Hardware and Software Implementations of Measuring System for Resonant Electromagnetic Vibratory Conveyor

Abstract

Vibratory movements are one of the most ways for conveying and transportation of granular and particulate materials. Vibratory conveyors and feeders with electromagnetic excitation belong to a group of mechatronic devices that in an efficient way provides drive force and oscillations for this conveying. They have an important role in framework of the many industrial process in which are dominant the particulate materials: food processing, cement production, certain product line in steel industry, pharmaceutical industry, agriculture, etc. Therefore they are representing a very important element of above mentioned technologic processes and production line. Especially, the vibratory conveyors and feeders that operate in the resonant mode are used in industrial applications because of their energy efficiency increasing. The relatively small input energy of actuator drive causes intensively vibrations of load carry element (LCE) of vibratory conveyor. The intensity of the vibrations directly affects on gravimetric flow (mass flow) and therefore on the productivity of vibratory conveyors. To ensure a reliable and energy-efficient operation of vibratory conveyors, it is necessary to have a reliable and accurate measurement and testing of electrical and mechanical quantities. A hardware and software implementation of the testing and measurement system of resonant vibratory conveyor with electromagnetic drive, and their corresponding data acquisition platform are presented in this paper. The experimental results obtained on a real laboratory setup of resonant vibratory conveyor are also shown.