PWM3.24 Power Amplifier for CMM's

Abstract

<p>Engineering companies, as any other companies, have been facing tough times due to the economic decay. In order to compensate for the loss of market and increase the chances of overcoming this economic recession, companies have been looking for less expensive alternatives that will hold or improve the costbenefit of a process or product. Thus, Hexagon Metrology Incorporated, a multinational metrology company, is looking for an alternate power amplifier to replace the module currently in use that will decrease cost without affecting performance. The power amplifier is used to drive their small Coordinate Measurement Machine (CMM). The team intends to modify a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) power amplifier, originally designed by DEA, an Italian subdivision of Hexagon Metrology, and integrate it into the Hexagon CMM controller, UMP-360. The amplifier must replicate the inputs and outputs (I/O's), performance, and efficiency of the current power amplifier module. In order to validate the success of the design, a battery of tests and MATLAB simulations will be performed, using the original power amplifier and the new power amplifier. The results will be gathered and analyzed to show comparisons. The criterion for success is to demonstrate identical performance between the power amplifiers, to an acceptable margin of error.</p><p>This presentation occurred at the Wright State University Campus-Wide Celebration of Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities on April 16, 2010</p>