The final year project is one of the requirements that need to be complete for all final year students upon graduation. Four years of roller coaster ride will end with an important project that you will bring along with your career journey in the future. As for me, I completed my FYP with a topic of Simulation Analysis of Power generator for Electrical Discharge Machine. In the beginning, I am very struggling to understand clearly with my topic which completely different from what I've been specialized in. However, I am truly thankful to my supervisor Dr. Azli, that he never fails to explain to me in detail all the knowledge regarding my project. Previously, I never aware of EDM that widely used in Biomedical, Aerospace, and Automotive industries. This machine specifically uses to remove electrical conductive material by using electrical spark.
From my FYP, I completed the simulation and analysis of the power generator for EDM. I learned the various types of power supply that can be applied such as linear power supply and switch-mode power supply. Both power supplies have their pro and cons but then I decided to use SMPS due to its high efficiency. Not only that, but a transistor pulse generator has also been used for my project to produce pulses for EDM. There are 4 types of the circuit that I have to analyze which are open-loop SMPS System, Closed-loop SMPS System, Open-loop power generator System, and Closed-loop power generator system. All the circuit design and simulation for output voltage, output current, step response, and bode diagram each of the systems was done in Matlab/Simulink software.
As a result, the output voltage and output current for the systems are similar to the calculated theoretical value. Furthermore, this experiment also proved that the stability of the closed-loop system is much better compared to the open-loop system. Moreover, the settling time for the open-loop system is much faster to achieve a steady-state. The percentage overshoot for the closed-loop system also can be reduced to zero with the presence of the PI controller. This controller is very useful to increase the performance of the system.
The seminar for FYP 2020 was held online via google meet due to the pandemic of Covid-19. There are three panels evaluated on my projects and I have been asked a few questions such as the function of my project, which system is the best, and also I have to explain the circuit topology for SMPS. It was a great experience since I get a chance to explore deeper in the power electronics field and broaden my knowledge.