FUSE DEMONSTRATOR DOCUMENT

APPLICATION EXPERIMENT NUMBER 2037

Microcontroller Used to Improve Performance in a

Foam Sensing and Control System

Abstract
This report describes the development of a Microcontroller based product that monitors and controls
the foam that is produced in Industrial processes such as Brewing, Pharmaceuticals, Food, Effluent
Treatment etc. The project was carried out by Charis Technology Ltd. , a British SME with 4
employees, of which one is an electronic engineer and one is a technician.

The aim was to develop a new product using a microcontroller to replace a previous product that used
conventional analogue and digital circuitry. The new product is a programmable device with greater
functionality, e.g. self-calibration, multi-dimensional measurements and serial communications. The
microcontroller used is a PIC16C74, 8-bit device, with built-in A/D converter. The software was
written in the “C” language which proved to be suitable for the whole project.

The first user had no previous experience of microcontrollers and how to use them. The project took 12
months to complete, which was 3 months longer than the original plan. The over-run was due to an
underestimate of the effect of the project on the other operations of the business. The project cost 49K
Euro to complete, the payback time is approximately 18 months and the expected return over the
product lifetime of 5 years is 400K Euro.

The application experiment will be of interest to any small company working in instrumentation and
considering a move to the adoption of Microcontroller technology.

CHARIS TECHNOLOGY - THE STORY

In the complex business world of the nineties, can an individual with a good idea start a manufacturing
company and survive? Maybe, with plenty of support and a large investment budget. Can he do it with
only a few Keuro of personal savings and a spare room at home? The high numbers of business failures
in the first 2 years of trading testify that this road to success is lined with many ruins. Yet this is the
achievement of Steve Gallagher and his company Charis Technology Ltd. Established in 1994 the
company has grown steadily, supplying its international customers with a unique electronic control
system.

But to begin at the beginning.... The idea of manufacturing his own invention grew slowly in Steve's
mind. His unique system for controlling the build-up of foam in industrial processes had been patented
by his employer who was a multinational petrochemical company, but there was danger of the project
being axed. So Steve decided to establish his own company and undertake the manufacturing himself.
When he discussed his plans with his wife Helen, it sounded crazy but somehow the idea wouldn't go
away. They consulted widely, researched carefully and did everything they could to evaluate the
potential of the project. They realized that here was an opportunity to be seized; the risks were
enormous, but the time was ripe. Steve knew there was a market; he believed he had an excellent
product; in the end there was only one way to find out if it would work. The couple invested their own
savings (and with four children that was very little) in purchasing initial stock, a computer and basic
equipment. By establishing a good network of engineering suppliers they were able to sub-contract
most of the manufacturing processes so that only the final assembly and testing of the control systems

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was done at home. From the beginning the emphasis was on high quality in all areas. While Helen
undertook a business course and organized office procedures, Steve worked to establish production
methods, which matched the high quality standards of his own electronics engineering training.

Working with distributors, orders came in steadily and the tiny fledgling company flourished. To
Steve and Helen it seemed very like the birth of a baby. This new entity was extremely vulnerable and
fragile, yet with a vigorous and sturdy potential. There were times when the risk appeared hugely
daunting and they wondered what they had done. At other times, when orders were gained and
customers reported their delight with the equipment, the joy and excitement was quite exhilarating.
The whole family shared these times, knowing the difficulties of living on a meagre income, and long
hours spent completing orders on time. The company had begun trading from a small room in their
home, but within months it became very apparent that this was not going to be sufficient. So six
months after its inception, Charis Technology moved to a small office and workshop in Maidstone.

With production procedures well established the next step was to begin selling direct. Approaching
large international companies required considerable confidence and yet again Steve’s nerve and
commitment were tested. As the company began to build its reputation new skills of marketing and
product promotion were developed. Sales increased, customers came back for more, and it became clear
that further expansion was needed.

Today the company occupies larger premises and employs more staff. New products have been added
to its range. With the help of the European Fuse project grant, vital product development has taken
place so that a new generation of products are now available to customers. These achievements, gained
in only four years, reflect the importance of the company vision, to establish a business of quality and
integrity. Charis Technology is a story set to run and run.

1. Company Name and Address

Charis Technology Ltd

Granville House
Granville Road
Maidstone
Kent ME14 2BJ
U.K.

2. Company Size

Charis Technology currently employs four people. This includes two technical and two administrative
staff. The company started three years ago as a management buyout of an existing product line from
another company. Company turnover in 1997/87 was 200K Euros.

3. Company Business Description

3.1) Overview
Charis Technology designs, manufactures and supplies Control and Instrumentation systems for the
Process Industries. Our main markets are in Pharmaceuticals and Food. We currently have three areas
of business:

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 Manufacture of Instrumentation.

Supply of Instrumentation from Other Manufacturers.

Design and Development of Low Volume Special Instrumentation.

3.2) Manufacture of Instrumentation

We design and manufacture niche products for the Process Industries. These are generally high value,
low volume products that are supplied for high value process applications. Our initial markets
involved biotechnology manufacturing processes. These include the following range of products in
order of importance: -

Foam, pH, Dissolved Oxygen and Conductivity.

3.3) Supply of Instrumentation

In order to improve our product range and to service our customers we supply a range of products
which we purchase from third party sources. Some of these are manufactured in the UK and some are
imported. They access the same markets as our other products. These include the following areas: -

pH, Conductivity, Oxygen, Redox , and Temperature etc.

3.4) Design of Special Equipment.

This area involves the design, integration or modification of equipment to a customer’s specification.
Again it involves the same markets and kind of equipment involved above. It will usually involve
technology that we already use for other purposes. Examples are given below:

pH Controller and Logger for chemical manufacturing process.

Dissolved Oxygen Interface for Data logger.

Fermenter Control System.

3.5) Foam Sensors and Controllers

The market for the foam control products has the following sectors in order of importance:
Pharmaceuticals, Food, Effluent Treatment and Chemicals. The most demanding of these is the
pharmaceuticals market as there is a demand for sterility and hygienic standards to be met. This affects
mostly the sensors themselves and has a lesser impact on the electronics. However due to the high
value of the manufactured products there is a requirement for high reliability. This results in a need for
as much self-checking as possible to be built into the systems.

Although there are a number of industrial sectors the customers for foam control products tend to fall
into two categories which might be called R/D and Industrial. The main difference is the kind of
environment in which the equipment is used. The industrial applications tend to have much higher
requirements for the size and more serious problems of process entry. The electronic controls tend to
require waterproof enclosures to IP55 or above. There are also additional requirements for EMC
compliance to heavy industrial standards.

A limited number of applications require operation in hazardous areas. These are too few to consider
I.S. certification and are normally tackled by mean of additional safety devices such as zener barriers
that are installed between the sensor and the electronics.

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Foam is a common byproduct of many processes that involve agitating liquids or where liquids and
gases interact. The most well known example of this is the production of foam in the brewing of beer.
In this case the foam may well be a required part of the process. However in many processes the foam
causes a real problem to the production process or to the product. It has to be kept under control to
maintain control of the process.

This is particularly acute in some Biotechnology processes in the production of pharmaceuticals and
fine chemicals. In some situations complete product loss can be caused by the liquid phase all being
converted to foam and being lost in a gas stream. This can happen very quickly. Alternatively the
sterility of a process can be damaged by seals being affected by foam generation.

Examples of processes which generate foam are Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology, Food Processing,
Brewing, Paint Production , Effluent Treatment, Paper Production etc, etc. The foam may be
controlled by the addition of small amounts of chemical, by a mechanical foam breaker or by a change
to the control parameters of the process.

The Charis foam sensors and controllers are a unique range of products which are designed specifically
for the applications described. These products are now used in a wide range of industries and locations.

System, circuit and PCB design is carried out in-house and manufacturing is contracted out.
Component sourcing is handled by Charis. Final assembly and testing are carried out in-house. The
maintenance, product exchange and repair is also carried out by Charis.

Customer support is managed over the telephone and e-mail, with site visits when necessary. Overseas
customer support is managed by the local distributors.

4. Company Markets and Competitive Position

4.1) Marketing Strategy

Charis as a small company has made the strategic decision to develop niche markets where we can
provide specialized services or products. We do not try to compete directly with large and diverse
companies with much larger resources. Where we do compete against larger companies it is on the
basis of a specialized service for example where we supply differentiated products in competition with
more general products. As a small company we can offer a good service as we know our products and
their application very well. We are flexible and can make decisions very quickly when necessary.

4.2) Foam Control Market

The foam control market is specialized and part of a much larger level sensing market. It is not
generally considered as a distinct market in its own right. For this reason it is difficult to quantify.
However large amounts of chemical antifoaming agents are supplied by more than twenty chemical
companies. The market in the UK for antifoaming chemicals is at least 15M Euro per year. One of the
sales strategies employed by Charis in the sale of foam control systems is on the basis of reduced costs
of antifoam chemical use. These chemicals are expensive and often have side effects when overused.
The payback on a foam control system can be quite short in many cases.
The market for antifoams gives a general idea of the potential market for foam sensors controls.

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4.3) Market Breakdown
The business interests of Charis Technology, related to product areas, are shown below. The figures
shown are for the year 1997.

It is difficult to assess the potential units per year due to the nature of the market and paucity of market
research. Charis estimates that the market could be up to 500 units per year, but this is difficult to
confirm. Charis have approximately 10% of the market share for foam, but again this is an estimate.

Potential customers are manufacturers using process control equipment. They don't have knowledge of
electronics, they generally have a problem and are looking for a solution, without being technically
involved.

Sales by Product Type:

Special
Designs
25%

Other
Process
Control
15%

Foam
Controls
60%

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4.4) Competition
In general we compete with a large number of companies in the process control market. However there
are no direct competitors for our foam control products which are unique. There are many companies in
the Level Sensing market with whom we compete indirectly. These companies supply liquid level
sensing equipment that can also be used for foam. These can be at a lower cost but are less well suited
to foam. Although they are sometimes adequate, many of the companies involved actually avoid
applications that include foam as they are perceived to be difficult and equipment tends to be unreliable
and troublesome.

The more that we can supply products with added value in terms of function and reliability the more
we succeed against the competition. In general price is not the main factor although there are
exceptions to this. There are new markets that we would like to develop but need more function in our
products. Some of these markets are conservative and we need to offer a considerable benefit in order to
make progress.

The foam control products which are manufactured by Charis were designed a number of years ago.
While they have been improved gradually the basic technology remained the same. The need for added
value was increasing and new markets were identified such as paper manufacture and petrochemicals.
These markets needed products with additional functionality. In addition some of the components in
the design were old, difficult to source and expensive. It was clear that a major redesign was needed.

5. Product to be Improved and its Industrial Sectors

5.1) The Products

The system comprises three parts a) Sensor, b) Electronic Controller and c) Actuator. Illustrations of
these are shown below.

a) The sensor is manufactured from stainless steel and plastic. There is a wide range of these depending
on the application. They are assembled from a selection of specially fabricated components. The size
and means of entry into the process varies considerably while the sensor measuring assembly is
identical in all cases. The sensor is a passive device and measures the impedance of the foam or the
gas/liquid suspension. This measurement is then used to monitor and subsequently control the process
under test.

b) The controller contains the circuitry necessary to operate the sensor and to detect the presence of
foam. The controller also includes a control system to feed a signal to the actuator to control the
process. There is more than one version of controller depending on the application and the need to
connect to a process controller. There are also various enclosures to suit different conditions.
The main controllers are shown below:
FDR1 Foam Controller: 19” Rack mounting, to operate with a process controller.
FDW1 Foam Controller: IP65, to operate with a process controller
FCR1 Foam Controller 19” Rack mounting, for stand-alone operation.
FCW1 Foam Controller IP65, for stand-alone operation.

The above types while varying in their function and external characteristics are made using the same
circuit board and mostly the same electronic components. The PCBs are conventional double-sided
types. The circuits use operational amplifiers, comparators, logic gates and passive components.

There are also some other more specialized devices that are manufactured for OEMs using different
circuit boards but the same basic methods.

c) The Actuator is a device that affects the process such as a dosing pump or valve etc. This completes
the feedback loop to keep a process under control. typically it would be a chemical dosing pump that
is applying small quantities of antifoaming chemical into the process to maintain the foam at a fixed
level or to inhibit foam completely.

A Block diagram of the system is shown below:

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Peak Threshold Delay O/P
5.2) Limitations of Existing Product

The existing product is based on discrete standard components and configuration is achieved in
hardware. Because of this, the existing product is inflexible, with limited scope for configuration and
‘special’ products require significant design alterations. The system has a limited functionality as all
functions are achieved in hardware and accuracy is limited by the drift characteristics of the analogue
circuitry. Finally, the components used are becoming increasingly difficult to source and therefore
increasingly expensive so Charis were faced with a redesign for this reason alone.

6. Description of the Technical Product Improvements

The New Microcontroller-based Foam Controller

The new system was designed with a microcontroller as the main functional element. The
microcontroller was used to replace the previous digital circuitry and to add new functions. The aim
was to develop a system that had enough function to be flexible to cover all the current requirements
but also to allow future development by means of software alone. The design was carried out to allow
an upgrade path for users of the previous designs. Therefore the boards were made to standard eurocard
dimensions and using the same mounting details and connections as the old boards as far as possible.

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The new system has the following sections (see block diagram):

a) Microcontroller
A microcontroller was chosen for the development to give the required flexibility. The device
chosen was a Microchip PIC 16C74A with a clock speed of 4MHz. The software for the device was
written in “C”. This device has built in A/D conversion that was used to input the data from the sensor
circuit.

b) Sensor Circuits.
A new analogue section was designed to operate the sensor. This included the energisation of
the sensor and the extraction of data. The microcontroller allowed self-checking to be carried out which
required additional interfaces to the sensor circuitry. Automatic gain adjustment was possible by the
use of digital outputs from the microcontroller and this was made possible by the design of a
MOSFET gain control scheme.

c) User interface
The user interface was the means by which the user set up the device and checked its
operation. Basically it consisted of means to connect to and from the microcontroller. The
microcontroller then interacted with the rest of the circuitry. This consisted of 16 DIL switches, for
configuration, connected to digital inputs on the microcontroller and four LED’s connected to digital
outputs.

d) Process Interfaces
A range of output interfaces was designed to cover the expected applications. These include a
4-20mA output, 2 relays, and an RS232 link. This represents a huge improvement on the previous
system that only had one relay and one digital output

e) Expansion Unit
This part of the system allows for easy expansion in the future. It is a smaller board that
connects onto the main board to add other functions. Initially this has been used for a multiplexer to
allow the sensor circuit to connect to multiple sensors. As the processes are generally slow the same
system can be used for a number of sensors at the same time.
Additional functions can be added by the use of new PCBs that could be connected in here instead of
the multiplexer. Unused connections to the microcontroller were also connected into this board to
improve flexibility. This will hopefully allow the main microcontroller PCB here to be used for
completely new products in the future.

f) Power Supplies

The main power supplies were incorporated onto the main board. These were +/- 12V and 5V. The
analogue circuitry required 2 supplies to operate. It was decided to completely separate the analogue
and digital supplies to prevent interference. The board can be powered from 110V/240V ac or 24V dc.

g) Software

The main function of the system is driven by software. Existing functions supplied with the compiler
were used as far as possible, e.g. RS232 driver etc. The C language proved to very suitable for the
development and no assembly language was used in the final implementation.

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 SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM

7. Choices and Rationale for the Selected Technologies

Various types of technology were investigated with help from the sub-contractor. It became evident
that the best and possibly only solution was the use of a microcontroller. This was for the following
reasons:

a) Volume - The quantities involved are in terms of hundreds per year.

b) Flexibility - The requirement for a flexible product which could be easily and quickly adapted
without new hardware for new low volume products. The software can be modified for new functions.

Other technologies were considered and rejected for various reasons:

ASICs were considered to be too expensive at this volume and the payback time was thought too long.
FPGAs were too inflexible and could not easily provide the computational functions required by the
sensor. Also serial link and real time clock functions would be more difficult.
Standard Logic was ruled out from the start as this route had been found lacking in the past products.

Various manufacturers were investigated by the subcontractor on our behalf. The result was the choice
of an Arizona Microchip PIC 16C74A. The reasons for this was as follows :

a) Cost .

b) Availability of low cost development tools e.g. C compiler, emulator.

c) High level language tools

d) Back up and support

e) Built-in facilities e.g. A/D, counters, timers, serial link etc.

The use of C as the main tool for software development was made on the grounds of efficiency. C is
suitable for this type of control function as it has the ability to operate at a low level. It was found to
be quicker, more efficient and easier to maintain than assembly language. The applications for this
product do not require very high speed as the processes are generally slow. However the need for
flexibility in this project required the software to be efficient and easy to manage.

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8. Expertise and Experience of the Company

8.1) Measurement and Control Systems

Charis Technology has a wide experience of the design and application of equipment for the process
control industry. This includes biotechnology and conventional processes. This includes the use of
specialist sensors and the conditioning and interfacing required for them. The company has designed
complete systems for the control of pH, temperature and multi-parameter systems. We have a particular
expertise in the use of electrochemical sensors such as pH, Redox, dissolved oxygen and conductivity
etc.

We manufacture a range of sensors for process measurement particularly for foam. This is a difficult
and specialized area due to the nature of foam. We have carried out the detailed design of the sensors
using an AutoCAD drafting package running on a P.C. The individual components are fabricated by
subcontract engineering companies to our design drawings. Components are manufactured in stainless
steel, plastic and brass. Some components are welded and some polished. The assembly and testing is
carried out in house by Charis staff.

8.2) Electronic Circuit Design

We have a wide experience of electronic circuit design using conventional analogue and digital circuit
components. The design would be carried out using a schematic capture package. Some parts of a
circuit may be built on a “breadboard” for testing. A netlist would normally be sent to a specialist
contractor for a layout design to generate a Gerber file. This would then be sent to a PCB manufacturer
for fabrication of the PCBs.

To date only conventional PCBs have been used although in the near future we expect to move to
surface mount technology.
Before the project commenced no expertise was available in the company with embedded systems of
ASICs or any other programmable circuits. However the project manager had experience of high level
software using Basic and Pascal for systems which had been developed on a personal computer. No
experience with the “C” language was available. In addition the skills required for the management of
embedded system design and software were lacking.

8.3) Product Design & Development

Although a small company Charis has designed its own products particularly in the area of foam and
pH sensing and control. This has included the design of the circuitry, PCBs, enclosures and overlays.
In practice much of this work is contracted out to even out the workload. However the design is always
carried out by Charis staff.

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8.4) Sales & Marketing
The company undertakes sales and marketing in a number of ways.

Direct marketing is carried out mainly for customers in the south of England. This includes all of the
company business areas. Some service we would only undertake for local customers. There are a
number of additional sales channels. These include OEM customers, specialist sales companies and
distributors. The distributors are mainly overseas companies who service their own markets.

9. Project Workplan

9.1) Description of Project plan

The actual workplan for the project is shown in the table below. The project was very dependent on
training to enable Charis Technology staff to undertake most of the development work. The
development work was preceded by the development of the specification. This was intended to be a
description of the new product using the microcontroller detailing all the requirements. However the
specification could not be developed without some understanding of the application of
microcontrollers. To enable this to proceed the initial training was planned to focus on the hardware
aspects of microcontrollers and the specific microcontroller chosen for the project. This was intended to
enable the specification to be developed and then the rest of the training to take place.

The next part of the plan was the design of the hardware and software. This was to be followed by test
and evaluation of the design.

Activities Month
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Management X X X X X X X X X X X X
Specification X X
Training X X X X X
Design X X X X X X
Evaluation X X X

The actual timescale was a little different from the planned timescale in a number of ways that are
described below:

a) The training, which was originally planned to be mostly at the start of the project, was actually
phased further through the project. This was done because in practice it was found to be more effective.
It was difficult to make use of too much training too quickly.

b) The design and evaluation stages were delayed simply due to the other workload of the business. In
practice it was found that fairly focused work was required to make significant progress with new
technology. This was difficult to program into the company business and therefore required a longer
timescale to achieve. The effect of the project on the other areas of business had been underestimated.

c) No contingency had been planned into the timescale, which meant that the project timing began to
slip as soon as problems developed. There were delivery problems and then operational problems with
some of the development tools that held up the progress. This then impinged on other aspects of the
project to cause delays as no slack had been planned.

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9.2) Management Task ( Charis: 14 man-days, TTN: 0 man-days)
This task included the overall project control including the timescales, resources, costs and ensuring
the specification was met. The costs and manpower were controlled by maintaining project control
sheets showing the manpower used and parts purchased etc. These sheets were completed on a daily
basis to maintain accuracy.

The project plan was controlled with a pert chart that was drafted at the start of the project. This was
used on a monthly basis to check the progress. Monthly meetings were held with the TTN to report
progress and monthly reports were drafted by the TTN with our cooperation.

This workpackage also included the dissemination of the information including a seminar and the
production of the demonstrator document.

9.3) Specification Task ( Charis: 26 man-days, TTN: 2 man-days)

This was a difficult part of the project as the company knowledge and experience at this stage was
limited. Some training had been carried out early which helped this to an extent. The TTN was relied
upon heavily at this stage to ensure that the specification was complete and appropriate. Even so it was
discovered that the limiting factor was imagination and experience. The specification was developed
further later in the project as a result of more experience. At the later stage there was a much greater
understanding of what could be achieved.

The specification included the following : Functionality, interfaces, operator controls, power supplies,
analogue sensor requirements, speed etc. This stage also included the choice of microcontroller,
development tools, software etc.

9.4) Training Task ( Charis: 16 man-days, TTN: 6 man-days)

The training was suggested and carried out by the TTN. However the timescale and some details of the
content were later modified at the request of Charis. The training involved a seminar type format
followed in most cases by practical exercises. This actually worked quite well and produced the desired
result.

9.5) Design Task ( Charis: 71man-days, TTN: 5 man-days)

The design was the largest part of the work and used the largest amount of resources. The various
stages were:

Analogue design of new front end

Interface to microcontroller
Design of microcontroller circuits
Output interfaces for relays, serial and 4-20 ma
Human interface ; switches and LED’s
Power supply
PCB layout
Software for sensing and controls

The most difficult area was the front-end analogue and its interface to the microcontroller.

The software involved a “C” compiler, assembler, simulator, and programmer

The hardware tools included: emulator, programmer and UV eraser.

It took some time to get to grips with the tools. In fact the assembler and simulator were not really
used in practice. It was found that all the software could be written in “C” which helped with
development time and documentation. It also made the final product more flexible. The simulator was
not much use at all. The emulator was much more practical.

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The “C” compiler however caused all sorts of trouble as it contained bugs that were not evident. The
staff of Charis Technology being new to the field did not at first doubt the compiler but blamed their
own programs. This really slowed things down at one stage and caused a great deal of stress. However
the TTN came to the rescue here and diagnosed the problem.

Charis staff carried out the great majority of the development . The TTN was always on hand to help
and advise. This was deliberate as it was a requirement to really bring the technology into the company
so that it could be used again. However there were a few cases where the TTN were asked to carry out
some of the development to speed things up. This was mostly in the area of communications. A serial
driver was developed for instance. Also some evaluations of options for hardware choices was also
carried out. The great majority of the software was undertaken by the company staff.

9.6) Evaluation Task ( Charis: 25 man-days, TTN: 0 man-days)

The evaluation was carried out entirely by Charis Technology. This involved the production of a PCB
that was made in a eurocard format. The PCB was made by an outside company and then assembled in
house. This largely worked well and had just a few hardware bugs. The board was then tested firstly
using the emulator with a specially developed test program and then subsequently with a window type
microcontroller chip. The main area which caused problems were the suppression components which
were added for EMC purposes were found to interfere with the function of the board. Some of these
had to be removed and some had to be changed.

The unit was also tested in a University Biotechnology department. (This was not carried out by the
TTN but was undertaken on a separate basis. )

9.7) Summary of planned and actual effort

Task Planned Effort Actual Effort Sub-Contract cost

Management 24 Man Days 14 Man Days 0.45
Specification 25 Man Days 26 Man Days 0.9
Training 12 Man Days 16 Man Days 3.6
Design 71 Man Days 71 Man Days 2.25
Evaluation 20 Man Days 25 Man Days 0

10. Subcontractor Information

Name: University Of Kent at Canterbury

Size: 50 Technical Staff (In Electronic Engineering Labs.)

Relevant Expertise & Experience

Electronic Design, Microcontroller Design, Software Design, Mask and Field programmable ASIC
Design, Full custom Analogue and Digital IC Design.
Wide experience in all fields mentioned above at the research, Consultancy and Educational levels.

The subcontractor that was chosen for the project was also the TTN. This choice was made as an
existing relationship was in place with the University and the location was near. In addition it was
thought that the joint role of subcontractor and TTN would simplify the communications and the
management of the project.

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In general it was found that this scheme worked well and the project proceeded without major
problems. The university staff were a good source of ideas and were very cooperative and committed to
the project. However with this joint role there could have been conflicts of interest.

With hindsight the most important qualities required for a subcontractor are :

Technical competence
Commitment to and interest in the Project
Commercial understanding of the business (SME etc)
Project Management skills
Relationship with first user

The last area is difficult to assess in advance unless the relationship exists before the project starts. But
it is important that the staff can work together and have or can develop an understanding of each other.
Where the technology increment is large these factors are even more important as the sub contractor
will have a larger overall role and more conceptual and business input to the project.

The work was carried out in accordance with the terms of the subcontractor’s standard contract. Charis
remained in control of the project, with the subcontractor providing training and design support as
required by Charis. Because of this, the IPR for all the design work carried out by the subcontractor
belong to Charis.

11. Barriers Perceived by the Company in the First Use of the Technology
The main barriers to the use of microcontrollers was as follows:

a) Difficulty of Selection.

There are so many types of new programmable devices on the market that it was extremely difficult to
realistically evaluate them and arrive at a good solution. The advice and experience of the subcontractor
was a great benefit in this as it shortened the route considerably. It was quickly possible to discard
technologies and to short-list others. Without this help the choice of a microcontroller would either
have been arbitrary or could have taken up much of the project time in evaluation. In fact in the worse
case scenario this could have presented so much inertia and confusion that it may not have started at
all.

b) Risk of Failure

There is always inertia in a small company preventing the adoption of new technology or systems. It is
always easier to continue in an evolutionary way rather than to make a step change. The consequences
of failure can be serious where the resources for development are limited. The risks of this project were
considerable due to the status of the existing products that needed improvement. The easiest route
would have been to develop the existing products further using more conventional integrated circuits
much as had been done in the past. A project to develop new products using microcontrollers using a
high level language was considered to present a significant risk of failure or delay and hence a
disruption to the continuity of the company’s product line.

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c) Lack of Technical Expertise

The company had no experience in the development of embedded systems. This included both
hardware and software. Nor was there any experience of managing software development projects.
Without this of course the project could not be undertaken.

d) Imagination Limitation

Microcontrollers are so flexible that far more can be achieved than with dedicated electronic circuitry.
A lack of experience in the applications of microcontrollers resulted in a lack of expectation in what
could be attempted. This reflected itself in the required initial specification being less demanding than
it may have been.

e) EMC Testing

The speed of the microcontroller, while only 4 MHz, was faster than anything that was previously
used. This presented potential problems of EMC compliance. This had implications for the design of
the hardware, PCB layout and software.

12. Steps Taken to Overcome Barriers and Arrive at an improved Product

Most of the barriers were overcome with the help of the sub contractor who had a wide experience of
microcontrollers. This was a great help in shortening the learning curve and avoiding pitfalls.

The selection of the microcontroller was based on a recommendation from the sub contractor after an
initial evaluation. This allowed Charis to concentrate resources on the practical implementation of the
project.

The technical limitations of the company were addressed by staff training. This was carried out at the
University of Kent and was specifically tailored to the requirements of the project. By focusing the
training to the needs of the project and to the particular staff involved the results were very successful.

A decision was taken not to contract out the software development or to employ temporary staff. This
was to ensure that the maximum knowledge and experience was retained in the company that could
then be used for other projects. However this did cause an overload at some points in the project which
resulted in delays to the development and also disruption to the other activities of the company.

The subcontractor was used to carry out some specific development activities where a more extensive
knowledge was necessary. This enabled some technical problems to be overcome more quickly than
would have been the case otherwise. The results were always reviewed by Charis staff to enable the
expertise to be improved in the company.

The EMC problems were tackled by means from help from the local EMC club, which is run by Kent
Technology Transfer Centre. The final EMC testing which is yet to be done will have to be carried out
at a test house as the equipment is not available in house for this.

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13. Knowledge and Experience Acquired

13.1) Use of Microcontrollers

The company development staff are now familiar with the use of microcontrollers in general and the
PIC in particular. So much so that many other areas have been identified which could use this
technology in the future. As the project has progressed, more and more ideas have emerged to improve
the functionality of the products under development beyond the initial ideas. This has been possible
due to a much better understanding of what can be done using a microcontroller.

13.2) C Programming Language

The C language has proved very suitable for the project. As a result of the training received a
reasonable proficiency has been achieved in C. The requirement for a fast track development route for
differentiated products appears quite feasible. The C compiler produced by Microchip has not been
entirely successful however. This has serious limitations, which were not apparent from the advertised
specification. This will need to be replaced with a new version or another product.

13.3) Embedded Systems

The initial problems of lack of imagination due to lack of experience have been overcome. The
company now thinks in embedded systems terms and this is one of the first types of technology that
come to mind when new products are being considered. There is also a much better understanding of
functions that can best be achieved in hardware and which in software. We have learned how to develop
a flexible system that can be adapted by means of software to perform a range of different tasks to meet
different requirements of customers.

13.4) Project Management

The management of the project presented a learning curve for Charis as a small company. The project
had a serious impact on the company business. The main reason for this was the focused effort needed
for the absorption and exploitation of the new technology. In a small company the staff are expected to
be flexible and have to undertake numerous different activities. This involves moving rapidly from one
task to another several times per day. The development was not effective on this basis and had to be
done in a more concentrated way. This resulted in a longer elapsed time.

14. Lessons Learned

14.1) Development Tools:

The function of development tools is critical to the rapid and trouble free progress of such projects. It
is difficult to assess in advance without the experience what features are most important. While low
cost development tools are important, the fact that they are low cost may mean compromise in terms
of performance. In our case two main problems were found; the compatibility of different tools such as
the compiler and prom programmer, and the performance of the C compiler.
Although it is very difficult to do, it is important to evaluate the tools to ensure that the function is
adequate.

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14.2) Planning:
The function of the microcontroller has given a capability beyond our expectation. This has resulted in
some revisiting of the initial specification during the course of the project. This may have been
avoided and time saved if more time had been spent on brainstorming the possible requirements at the
outset. Although some iteration is unavoidable as it is impossible to have hindsight in advance.

As more and more ideas developed during the project there was a danger of it becoming too ambitious.
There was a point where we had to say that the specification would not be extended any further and
that other ideas would be incorporated later. Otherwise the project would never have finished due to
extensions continuing indefinitely.

14.3) Resource Management:

The impact on the business of such a large development project in relation to the size of the company
was underestimated. In a small company, as with any other, ongoing development is essential to the
health of the company. However in a small company staff need to be flexible and undertake a wide
variety of activities. The programmable foam controller project involving both new hardware and
software required a degree of application and focus beyond that normally required for development.
This caused a gap in the resources applied to customer support and business development.

To an extent this problem was inevitable but it would have been possible to manage it better if we had
anticipated the problem. The response was to spread the development over a longer period to allow
time for other work. This has resulted in a delay of the timescale. It would have been preferable to plan
the project over a longer period to allow for this. It would also be helpful if more flexibility could be
allowed in the implementation of the project particularly for small companies. It is extremely difficult
to plan such a project with absolute accuracy even in an ideal situation as one cannot predict all the
problems in advance.

14.4) Software management

The control of software is an issue that has been identified during the project. Hardware changes are
controlled by drawings and parts lists and this operates very smoothly. With the new hardware this has
continued using the same document control procedures. Software however presents an additional
requirement for quality control as the same hardware is used for different products by means of the
firmware.

The final product was designed to be flexible allowing for a number of new product variants and also
the possibility to customize a product to the customer’s requirement. This opened up new market
potential but also caused the opportunity for a confusion of software issues. This was resolved by the
design of a system to control the software with release numbers for each product and version numbers.
Each release was described on a specification sheet with details of the function and version number
together with the changes from the previous version. This seemed to work adequately and yet was
reasonable simply to operate. Each specification sheet was stored together with the previous versions
and the source code.

14.5) High Level Language

The project plan anticipated the use of the C language plus the use of Assembly language where
necessary. The use of C was for efficiency while assembly language was intended for flexibility and
speed. In practice the whole project was carried out in C and the assembly language was not required.
This helped the management of the software and made future maintenance straightforward.

14.6) The Microcontroller as a General Purpose Tool

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One aspect, which we did not anticipate, is the development of the board as a general-purpose tool.
Since the hardware was deliberately built to be flexible and to be configurable by software we now
have a tool which we can use for special projects. For the development of specialized 1 off type of
products which we do for customers we now can where appropriate use the microcontroller system as a
general-purpose board. This enables us to quickly develop new functions without the development of
new hardware.

15. Resulting Product, its Industrialization and Production

The prototype was tested in the company laboratory in order to check its operation. This required the
setting up of a test rig, which used a small fermenter vessel in which foam could be generated by
means of sparging air through a surfactant solution. The electrical environment in a production plant
was simulated by using a cable of 100 metres length, which was routed near to the fluorescent lights in
the laboratory. The control system was tested by operating the air via a solenoid valve from the foam
controller. The system was fully tested over some weeks to check all the functions.

The results of the tests were used to improve the software. The only surprising result was the “brown
out” function of the microcontroller which did not perform well. The relay switching on the PCB
caused the brown out to operate which upset the measurement functions. The system worked better
without the brown function selected.

Further tests were carried out at a University Biotechnology department with which the company has
links. This involved using the system on a larger fermenter and further tests of the measurement
functions. All the results were positive which enabled a decision to be taken to proceed to the
production phase.

Charis considered the various functions available using the new technology and produced a list of
possible products. Taking into account the benefit to the customer of the various functions, and the
price that could be charged for that benefit, a much smaller list was produced. The new list included a
small number of products, each with a discrete function, plus a short list of options. All products use
the same basic hardware but with major differences in the software. The aim of this process was to
produce a range of products, addressing the different market segments in such a way as to maximise
the return on the investment.

The PCB redesigned to correct the errors made in the prototype and the software was further developed
to improve its user friendliness and to make it more robust e.g. through use of the watchdog timer.
These developments were tested ‘in house’.

The new enclosures were then designed, and pre-compliance EMC testing was carried out in-house
prior to submitting the controller to an EMC test house for compliance testing. The new system did
not need further modification so samples were beta tested by existing customers and again, no
modifications were required.

The final stage in preparation for full production was to generate the documentation for the subcontract
manufacturers.

Charis estimates the cost of the industrialisation process at about 30KECU but this cost is not a
function of the new technology, it is simply the cost of bringing a new system into production.

Initially the products were put into production as basically copies of the previous units. This
simplified the production as the enclosures and connections were basically the same. The same
production systems were used for the hardware. New test procedures were developed and systems put
in place to control the software. The assembly of the PCBs was out-sourced exactly as before. No
additional problems were encountered. The programming of the microcontrollers and testing were
carried out in house. Sourcing the new components did not prove difficult as this had been addressed
earlier in the project.

After this came the launch of the new variants and tailored products. In fact this was quite successful at
an early stage as some customers responded to the potential to build in specific requirements. This
required modifications to the firmware only and was effected quite simply.

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The next stage is the launch of value added products which has required new enclosures and
connectivity. This involved considerably more engineering design and production engineering. In our
case the technology was a step change but did not generate significantly different production problems.
This would have been harder if the change had been from say pneumatic to electronic technology or
from conventional to surface mount components. In that case the route to production would have had
to change much more fundamentally.

At the time of writing Charis has been shipping the new products for some months and will be
launching more product variants over the next 3 - 6 months.

15.1) The Future - Internal Replication

In order to facilitate future development an interface was built into the main PCB developed during the
process. This was used initially to connect a multiplexer. However this interface can be used for the
addition of extra analogue circuitry to form the basis of other types of inputs and outputs. This has
made the microcontroller PCB useful for a wider range of applications by means of a small additional
PCB that can connect above it.

There are other products planned that will be developed using the same technology in the future. These
are products which fit into our markets and which we currently purchase from other manufacturers. The
items planned include pH, Conductivity and dissolved Oxygen controllers.
The technology is easily adaptable for these other products by means of additional measurement
circuitry. Now that the microcontroller is understood and some considerable experience gained in the
use of “C” programming it is anticipated that the next project will be very much easier.

16. Economic Impact and Improvement in Competitive Position

The project has enabled Charis Technology to move forward to a whole new position. The technology
developed has improved the ability of the company in a number of ways.

a) The existing foam products were becoming difficult to manufacture due to problems with sourcing
some of the components. The new products using the microcontroller has given the existing range a
new lease of life in that the current specification can be supplied using the new PCBs. This enables
continuity of supply.

c) More importantly, we were able to launch a new range of added value products with an improved
specification. This allows us to compete much more effectively with general level sensor companies
who have very generalized products. We can supply new products with special characteristics for
particular markets.

d) There are a whole range of new possibilities which have been opened up by the microcontroller
technology. These include new products, which in some cases can use the same PCBs as those
developed in this project. Some of these are discussed in section 18).

e) The same technology and PCBs can also be used for our special design operations. In these cases we
design and build equipment to customer’s specific requirements. These are very low volume products
and sometimes only single units. In these cases the microcontroller board developed for the foam
products can be used as a general-purpose controller. This gives us a tool that improves our capability
and efficiency in the development of products for this market. This is a byproduct of the project and
was not something that was anticipated originally.

f) The new system has the ability to operate with a multiplexer that can be controlled by the
microcontroller. This allows the connection of up to 8 sensors into the same controller and is intended
for a future series of products with more advanced features.

g) We have produced what will be the first in a new generation of Foam Control products. The new
system uses a PIC 16C74A microcontroller to provide a versatile Programmable Foam Control
System which, in addition to implementing the functions of the existing product range, also provides
the following features:

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1) It implements those functions of the previous system at a higher level of performance;
2) It provides many more functions than the existing product and also has an extensive range of extra
capabilities including Higher Accuracy, Built in Self Test, Multiplexed Inputs, Remote Operation,
Automatic Gain Control, No setting up in production, Remote Communications (RS232), Higher
Stability.
3) The System Hardware is very flexible and will be used as the basis of a wide range of new products
and ‘one offs’

The new system has about the same production cost as the original system, but the costs of the
obsolete components for the older system were rising so it will be cheaper in the longer term. Also,
the improved functionality of the new product will allow a price increase of between 10% and 25%,
depending on product options.
Charis are expecting a payback time of 18 months on the original investment, with an expected return
on investment over the product lifetime (5 years) of 400K Euros.

Charis are very pleased with the new product but are more excited by the ability to further exploit the
technology to produce new products and to exploit new marketing opportunities.

Comparison of old and new system:

Function Old System New System

Accuracy 5% 1%
Power supply 110/230Vac 110/230Vac 24Vdc
Measurement on/off on/off &
Modes continuous
Control Relays 1 off 2 off
Logic o/p 1 off 1 off
mA o/p None 0-20, 4-20 ma
Comms None RS232
Oscillator Square wave Sine wave
Flexibility Low High
Self Test None osc function
osc amplitude
guard function
Failsafe Function No yes
EMC tests Simple complex
Expandability 1 sensor 8 sensors max
Product variants 2 types 8 types
Production Test Manual semi automated

17 Target Audience for Replication.

This application experiment is targeted at SMEs in the process control and instrumentation industry,
who are currently using standard components to achieve the system functionality. The control and
instrumentation industries serviced by the targeted SMEs are those which use electronics but do not
have a strong presence in the technology. Typical examples would include food, pharmaceuticals,
brewing, petrochemicals, and bulk chemicals. Production volumes would be in the range of tens to
the low thousands with a significant market in ‘specials’ or bespoke systems.

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The relevant Prodcom codes are: 1532,1533, 1541, 1542, 1543, 1591, 1592, 1593, 1596, 1598, 2110,
2420, 2430, 2442, 2451 and 3330.

18. Conclusion
The project has been a great success. Charis has been able to replace five existing products for foam
control using new technology. This has enabled continuity of supply of the products in a situation
where obsolete components were causing sourcing difficulties. More importantly, a range of new
products with increased functions has been created for the food, petrochemical and pharmaceutical
markets for the sensing and control of foam.

A means is possible for a future range of new products based on the same technology.

The relationship with the University of Kent as the TTN, subcontractor and provider of training,
worked very well and contributed greatly to the success of the project.

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