Complete Closed-Loop Precision Analog Microcontroller Thermocouple Measurement System with 4 mA to 20 mA Output (CN0300)
Overview
This circuit using the ADUCM360 shows how a thermocouple and RTD can be amplified and sampled using the internal Programmable Gain Amplifier and high performance ADC. The DAC output is then set to control the 4-20mA transmitter interface. CN0300 demonstrates the high performance and circuit integration of the ADUCM360 - Amplifier, ADC, CPU, DAC and OP-AMP all in one-chip!
General Setup
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One PC or Laptop
T-Type Thermocouple
Minimum PC/System Requirements
How to Install the Evaluation Software
Ensure your PC has the
USB drivers for the
USB-SWD/
UART board.
To Install the drivers for the
USB-SWD/
UART board, unzip the CDM 2.04.06~.zip file for Windows XP drivers
For other operating systems, go to the FTDI website:
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Step by Step Instruction for Connecting the Hardware
Connect the EVAL-CN0300-EB1Z board to the
USB-SWD/
UART board.
Connect a 12V power supply to J3. Make sure to connect a Current Meter in series with the 12V terminal. Short the inputs to J2 together
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Connect the
USB-SWD/
UART board to your PC via a
USB cable. (Ensure the driver is installed correctly)
Opening and Enabling the Evaluation Software
You now need to determine what com port your PC has allocated to your
USB-SWD/
UART board
Go to
“Settings, Control panel, System, Hardware, Device Manager” – see example below where COM port 56 was allocated.
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Press the reset button on the EVAL-CN0300-EB1Z board and the following should appear on the HyperTerminal window: the current reading on the current meter should match the value “Expected DAC Current” on your screen.
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Calibrating the DAC (Only needed if a Recalibration is desired)
Next open the application CM3WSD.exe
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Using the “Browse” tab, call the file CN0300_test.hex
Select the “Configure” tab and select the ADUCM360 in “Parts” tab.
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Select “Comms” tab. Select the appropriate COM port as determined in step 5. A baud rate of 9600 is fine.
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Select “Command” tab. Enable the “program and verify” tabs.
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Next, force the part into download mode – to do this, hold the “SD” button on the EVAL-CN0300-EB1Z board while pressing and releasing the “RESET” button.
Click the “Start” button on CM3WSD. You will see the following:
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Next close CM3WSD and open HyperTerminal on your PC.
Set Hyperterminal for the appropriate COM port and for 9600 baud rate, 8 data bits, No parity, 1 stop bit, no flow control.
Press reset and the following should appear on your PC:
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Your current meter should report a value close to 4mA – if it doesn’t follow the instructions on the HyperTerminal screen to calibrate the DAC output to 4mA by pressing the “1” or “0” keys accordingly. Ensure you select the HyperTerminal screen before pressing 1 or 0.
Press return when the current meter reports 4mA
Repeat step 13 for the 20mA calibration.
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After this the program will continuously output the following information:
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The Final temperature reported should be within a few degrees C of the expected ambient temperature. +/-5C is fine since the ADC is not fully calibrated.
Temporarily disconnect the COM port from HyperTerminal by pressing the phone tab.
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Repeat Steps 3 to 9 except this time, select the file CN0300_Final.hex. This file is very similar to the test program except it does not call the DAC calibration function.
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Close CM3WSD. Return to HyperTerminal and select “Connect” by pressing the phone icon.