I'm setting up a
control system for a small scale biofuel processing rig. Part of the
task is to monitor the flow rate of feedstock. Due to budget
constraints, I could not simply buy and industrial grade sensor. So,
I'm evaluating this low cost sensor for low flow rate and more
viscous fluid [than water].
This type of low-cost paddle wheel flow meter is sold by Adafruit among other places.
The gap between the tips of the paddles and the cavity is about 2.5mm . If the gap were smaller, this flow meter would be more sensitive at low speeds.
The static o-ring, which seals the paddle wheel cavity, is visible on the lid. The latter also serves as the bottom of the PCB compartment.
At the end of the paddle wheel sits the magnet. The outside diameter of the magnet is 9.7mm .
On the left side of the PCB stands the Hall effect sensor. The writing on the IC is "W130". I'm guessing it's Winson WSH130 (datasheet). The Hall effect sensor sits 16.4mm from the axis.
The o-ring in this photo prevents liquid ingress into PCB compartment. This is the 2nd o-ring in this device, and not the main one that seals the paddle cavity.
Reassembly
After this teardown, the reassembled sensor continued to work like new.
This write-up is intended for beginners, perhaps for those who have logged less than 20 hours of building circuits. You have a resistor in
your hand, and you wonder: "Will it burn in my circuit? How much power can it dissipate?"
Maybe you are in a lab with a kit of resistors. Somebody was kind
enough to put the kit together, but the technical references for the
resistors aren't readily available. The maker of the kit knows the power
ratings, but it's after hours, and he's not available.
I remember that in the first practicum of the introductory EE course we were instructed to "sacrifice" a quarter-watt resistor to see and smell how components burn. The instructor would tell us matter-of-factly: "dial your power supply to 12V, take a 10Ω resistor, now connect the resistor to power supply with alligator clips." It was a surprise for most students that the resistor immediately burned and smoked.
How much power will the resistor have to dissipate?
P = I2 R = V2 / R, where R is the value of your resistor. Figure out a way to estimate the current through the resistor, or voltage across it. Resistance is known. Calculate power.
(To be more exact, it's VRMS or IRMS. If the voltage and current approach DC, then the RMS value approaches the DC value.)
Attempt to look-up the power ratings. Avoid guesswork if you can.
Even though this write-up is about educated guessing; guesswork should be last resort, not first. Make an effort to find ratings provided by the curator of the kit or the supplier of resistors. The raring may be written somewhere on the kit. If the part number of the resistor is known, then you can look up the power rating in the datasheet.
Label of an 1/8-watt resistor kit. The information is there, if you look carefully.
How to make an educated guess about the power rating.
The larger the mechanical size of the resistor, the more power it can dissipate, the greater the power rating is. So, it is possible to estimate the power rating of common** throughole based on outside dimensions. Measure the length and diameter and look-up the power rating in the table.
Power rating
Body length, l
Body diameter, d
watts
inch [mm]
inch [mm]
0.125 (1/8)
0.130 ± 0.012 [3.30 ± 0.30]
0.067 ± 0.012 [1.70 ± 0.30]
0.25 (1/4)
0.236 ± 0.012 [6.00 ± 0.30]
0.091 ± 0.012 [2.30 ± 0.30]
0.5 (1/2)
0.335 ± 0.039 [8.50 ± 1.00]
0.106 ± 0.020 [2.70 ± 0.50]
These dimensions come from the resistors' datasheets. Since these axial throughole resistors are standardized, the datasheets from different manufacturers agree with each-other.
Top to bottom: 1/8 watt, 1/4 watt, 1/2 watt resistors.
** Note, we are talking only about "garden variety" throughole resistors
like the ones in the photo above. We are not talking about power
resistors like this or this.
What if you don't have the resistor with the required power rating on hand?
1/4-watt is the most common size of a resistor that you will come across in hacker spaces, practicum labs in schools, and such. 1/4-watt is more than enough for small-signal circuits. What if you calculations show that you need to dissipate more than 1/4 watt? You have several options:
Procure a beefier resistor
Connect multiple resistors in series or parallel, such that their effective resistance has the desired value. The combined power which they can dissipate will be equal to the sum of their power ratings.
Change your circuit to lower the power that the resistor would have to dissipate (perhaps temporarily until you procure a resistor with a sufficient power rating).
References
[1] Datasheets for the "garden variety" axial throughole resistors: Stackpole Electronics, Philips, Panasonic, generic Chinese. The datasheets agree with each-other, despite different manufacturers. Common MIL standards were driving the design of resistors for a long time.
Synopsis: The well known ArduinoISP tutorial shows Arduino Uno for both target and ISP. The same steps work without principal modifications for LilyPad Arduino USB as target and Arduino Mini-Pro as ISP.
Additional wires were soldered to the Mini-Pro to connect the programming signals to the target LilyPad clone.
The question "What's the difference between sensor and transducer?"
comes up in the web forums once in a while. I
suspect that university professors assign this question to their students. It prompts the students to examine the signal chain of various sensors. It also prompts the students to examine the purpose of the sensors and transducers within larger systems.
Working definitions
A transducer is defined as a device that converts some form of energy into another.
This definition is rooted in physics. I saw this definition in several books (from 60s and 70s).
A sensor is a subsystem which converts the stimulus from the physical environment into the signal interpretable by the rest of the system.
To be effective, a sensor needs to do more than just convert one form of energy into another.
The sensor need to distinguish its target stimulus from interference. A sensor should have an output in a form which is convenient for the rest of the system
A sensing element is a part of a sensor directly affected by the stimulus and makes initial conversion into electrical domain. Often sensing element is a transducer (in the pure physical meaning of a term).
Discussion
A transducer can be in a role of a sensing element, or an actuator, or sometimes even both.
A good example that illustrates the practical difference between transducers and sensors is a piezo. The piezo transducers are used in a variety of sensors measure quite different parameters (range or flow velocity, for example). Imagine that you want to measure flow speed of air in a duct. If you have only a transducer in your hand, you would have to spend an appreciable amount of time before you become capable of actually making a measurement. You would have turned the piezo transducer into a flow sensor by then.
In the industry, the usage of words "sensor" and "transducer" is a matter of convention. Some industries use the term "transducer" for both sensors and transducers.
