Custom manufactured PCB for controlling a motor with flex sensor

[Kalboon]

Hello all, I just had a general question and if this has been asked I am apologize in advance lol, I would like to have a circuit built that I can attach a flex sensor to and have it control a motor output, I have already made a circuit with an Arduino but I was hoping for a very small PCB solution, if anyone has a legitimate company they could recommend I would be very grateful.

 

[Lightium]

Hello,
What flex sensor and what motor? What's the use of the motor?

 

[Kalboon]

Thank you for such a quick response,
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10264 is the flex sensor, the motor is https://www.actuonix.com/pq12-s, but I don't need to use the position feedback or anything else, it's for a prototype wearable exoskeleton joint, it doesn't need to be smart, it just needs to be reliable lol, the goal is that when the flex sensor is moved in one direction the actuator will extend, when moved the other direction it will retract, and it will stop at any point in between if the sensor input ceases to change. I hope that makes sense. I'm not great at explaining things , it does not need to be reprogrammable after it has been completed. It will always be doing exactly the same task.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

The actuators are just a motor, they do not have any control electronics included.

It needs a power control system of some sort.

Unless that is proportional (eg. the motor speed is proportional to the position error), a slow bend of the sensor would result in a series of full speed "jerks" with the motor continuously starting and stopping.

Trying to position something accurately like that is likely to cause ovrshoot and oscillation.

I somehow doubt that's what you want?

The PCB is the last part, you need to prototype the control circuit and get it to work exactly how you want, before committing it to a PCB.

It would need feedback from the motor pot and compare that to the flex position, so it can accelerate for large movements and slow down to an exact stop, or smoothly track slow movements.

 

[Electroplater]

Just make sure, the sensor is moving the actuator and the actuator isnt moving the sensor, or youll go into a feedback loop and might hurt yourself! hehe

 

[michael_lee1988]

Perhaps I can help you design this PCB. The input device is a sensor, and the output device is a motor. You may need a microcontroller to collect the signal from the sensor and then control the rotation of the motor.