Mechatronics

For this elective class, a part of my Automation and Robotics Systems concentration for my BSME I completed a final project alongside another student. We designed, constructed and programmed a CNC writing machine capable of recreating text or graphics over a ~100x100mm space with closed loop planar positional feedback. The system can accurately reproduce G-code paths straight from a text file on a PC with a precision of +/-0.5mm. The device was programmed in TI’s CCS IDE (C++) and operated via their MSP432 MCU. The project called for learning how to use the CCS IDE, new programming techniques, implementing closed loop control algorithms and ways to parse lumps of text data to the MCU as a stream of motion commands. The hardware was specified, designed and built from scratch in a few weeks. The video below shows a demo.