Digital Electronics for Microprocessor Applications in Control of Manufacturing Processes

Abstract

The rapid development of microprocessor devices invites the industrial engineer to consider using microprocessors to solve data acquisition, machine control, and process control problems in ways that previously would have been apriori uneconomic. The initial simplicity of the microprocessor is often lost when the engineer finds that microprocessors are usually embedded in conventional digital electronic circuits. Fortunately, only a small class of digital electronic devices serves a variety of functions. When their operation and application is understood on a functional basis, the original simplicity of the microprocessor is largely retained. The suppliers of microprocessor products provide not only the microprocessor itself but also a wide range of supporting “chips” which allow the user to realize a microcomputer system of considerable power and flexibility. Nevertheless, the user usually finds a need to understand and use more conventional digital electronic circuits in conjunction with the microprocessor and its supporting devices.