Digital Control Unit

Description

Using the DCU and simple programs, you can turn on and off DC motors, lamps, LEDs, buzzers, stepper motors, and other DC electrical devices. You can even develop more elaborate projects, such as robots that move around the room, or an automated scientific apparatus.

There are several ways you can use your DCU as a teaching tool.

• DCU projects are a great way to teach electronics, sensors, feedback and control, and other engineering concepts.
• DCU projects are a great way to teach programming. The DCU manual provides sample programs that can provide a good place to start. We hope you will take our programs, add to them, and make your own.

Teaching the basics of digital and analog output and control can be accomplished without introducing programming by using the Digital Control Unit with Logger Pro software.

Logger Pro is a general-purpose data-collection program, but it also supports setting up the DCU to turn on or off digital devices when a sensor reading reaches a specified limit. You can set the six digital lines to come on at specified times or use Logger Pro to control the LabPro analog output line.

Experiments and Lab Ideas

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  Engineering Projects with NI LabVIEW and Vernier (9)

  Includes student instructions, teacher tips, safety information, and sample data.

  Go to Book Page
  • 2 Digital Control Systems
  • 3 LED Color Mixer
  • 4 Hot Wire Anemometer
  • 5 DC Motor Control
  • 6 Light Intensity & Stepper Motors
  • 7 Servo Motors
  • 8 Analyzing the Heart with EKG
  • 9 Blood Pressure
  • 11 Propeller-Powered Pendulum

Lab Ideas and Innovative Uses

STEM Extensions for Digital Control Unit

STEM extensions provide a way to take an existing Vernier science lab experiment and easily incorporate STEM. Use sensor data, the Vernier Digital Control Unit and Logger Pro software to quickly create sensor-based control systems.

• Cooling Fan
• Eye-Controlled LED
• Hand-Sensing Dryer
• Light-Sensitive Outdoor Light
• Pressure Indicator