Design Methodology

Information gathering was the first step of building the IP system, which included searching through the internet and referring to some control textbooks as sources of information seeking for data, system setup and solutions. Some of these sites and books are included in the references section.

The next logical step was the mechanical system. It included two levels of work; the first was designing the mechanical parts by using pro-engineer software package, and the second level was manufacturing these parts in the University of Jordan mechanical workshop.

The electronics design basically involvesit includes designing the H-bridge control circuit of the PM-DC motor by using Multisim programme and conversion this design into a PCB in the University of Jordan electrical workshop.

Integrating the subsystems together. In this stage all the subsystems (mechanical, electrical, controller platform and feedback network were gathered to producethe IPsystem.

Choosing a proper controller. There were different controllers from different companies that could be used, but after a thorough search a DSP controller (DSPIC30f3011) from Microchip Company was chosen. More information about DSP controller is provided in subsequent section.

Finally simulation and programming using theMATLAB IDE & Simulink were used to simulate the system as some control software's were developedin order to generate the complete balanced IP system.

The design process was iterative in the subsystem level (mechanical and electrical) also on the system level (PID controller tuning). The flow chart below, figure (7), describes the approach that was used and design methodology in designing the IP test bed and the controller.

Figure 7 : Design methodology