The products and services delivered by CSA increasingly require electromechanical devices, and integrated systems. Our work controlling motion and vibration, and testing vibration suppression and precision motion control systems dictates that our engineers are comfortable at the boundary of mechanical and electrical engineering. That includes sensors, actuators, power conversion, amplifiers, and analog and digital electronics.

We deal with a wide variety of sensors that measure acceleration, velocity position, load, pressure, temperature, and many more physical quantities. Our engineers are experienced in sensor specification, use and integration with other electromechanical components. They are also versed in sensor signal conditioning, and develop custom analog and digital interfaces to a variety of data acquisition and control systems.

Part of a motion control system

Actuators and motors are an important part of many of the systems we integrate, and efficient drives for these devices are a common piece of those systems. Our engineers select and use available drives and amplifiers or develop custom designs using combinations of discrete electronic components and packaged parts. We frequently interface PWM amplifiers with microcontrollers and DSPs. More generally, we create embedded control systems using processors matched to the requirements, employing boards designed and built in-house as well as third-party products.

Compact piezo drive

We often package custom conditioning, amplifier or control systems in chassis designed for either laboratory or field use. Computer control via serial bus connections is common, as are special requirements for mechanical and electrical interfaces to customer equipment.

Actuation / Control Systems / Magnetic Design / Embedded Control