Dynamic Systems and Controls Laboratory

The Dynamic Systems and Controls Laboratory serves the needs of the automatic controls course offerings. It provides hands-on experience to students in ME-570, a required undergraduate class that provides students with experience in modeling mechanical systems and the opportunity to compare models to actual mechanical systems and then apply control techniques to the systems. Other courses that utilize this lab include:

  • ME-635 (Dynamics of Flight)
  • ME-640 (Control of Mechanical Systems II)
  • ME-699 (Industrial Control Systems)
  • ME-728 (Computer Control of Electromechanical Systems)
  • ME-730 (Control Systems Analysis and Design)
  • ME-830 (Topics in Automatic Controls)

There are nine work stations in the lab with two PCs. One PC is running Windows and the other PC is running LabVIEW Real-Time, National Instruments PCIe-6361 DAQ X Series Data Acquisition card on the LabVIEW Real-Time machine, Motorlab, STM32F4 real-time controller for the Motorlab tied through USB to the Windows machine, network communications, and supporting equipment such as an oscilloscope, multimeter, etc. Each Windows machine has MATLAB (version 2014a) installed along with several supporting toolboxes and Simulink and LabVIEW (version 2012). The Windows machine is tied to the MNE Department Network. The real-time machine is tied to the Windows machine through a private LAN. The primary learning tool for the ME-570 class is the Motorlab. This device is used in conjunction with the real-time control system to apply the control techniques learned in the lecture section of the class. There are a total of eight brushed DC motor stands that can be used with LabVIEW Real-Time.

The laboratory creation was funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation and a matching grant from Kansas State University. Laboratory renovation was funded through the Alan Levin Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering's KSU Foundation Account. Equipment purchases are funded through the K-State Engineering Student Equipment Fee.

Resources

Ball and Beam
Inverted Pendulum Cart
Motorlab
Segbot

Helpful links

MATLAB
NI PCIe-6361 DAQ
Simulink

Contact information

Warren White
Associate Professor
785-532-2615
wnw@k-state.edu

Dale Schinstock
Associate Professor
785-532-2608
dales@k-state.edu