Design and Construction of Digital Tachometer Using

Arduino Microcontroller

BACKGROUND
A tachometer is an instrument measuring the rotation speed of a shaft or disk,
as in a motor or other machine. The device usually displays the revolutions per
minute (RPM) on a calibrated analogue dial, but digital displays are
increasingly common. The first mechanical tachometers were based on
measuring the centrifugal force, similar to the operation of a centrifugal
governor. The inventor is assumed to be the German engineer Dietrich
Uhlhorn; he used it for measuring the speed of machines in 1817. Since 1840,
it has been used to measure the speed of locomotives. Tachometers or
revolution counters on cars, aircraft, and other vehicles show the rate of
rotation of the engine's crankshaft, and typically have markings indicating a
safe range of rotation speeds. This can assist the driver in selecting appropriate
throttle and gear settings for the driving conditions.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Tachometer is a device which is used to measure

the

revolution
speed of any rotating object. Infrared sensor is

used to measure the rotational speed of locomotives or cars.

Tachometer is used in many areas like marine engineering,
to estimate traffic speed etc. The basic concept is that the
presence of a rotating object cut the Infrared beam and thus
IR sensor gives an interrupt. After getting the interrupt
Microcontroller calculate the RPM for a particular period of
time and display it in the LCD. If motor has more than two
Propeller then some changes is needed to get proper RPM.3

OBJECTIVE
The objective is to design and construct a tachometer which
Detector using Arduino Nano Microcontroller.

METHODOLOGY
Collection of information from internet and electronic
components have been purchased from local market .

BLOCK DIAGRAM

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

WORKING PRINCIPLE

This digital tachometer circuit consists of IR sensor, LCD

and Arduino Microcontroller. The IR sensor consists of
IR transmitter which is a LED and IR Receiver which is a
Phototransistor. Initially LED always hit Phototransistor.
When a rotating object is placed in between LED and
Phototransistor then Microcontroller provides an interrupt.
Based on the interrupt and the time interval The Arduino
board measures the RPM from given equation. After that
this information is shown in LCD. If motor has more than
two Propeller then some changes is needed to get proper 8

WORKING PRINCIPLE (Cont.)

RPM. In this project, we have used motor with two propeller
to measure the RPM. Whenever we put this motor in between
LED and Phototransistor device shows the RPM in the LCD.
The RPM of that motor was 600. Therefore this is called a
digital tachometer.

ARDUINO NANO MICROCONTROLLER

Arduino is an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use

hardware and software. It's intended for anyone making interactive
projects. Arduino senses the environment by receiving inputs from
many sensors, modules and affects its surroundings by controlling
lights, motors, and other actuators. Anyone can tell Arduino what to
do by writing code in the Arduino programming language and using
the Arduino development environment.

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IR(Infrared Sensor) SENSOR

IR Sensors work by using a specific light sensor to detect a select
light wavelength in the Infra-Red (IR) spectrum. By using an LED
which produces light at the same wavelength as what the
phototransistor is looking for. A pulse of infra red light is emitted
from the emitter and spreads out in a large arc. If no object is
detected then the IR light continues forever and no reading is
recorded.

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LCD(Liquid Crystal Display)

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screen is an electronic display
module and find a wide range of applications. A 16x2 LCD
display is very basic module and is very commonly used in
various devices and circuits. It is available in a 16 pin package
with back light, contrast adjustment function and each dot
matrix has 58 dot resolution

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List of Components with Price

Quanti
ty

Unit Price

Total Price

Arduino Microcontroller

1000

1000

Bread Board

100

100

IR Sensor

50

100

Connector

10

50

USB Cable

100

100

LCD

150
OUT TOTAL
COST
MARKET
COST

150
1500/Taka
2800/Taka

Name

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APLICATIONS
Tachometer used in Automobiles, airplanes, trucks, tractors,
trains and light rail vehicles
Tachometer is used to estimate traffic speed and volume.
In analog audio recording, tachometer is a device that

measures the speed of audiotape as it passes across the head

Tachometer also used in Numerous types of machinery and

prime movers

DISCUSSION

By using this tachometer, traffic police can check vehicle speed and
engineers can measures the speed of various machines and prime
movers. In this project, Infrared (IR) sensor is used to measure the
rotational speed of an object. Arduino Nano is used as a
Microcontroller which is the heart of this circuit. Circuit consists of IR
sensor, LCD and usb cable. IR sensor consists of IR transmitter which
is a LED and IR Receiver which is a Phototransistor. The main
concept is that the presence of a rotating object cut the Infrared beam
and thus IR sensor gives an interrupt. Microcontroller provides an

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DISCUSSION (Cont.)

interrupt when a rotating object is placed in between LED and

Phototransistor. After getting the interrupt Microcontroller calculate
the RPM display it in the LCD. This device has many applications
such as Automobiles, airplanes, trucks, tractors, trains and light rail
vehicles and various machines. The total cost of this device is 1500/Taka which is most cost effective than other system available in the
market.

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In this project, for CONCLUSION

more precise calculation IR sensor and
Arduino Microcontroller is used. Most important thing is that
RPM is displayed digitally in the LCD. Tachometer is mostly
used for vehicle speed measurement. In addition, this device is
used in marine engineering and Numerous types of machinery and
prime movers. Furthermore, this device is cost effective and user

friendly.

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THANKS TO ALL
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