamic Systems & Control
 * 6.243J / 2.156J / 16.337J Dynamics of Nonlinear Systems
 * 6.245 Multivariable Control Systems
 * 6.091 Hands-On Introduction to Electrical Engineering Lab Skills
 * 6.152J / 3.155J Micro/Nano Processing Technology
 * 6.302 Feedback Systems
 * 6.341 Discrete-Time Signal Processing
 * 6.432 Stochastic Processes, Detection, and Estimation
 * 6.435 System Identification
 * 6.774 Physics of Microfabrication: Front End Processing
 * 6.777J / 2.372J Design and Fabrication of Microelectromechanical Devices

Mechanical Engineering

 * 2.001 Mechanics & Materials I
 * 2.002 Mechanics and Materials II
 * 2.003 Modeling Dynamics and Control I
 * 2.003J / 1.053J Dynamics and Control I
 * 2.004 Systems, Modeling, and Control II
 * 2.12 Introduction to Robotics
 * 2.72 Elements of Mechanical Design
 * 2.067 Advanced Structural Dynamics and Acoustics (13.811)
 * 2.093 Computer Methods in Dynamics
 * 2.094 Finite Element Analysis of Solids and Fluids
 * 2.158J / 1.128J / 16.940J Computational Geometry
 * 2.171 Analysis and Design of Digital Control Systems
 * 2.26 Compressible Fluid Dynamics
 * 2.830J / 6.780J / ESD.63J Control of Manufacturing Processes (SMA 6303)

Materials Science and Engineering

 * 3.00 Thermodynamics of Materials
 * 3.016 Mathematics for Materials Scientists and Engineers
 * 3.032 Mechanical Behavior of Materials
 * 3.044 Materials Processing
 * 3.063 Polymer Physics
 * 3.064 Polymer Engineering
 * 3.14 Physical Metallurgy
 * 3.185 Transport Phenomena in Materials Engineering
 * 3.A04 Modern Blacksmithing and Physical Metallurgy
 * 3.11 Mechanics of Materials
 * 3.20 Materials at Equilibrium (SMA 5111)
 * 3.205 Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Materials
 * 3.21 Kinetic Processes in Materials
 * 3.22 Mechanical Behavior of Materials
 * 3.225 Electronic and Mechanical Properties of Materials

Other

 * Math Characters in HTML