A two axis mirror positioning system with quadrature encoder output

This project was conducted in support of a solar concentrating technology that required the design and construction of a low cost, two axis rotational drive system with a resolution of one degree or better. The scope of this project was to design and build a two axis drive system capable of supporting a 20" square acrylic mirror. Cost, reliability, and the ability to be built by students using student resources were of primary concern. The primary design concern was the development of a low cost feedback system. Several different feedback sensors were considered, and a quadrature encoder was chosen. To reduce cost, the encoder disk was made from an overhead transparency with a slotted image printed on it. The required encoder accuracy was 1.0 degree, and a measured accuracy of 0.85 degrees was achieved. The encoder was designed with an optimum accuracy of 0.55 degrees per transition and the observed discrepancy in resolution is primarily due to high tolerances that could not be met with hand assembly.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Woodruff, Rick Bryan

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Steven Leeb.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/40932

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/40932