Greetings all!
New to the forum here but hope to enjoy my stay. I am currently in the research phase of my next project but have hit a wall as my lack of experience in the field has stopped me from progressing further. I have attempted several searches to no avail.
Hopefully I can make the project description nice and concise so everyone can get on the same page:
I am planning to prototype a simple multiple sensor display for my vehicle.
- LCD is a HD44780 based 16x2 character display (chosen to match aesthetics of car dash)
- Will monitor 4 thermocouple inputs via 4 MAX31855 (based on advice that it isn't a good idea to multiplex TC's...someone can enlighten me on this because I'm not exactly sure why)
- will monitor 3 general 0-5v inputs (TPS, Pressure sender output & aftermarket Wideband O2). Code will convert to proper units and write to LCD.
- will monitor RPM wire from stock ECU. Not exactly sure how I will go about this yet. Some sort of frequency measurement?
- at least 3 buttons for input (scrolling, etc)
Now my main hurdle is I would also like to also develop an Electronic Boost Controller within the same unit. I would like to be able to use the inputs above along with manifold pressure via a MPXA6400AP IC. From those inputs I want to implement some PID control to maintain boost pressure by controlling the duty cycle of a stepper-based boost solenoid in the engine bay. Obviously input would also be required to set target Boost values, PID parameters, etc.
Now before anyone jumps the gun, I am still early in the development stages as I suspect a lot of reading and learning ahead of me. The PID control aspect I have covered as a colleague of mine is very proficient in the field. What I would like to know is whether my proposed device is practical from an engineering point of view.
- Will the accuracy and speed of the PID control be affected by the microcontroller also having to monitor several other inputs at the same time?
- Would I be better off designing these as seperate units?
Sorry for the long post but I've tried to be as descriptive as possible. Any advice/help would be very much appreciated.
Regards,
Andrew
New to the forum here but hope to enjoy my stay. I am currently in the research phase of my next project but have hit a wall as my lack of experience in the field has stopped me from progressing further. I have attempted several searches to no avail.
Hopefully I can make the project description nice and concise so everyone can get on the same page:
I am planning to prototype a simple multiple sensor display for my vehicle.
- LCD is a HD44780 based 16x2 character display (chosen to match aesthetics of car dash)
- Will monitor 4 thermocouple inputs via 4 MAX31855 (based on advice that it isn't a good idea to multiplex TC's...someone can enlighten me on this because I'm not exactly sure why)
- will monitor 3 general 0-5v inputs (TPS, Pressure sender output & aftermarket Wideband O2). Code will convert to proper units and write to LCD.
- will monitor RPM wire from stock ECU. Not exactly sure how I will go about this yet. Some sort of frequency measurement?
- at least 3 buttons for input (scrolling, etc)
Now my main hurdle is I would also like to also develop an Electronic Boost Controller within the same unit. I would like to be able to use the inputs above along with manifold pressure via a MPXA6400AP IC. From those inputs I want to implement some PID control to maintain boost pressure by controlling the duty cycle of a stepper-based boost solenoid in the engine bay. Obviously input would also be required to set target Boost values, PID parameters, etc.
Now before anyone jumps the gun, I am still early in the development stages as I suspect a lot of reading and learning ahead of me. The PID control aspect I have covered as a colleague of mine is very proficient in the field. What I would like to know is whether my proposed device is practical from an engineering point of view.
- Will the accuracy and speed of the PID control be affected by the microcontroller also having to monitor several other inputs at the same time?
- Would I be better off designing these as seperate units?
Sorry for the long post but I've tried to be as descriptive as possible. Any advice/help would be very much appreciated.
Regards,
Andrew