University of Dayton: Department of Physics
Published on Jun. 03, 2019
Customer Application
As seen in the accompanying images, one side of the customer's set-up is a force sensor mounted to a post, which is attached to an optical table with the hook pointed horizontally. A second post is mounted to a Zaber motorized linear stage such that the stage moves directly away from the force sensor. One end of a metal spring is attached to the force sensor, and the other end is attached to the post on the stage. The force sensor produces a voltage that is proportional to the force being applied. The voltage output from the sensor is connected to an analog voltage input on a USB data acquisition (DAQ) device, which is connected to a computer.
Students are required to first write software in LabVIEW to control the movement of the stage and to read the voltage from the force sensor. The stage is initially positioned so that the spring is just barely stretched. The stage is then moved in steps to stretch the spring over some distance. The position of the stage is recorded, as is the voltage from the force sensor.
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About the Department of Physics at the University of Dayton
The Department of Physics at the University of Dayton offers a vigorous program in both its educational and research endeavors. This particular lab serves two purposes: for students to learn how to do motion control using a Zaber 1D translation stage and the LabVIEW programming suite and to develop a procedure for measuring the spring constant of a metal spring. Later in the semester, students perform a coupled oscillations experiment with carts connected by springs on an air track. Students use the procedure to measure the spring constants for all the springs so that they can calculate theoretical values for the resonant frequencies of the coupled systems.
Visit the website at https://udayton.edu/.