Hi Paul,

The kind of hardware I would personally be looking for is a device that
loads software generated by Matlab-Simulink-Stateflow.

I can suggest you to have a look at the website of FAAR Industry :


 http://www.faar-industry.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=92&Itemid=56&lang=en

The Matlab tools enable to rapidly develop control software and embed
it. I did that a few years ago with a 6-speed automatic transmission
control system. I learnt to use Matlab, ordered the DSpace hardware and
developed a signal conditioning unit to match sensors and solenoid
valves with in and outputs of the DSpace Autobox all within two months
and a half before giving my first press presentation with it at the
Frankfurt motor show.
Matlab is really easy to learn and you will be able to find many
students that know how to work with it. If you work with a university
student, the software may come along through a university licence. And
because it is a kind of world standard you can imagine working in open
source with several developers. The software is built up in blocks.

For engine control I would today use standard ECU's like those proposed
by FAAR Industry.


 http://www.faar-industry.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=93&Itemid=60

Best regards

Randolph in Paris

You would not happen to be at Aero this year would you Randolph?

Paul Lamar

 This is probably a stupid question that has already been discussed at
 nauseam. Have you all considered a programmable ECU that is already set up
 where you enter and control the program? Sometimes it's cheaper and better
 to take something that has already been developed and modify it for your
 needs. I thought I seen a unit for $1500 one time that looked pretty
 attractive for this sort of thing.

 Bruce

 You mean like Megasquirt?

 Paul Lamar

Paul,

I had not seen megasquirt, I am still trying to find the ECU that I had seen
that was $1500. It did not seem to have an MMI or screen for the panel
however if you are needing that. It showed a notebook with a user input
screen. That may be a problem with any third party ECU even though there are
solutions. Did you look into Megasquirt and would that suit your needs?Or
said another way, The first thing that caught my attention on this thread
was someone suggesting for a lowcost PLC which I don't think will help your
cause. After hearing a little more and understanding that someone was
describing an ECU, I'm wondering which way you are leaning towards. Since
the market is so vast in this area, only you know what you are wanting to
achieve. I assume it's you who are looking into this. You are very
knowlegable in this area so I'm sure you don't need my help and I'm not
trying to add anything you already know. The thing I don't know is if you
want to design your own *ECU black box* for a specific application, in that
case you may not want a third party ECU.

Bruce

Yes I did look into Megasquirt and I think several people went that
route. It is not optimized for aircraft use but it will work fine
with a few minor mods. Cost is moderate.

http://www.bgsoflex.com/megasquirt.html


IMHO There are several ways to go on EFI. Super simple 555 super
low cost as in this:
http://www.rotaryeng.net/simple-cheap-555.html

Tracy's system for around $1500 with some instrument panel
feed back. A bit difficult to tune as there is no PC interface.

My current project is a full PC version with full 8 by 10
glass cockpit and stored data acquisitions for about $300
running the Linux Real Time OS.

Check out the EMC project.
http://linuxcnc.org/

Full PC mother boards are getting smaller and cheaper every day.
Here is an Intel 6.5" by 6.5"  ITX mother board for $80 with processor.

 Intel® ATOMTM  processor d510
 Processor Frequency ......   1.66 GHz
 Number of Cores / Threads    2/4
 Smart Cache.............     2 x 512 KB L2
 Intel® Graphics Media  Accelerator 3150
 Intel® 64 Architecture2      Yes
 Integrated Memory Controller Yes
 Single-Channel DDR2 .......  800 MHz, up to 4 GB3
 Manufacturing Process        45nm
 Processor Package Size       22mm x 22mm
 Intel® Express Chipset       NM10
 Chipset Package Size         17mm x 17mm

This is the best I/O device I have found so far but I am still
looking. It is kind of over kill but I don't have to use it
all. About $90. It is 90% of what is needed. The rest is just
injector switches and pressure sensors.

http://www.hytekautomation.ca/

The iUSBDAQ - U120816 is the lowest cost USB data acquisition module which
provides eight 12-bit analog inputs, 16 digital I/O lines, two programmable pulse-
width output channels, and one 16-bit counter channel. Analog sampling rate is up
to 32 ksamples/s for all 8 channels, with single channel up to 13 ksamples/s.

The package comes with all free usb cable, screw driver, device driver, DLL,
LabVIEW driver, dot net wrapper class, rich examples and free ready-to-run
iDAQTest&Log testing and data logging software.


This allows 32,000Hz A/D data to be taken with little
processor overhead.

This is an extremely powerful EFI system for a few hundred
dollars. Unlimited expansion capability.

Paul Lamar