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Linear Rotary Potentiometer

The potentiometer is an electrical device that uses a sliding contact (called a wiper) along a resistor to vary the output voltage. Moving the wiper changes the voltage, allowing potentiometers to be used as sensors to measure linear or rotary displacement. The output voltage depends on the wiper position along the resistor - at one end it is 0V, at the other it is the full supply voltage, and intermediate positions produce voltages in between. This document describes an experiment using linear and rotary potentiometers to measure displacement, involving recording meter readings over the range of travel and plotting the results.

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Ayeshá Khán
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266 views4 pages

Linear Rotary Potentiometer

The potentiometer is an electrical device that uses a sliding contact (called a wiper) along a resistor to vary the output voltage. Moving the wiper changes the voltage, allowing potentiometers to be used as sensors to measure linear or rotary displacement. The output voltage depends on the wiper position along the resistor - at one end it is 0V, at the other it is the full supply voltage, and intermediate positions produce voltages in between. This document describes an experiment using linear and rotary potentiometers to measure displacement, involving recording meter readings over the range of travel and plotting the results.

Uploaded by

Ayeshá Khán
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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POTENTIOMETER

The potentiometer is an electrical device comprising a resistor with a sliding third


contact, often termed a wiper, which allows the voltage to be varied depending
upon where the slider is positioned along the length of the resistor.

If the potentiometer wiper is appropriately connected to a moving system then


any movement in that system will cause the wiper to move and so change the
output voltage. This signal provides a direct measurement of position or change in
position. Hence, although still a potentiometer, it is of use as a sensor for
measuring linear displacement.
The output voltage is governed by the position of the
wiper (C) which may lie anywhere between the two
ends, A and B, of the resistance. For the general case the
output voltage is given by the expression shown above
Hence when the potentiometer wiper is in position B the
output voltage will be zero and when in position A will
be maximum, the full supply voltage (Vin). In any
intermediate position the voltage at the wiper will be
some value between 0 and Vin as given by the above
potentiometer equation.
This experiment investigates the use of linear and rotary potentiometers for
measuring displacement.

Part A: The Linear Potentiometer


The object of this part of the experiment is to investigate the linear potentiometer
for measuring linear displacement.

Move the Linear Assembly to the right by rotating the manual control clockwise
until it reaches the end stop. Carefully adjust the dial until the zero aligns with the
edge of the moulding.
In steps of 1 mm, (one complete rotation of the rotary scale), move the Linear
Assembly to the left over its full range of travel and record corresponding meter
readings to complete the Table 7
Plot a graph of your results. Comment on the shape of the graph, and measure its
slope and intercept with the vertical axis and hence give the equation governing
this measurement system.
Now connect the circuit using bi polar supply and take the requirements

The circuit in Figure 39 shows the output from the potentiometer connected to
the input (+) of a differential amplifier with an external reference voltage,
Ref2,connected to the other input (−). The object here is to use the reference
voltage to remove any offset in the
output signal when the Linear

Assembly is in the starting position.

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