X-Git-Url: https://git.gag.com/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=EasyMotor%2Findex.mdwn;h=aedcfa3f29ab97cf78ea8cdcd41463174df46f81;hb=880f9cd67a0811e71bbfd174abdda6cd7263aef4;hp=f50a33b4ef5c14bad2afc34820b11915f56a4f88;hpb=245fe0baa4f576c56253c43ef9226d0ef9360ec5;p=web%2Faltusmetrum diff --git a/EasyMotor/index.mdwn b/EasyMotor/index.mdwn index f50a33b..aedcfa3 100644 --- a/EasyMotor/index.mdwn +++ b/EasyMotor/index.mdwn @@ -4,29 +4,74 @@ This board is designed for in-flight characterization of research rocket motors. It records chamber pressure and acceleration to an on-board flash memory chip, the contents of which can be downloaded after flight over USB. -It can also be attached to a [TeleMetrum](../TeleMetrum) or -[TeleMega](../TeleMega) using the companion interface to allow a subset of -the data to be included in radio telemetry during the flight. - -There is no EasyMotor firmware yet, but it will be part of the -[AltOS](../AltOS) suite eventually. - -Prototypes of v1 are underway. This design is not yet for sale. ## Features ## ### User View ### * Data logger storing motor chamber pressure and acceleration -* 1-axis 200-g accelerometer +* supports inexpensive 5V analog output pressure sensors +* 3-axis 200-g accelerometer * On-board non-volatile memory for flight data storage * USB for configuration, and data recovery * Designed for use with a battery from 9-12V -* 1.65 x 1 inch board +* 1.5 x 0.8 inch board + +## Example Installations ## + +There are lots of ways to mount an EasyMotor board, but since we've been +asked, here are a few photos from snap-ring case forward closures +machined by Bdale for +test flights of EasyMotor. The sensor bodies are 316 stainless with a 1/8 NPT +male boss, so the approach chosen is to drill a 1/8 inch touch hole all the +way through the closure, then drill and tap 1/8 NPT female threads part way +through the closure thickness. The hole gets filled with grease and the +sensor screwed in. + +The first example is a 98mm snap-ring closure, with the +sensor and electronics mounted off-center so a 3/8" all-thread could be used +in the center for motor retention in a minimum-diameter-ish airframe. This +motor had a small gap between the last propellant grain and the forward +closure, so having the pressure sampling port off-center wasn't a +problem. The mounting bracket for the electronics was bent from a bit of +1/16" aluminum sheet and screwed to the forward closure with two short 4-40 +screws into tapped and drilled mounting holes. Note the use of an A23 12v +alkaline battery in a holder on the bracket with the +EasyMotor prototype. These batteries are fine for a flight or two, and both +they and the little holders for them are cheap on Amazon and make installations +like this fairly easy to put together: + + + +This second example is on a 75mm snap-ring closure, and was Bdale's first attempt +using 16-gauge steel to bend a mounting bracket that could also be used for recovery +harness attachment. Another A23 and holder are taped on the other side of the +sensor not visible in this photo: + + + +This example is a refinement of the 16-gauge steel strap used to form a mounting +bracket and harness retention point, this time for a 54mm snap-ring closure. +Bdale has flown this setup several times now, and the only down-side is that +it obvious takes up a few extra inches of airframe length. Note also the quik-link +wrapped in electrical tape to make sure it doesn't flop down and short against +any of the electronics in flight. Note also a long piece of shooter wire that +gets fed through a vent hole in the airframe as a twist-n-tape power switch. + + ## Artifacts ## -The hardware design current gEDA files are available from +The firmware for this product is part of the [AltOS](../AltOS) suite. + +This board was designed using lepton-eda and pcb-rnd. + +The hardware design files are available from [git.gag.com](http://git.gag.com) in the project [hw/easymotor](http://git.gag.com/?p=hw/easymotor;a=summary). +## Availability ## + +Prototypes of v2 were built and successfully flown. The initial production +run is back from our surface-mount assembler, and testing is underway. We +hope to have these available for sale by February 2021.