Accurately quantify applied forces with FSR and MK64FN1M0VDC12 for enhanced analysis
Unveiling force measurement like never before!
Published Aug 29, 2023
Click board™
Force Click
Dev Board
Fusion for ARM v8
Compiler
NECTO Studio
MCU
MK64FN1M0VDC12
Harness the power of precise force measurement to enhance quality control across various applications
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Hardware Overview
How does it work?
Force Click is based on the circuitry that allows the implementation of Force Sensing Resistors from Interlink Electronics. The Force Sensing Resistor is a thin sensor made of two membranes separated by a spacer around the edges. When pressed, the gap between the two membranes gets closed. This shorts the two membranes together with a resistance proportional to the applied force. This force sensitivity is optimized for human-machine interface devices, including automotive electronics, medical systems, industrial controls, and robotics. The FSR is a robust sensor with up to 10M of actuation and features a low device rise time of under 3 microseconds, as well as continuous analog force resolution. Force Click
sends analog values to the host MCU over the AN pin of the mikroBUS™ socket by using an OPA344, a low-power, single supply, rail-to-rail operational amplifier from Texas Instruments. This unity-gain stable OPAMP is ideal for driving sampling analog to digital converters. Rail-to-rail input and output swing significantly increase dynamic range, especially in low-power supply applications. The input to this OPA344NA is driven directly from the screw terminal and the force-sensing resistor. An ADM8829, a switched-capacitor voltage inverter with shutdown from Analog Devices, feeds the other side of the screw terminal and the force-sensing resistor. This charge-pump voltage inverter generates a negative power supply
from a positive input. The voltage conversion task is achieved using a switched capacitor technique using two external charge storage capacitors. An on-chip oscillator and switching network transfers charge between the charge storage capacitors. This Click board™ can operate with either 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels selected via the PWR SEL jumper. This way, both 3.3V and 5V capable MCUs can use the communication lines properly. Also, this Click board™ comes equipped with a library containing easy-to-use functions and an example code that can be used as a reference for further development.
Features overview
Development board
Fusion for ARM v8 is a development board specially designed for the needs of rapid development of embedded applications. It supports a wide range of microcontrollers, such as different ARM® Cortex®-M based MCUs regardless of their number of pins, and a broad set of unique functions, such as the first-ever embedded debugger/programmer over WiFi. The development board is well organized and designed so that the end-user has all the necessary elements, such as switches, buttons, indicators, connectors, and others, in one place. Thanks to innovative manufacturing technology, Fusion for ARM v8 provides a fluid and immersive working experience, allowing access anywhere and under any
circumstances at any time. Each part of the Fusion for ARM v8 development board contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. An advanced integrated CODEGRIP programmer/debugger module offers many valuable programming/debugging options, including support for JTAG, SWD, and SWO Trace (Single Wire Output)), and seamless integration with the Mikroe software environment. Besides, it also includes a clean and regulated power supply module for the development board. It can use a wide range of external power sources, including a battery, an external 12V power supply, and a power source via the USB Type-C (USB-C) connector.
Communication options such as USB-UART, USB HOST/DEVICE, CAN (on the MCU card, if supported), and Ethernet is also included. In addition, it also has the well-established mikroBUS™ standard, a standardized socket for the MCU card (SiBRAIN standard), and two display options for the TFT board line of products and character-based LCD. Fusion for ARM v8 is an integral part of the Mikroe ecosystem for rapid development. Natively supported by Mikroe software tools, it covers many aspects of prototyping and development thanks to a considerable number of different Click boards™ (over a thousand boards), the number of which is growing every day.
Microcontroller Overview
MCU Card / MCU
Type
8th Generation
Architecture
ARM Cortex-M4
MCU Memory (KB)
1024
Silicon Vendor
NXP
Pin count
121
RAM (Bytes)
262144
Used MCU Pins
mikroBUS™ mapper
Take a closer look
Schematic
Step by step
Project assembly
Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Fusion for ARM v8 as your development board.
Track your results in real time
Application Output
After pressing the "FLASH" button on the left-side panel, it is necessary to open the UART terminal to display the achieved results. By clicking on the Tools icon in the right-hand panel, multiple different functions are displayed, among which is the UART Terminal. Click on the offered "UART Terminal" icon.
Once the UART terminal is opened, the window takes on a new form. At the top of the tab are two buttons, one for adjusting the parameters of the UART terminal and the other for connecting the UART terminal. The tab's lower part is reserved for displaying the achieved results. Before connecting, the terminal has a Disconnected status, indicating that the terminal is not yet active. Before connecting, it is necessary to check the set parameters of the UART terminal. Click on the "OPTIONS" button.
In the newly opened UART Terminal Options field, we check if the terminal settings are correct, such as the set port and the Baud rate of UART communication. If the data is not displayed properly, it is possible that the Baud rate value is not set correctly and needs to be adjusted to 115200. If all the parameters are set correctly, click on "CONFIGURE".
The next step is to click on the "CONNECT" button, after which the terminal status changes from Disconnected to Connected in green, and the data is displayed in the Received data field.
Software Support
Library Description
This library contains API for Force Click driver.
Key functions:
force_generic_read- This function reads ADC dataforce_get_resistance- This function calculates resistance data based on the ADC inputforce_get_correction_factor- This function calculates the correction factor based on temperature and humidity data
Open Source
Code example
This example can be found in NECTO Studio. Feel free to download the code, or you can copy the code below.
/*!
* \file
* \brief Force Click example
*
* # Description
* This example showcases how to initialize and configure the logger and click modules and
* read and display ADC voltage data read from the analog pin.
*
* The demo application is composed of two sections :
*
* ## Application Init
* This function initializes and configures the logger and click modules.
*
* ## Application Task
* This function reads and displays ADC voltage data from the analog pin every second.
*
* \author MikroE Team
*
*/
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES
#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "force.h"
// ------------------------------------------------------------------ VARIABLES
static force_t force;
static log_t logger;
// ------------------------------------------------------ APPLICATION FUNCTIONS
void application_init ( )
{
log_cfg_t log_cfg;
force_cfg_t cfg;
/**
* Logger initialization.
* Default baud rate: 115200
* Default log level: LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG
* @note If USB_UART_RX and USB_UART_TX
* are defined as HAL_PIN_NC, you will
* need to define them manually for log to work.
* See @b LOG_MAP_USB_UART macro definition for detailed explanation.
*/
LOG_MAP_USB_UART( log_cfg );
log_init( &logger, &log_cfg );
log_info( &logger, "---- Application Init ----" );
log_printf( &logger, "--------------------\r\n" );
log_printf( &logger, " Force click \r\n" );
log_printf( &logger, "--------------------\r\n\r\n" );
// Click initialization.
force_cfg_setup( &cfg );
FORCE_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
force_init( &force, &cfg );
}
void application_task ( )
{
force_data_t tmp;
// Task implementation.
tmp = force_generic_read ( &force );
log_printf( &logger, " * ADC value : %d \r\n", tmp );
log_printf( &logger, "--------------------- \r\n" );
Delay_ms( 1000 );
}
void main ( )
{
application_init( );
for ( ; ; )
{
application_task( );
}
}
// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END
