Hardware and Software Design of

Electrospining Nanofiber Generator

 CHAPTER II

HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE DESIGN OF ELECTROSPINNING

NANOFIBER GENERATOR

2.1 Introduction to the Electrospinning Method

Electrospinning is a simple, proficient and versatile method to produce polymer

based nanofibers for numerous applications. This technique has drawn the attention of a
lot of domains recently, it was invented as early as 1934 by Anton [1]. A basic
electrospinning setup normally comprises a high voltage power supply, a syringe needle
fitted to power supply, and a counter-electrode collector as shown in schematic diagram
Fig. 2.1. During electrospinning process, a high electrostatic voltage is applied to the
polymer solution, which highly electrifies the solution droplet at the needle tip [2, 3]. As
a result, the solution droplet at the needle tip receives electric forces, drawing itself
towards the opposite collector electrode, thus forming into a conical shape known as
“Taylor cone” [4].

Fig. 2.1 Schematic diagram of electro-spin coating unit

When the electric force overcomes the surface tension of the polymer solution,
the polymer solution releases off the tip of the “Taylor cone” to form a polymer jet. The
charged jet is stretched by the vigorous electric force into a fine filament. Deposited dry
fibers can be obtained on the collector electrode due to the evaporation of solvent in the

36
filament. There are numerous factors affecting the electrospinning process and fiber
properties, including polymer materials (polymer structure, molecular weight, and
solubility), solvent (boiling point, dielectric properties), solution properties (viscosity,
concentration, conductivity, surface tension), operating conditions (applied voltage,
collecting distance, flow rate), and ambient environment (temperature, gas environment,
humidity). Electrospun nanofibers exhibits many unique characteristics, such as high
surface-to-mass ratio, high porosity with excellent pore interconnectivity, flexibility with
reasonable strength, extensive selection of polymer materials, ability to incorporate other
materials (chemicals, polymers, biomaterials and nanoparticles) into nanofibers through
electrospinning, and ability to control secondary structures of nanofibers in order to
prepare nanofibers with core structure, side-by-side structure, hollow nanofibers and
nanofibers with porous structure[5]. These characteristics enable electrospun nanofibers
to find applications in filtrations, affinity membranes, and recovery of metal ions, tissue
engineering scaffolds, release control, catalyst and enzyme carriers, sensors and energy
storage [6].

2.2 Introduction to the Software Design

Software design plays an important role in the development of a software system

which allows the developer to produce various models that form a kind of blueprint of the
solution to be implemented. These models can be analyzed and evaluated to determine if
they will allow the various requirements to be fulfilled. Various alternative solutions and
trade-offs can also be examined and evaluated. Finally, the resulting models can be used
to plan the subsequent development activities, in addition to being used as input and
starting point of the coding and testing activities.

According to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer (IEEE)

definition, design is both “the process of defining the architecture, components,
interfaces, and other characteristics of a system or component” and “the result of
process”. Viewed as a process, software design is the activity, within the software
development cycle, where software requirements are analyzed in order to produce a
description of the internal structure and organization of the system that will serve as the
basis for its construction. More precisely, a software design result must describe the

37
architecture of the system that is, how the system is decomposed and organized into
components and must describe the interfaces between these components. It must also
describe these components into a level of detail suitable for allowing their construction.

The software design consist of two activities that fit between software requirements
analysis and software coding and testing: i) software architectural design-sometimes
called top-level design, where the top-level structure and organization of the system is
described and the various components are identified; ii) software detailed design-where
each component is sufficiently described to allow for its coding.

The process of software design usually involves a series of steps starting from stating
the basic program requirements, and successively adding detail. A typical progression is
as follows.

 Requirements and specification: The required program operation is described at a

general level and then at a detailed level.

 Program flow: The flow of steps, decisions, and loops are planned, usually in the
form of a diagram, this stage indicates dependencies between different subtasks.
That is, it defines the sequence of operations, and the requirements for
communication of data.

 Data structures: The format of variable types for passing data between functions
must be chosen in order to design function interfaces.

 Top-down and/or bottom-up design: The structure and components of the

program have to be designed. These two design paradigms facilitate organizing
overall structure and individual modules, respectively.

 Coding: It has produced a plan of how the program should appear, the problem
becomes a matter of implementation. The process of coding often unfurls the
flaws in the original design, or suggests improvements or additional features.
Thus, design and implementation tend to be iterative and not a linear progression.

 Testing and debugging: All non-trivial programs contain errors when written first,
and should be subjected to thorough testing before being implemented to real time
applications.

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2.3 Mechanism of Nanofibers Fabrication

Electrospinning method uses a high electric field to produce ultra - fine polymeric
fibers with diameters ranging from a few nanometers to a few micrometers. The mechanism
of electrospinning nanofibers is based on a complex electro-physical activity between
polymer solution and electrostatic force. In this procedure, a high-voltage electric field is
set up between the injection needle and the collecting screen using power supply and
electrodes. When the polymer solution is extruded slowly from the syringe, a
semispherical polymer solution droplet is formed at the tip of the needle. With increasing
voltage, the charged polymer droplet elongates to form a conical shape and the surface
charge on the polymer droplet increases with time. Once the surface charge overcomes
the surface tension of the polymer droplet, a polymer jet is initiated. The solvent in the
polymer jet carries the material during its travel to the collecting screen, increasing the
surface charge on the jet [7]. This increase in surface charge induces instability in the
polymer jet as it passes through the electric field. To compensate for this instability, the
polymer jet divides geometrically, first into two jets, and then into many more as the
process repeats itself. The formation of nanofibers results from the action of the spinning
force provided by the electrostatic force on the continuously splitting polymer droplets.
Nanofibers are deposited layer-by-layer on the metal target plate, forming a non-woven
nanofibrous mat [8].

During the electrospinning process, both extrinsic and intrinsic parameters are known
to affect the structural morphology of the nanofibers [9]. Specifically, extrinsic parameters,
such as environmental humidity, temperature and intrinsic parameters, including applied
voltage, working distance, conductivity and viscosity of the polymer solution, need to be
optimized to produce uniform nanofibers. The two major structures usually found in the
nanofibrous mat are a uniform, continuous fibrous structure or a bead-containing fibrous
structure. Variation in the relative abundance of these two structures is determined by the
relative contributions of the parameters during the electrospinning process.

2.4 Block Diagram of Nanofibers Generator

For the past few decades several researchers have developed electrospinning
nanofibers generator with larger unit size and least automation techniques. The design is

39
introduced with microcontroller for the design of high voltage power supply as well as
electrospinning spinneret unit. These new design brought cost reduction, unit portability
and automation techniques. This technique has many advantages such as ease of
operation and controlling the fiber diameter also functionalizing nanofibers through
adding functional agents to the electrospinning solution. Hardware and software designs
are required to develop the effective automation.

Fig. 2.2 depicts a block diagram of electrospinning nanofibers generator.

This custom designed nanofibers generator consists of three main modules namely
1) High voltage power supply unit 2) Spinneret or Plunger unit 3) Nanofibers collector
unit. The microcontroller aided high voltage power supply unit was designed and
fabricated to supply variable DC source to spawn the nanofibers. Spinneret-solution
feeding unit is made up of syringe (with stainless steel needle of size 0.1 mm-0.3 mm)
fitted with syringe holder and connected to the stepper motor. The stepper motor is used
to generate the precise amount of forward and reverse mechanical force to move the
piston of the syringe forward and backward by using microcontroller unit, formation of
Taylor cone of nanofibers and followed by fabricated aligned nanofibers on the substrate
(fitted in the metal collector holder). Two types of collectors namely flat and drum types
were used.

Fig. 2.2 Block diagram of electrospinning nanofibers generator

40
2.5 Design and Construction of Nanofibers Generator Modules

The nanofibers generator consists of three modules as shown in Fig. 2.2. The first
module comprises of DC power supply unit, microcontroller16F877A unit, and stepper
motor driver unit. It helps to supply necessary and controlled (Programmed pulses) to the
fixed stepper motor and hence the forward and backward movements (in appropriate
steps) of the piston connected to the syringe in the next module. The second module
consists of syringe holder fitted with syringe and stainless steel needle connected to
positive potential of high voltage power supply from module (3). The third module
consists of DC power supply unit, microcontroller16F877A unit, stepper motor driver
unit, flyback transformer and collector unit which is used to produce 0-30 KV variable
DC power. This power is applied across stainless steel needle and collector unit.

2.5.1 Module I

DC Input Power Source for Microcontroller

The first module of the nanofibers generator consists of DC power supply unit.
It provides the supply voltage of 5V DC power to the microcontroller unit. It consists of
0-6V step down transformer 250 mA, bridge rectifier and voltage regulator (IC-7805).
The generated AC input waveform and bridge rectifier DC output waveforms are shown
in Fig. 2.3[10].

Fig. 2.3 (a) AC input waveform and (b) DC output waveform of the power supply

41
 The performance of the unit was checked using Digital Multi Meter (DMM) and
Cathode Ray Oscilloscope (CRO). It gives a steady 5V DC for the load resistance of
5 ohm to 10,000 ohm. The waveform of generated DC output was studied using storage
oscilloscope.

Microcontroller 16F877A Controlled Circuit for Spinneret Unit

In this research PIC 16F877A is used to move the piston in desired direction and
steps to inject the high viscous precursor polymer Sol-Gel for nanofibers fabrication. It is
very difficult with high pressure to inject the high viscous polymer through a needle of
very small diameter in the order of 0.1 to 0.3mm. The unit is designed for the forward
and backward movement of piston in this syringe. The microcontroller unit was fitted
with three push button switches to stop and control forward and backward movement of
the stepper motor. For this requirement, appropriate algorithms were written and the
corresponding “C” program is written and compiled to the machine language and
uploaded in the PIC 16F877A using PIC programmer [11]. Fig. 2.4 depicts the circuit
diagram of PIC 16F877A. The developed software program for this operation is attached
in the Appendix-B.

Fig. 2.4 Circuit diagram of PIC microcontroller 16F877A

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Stepper Motor Driver Unit

In order to control the motion of the stepper motor, a driving unit consists of
stepper motor driver L 298 is used and the circuit diagram and cooling fan design is as
shown in Fig. 2.5. It is not possible to operate the stepper motor without the stepper
driver circuit. Fig. 2.6 describes the circuit diagram of stepper motor driver unit.

Necessary voltage for the rpm of stepper motor with high starting pulse can be
obtained only using stepper driver unit. For each step movement of the signal is obtained
from the microcontroller through this driver unit. L 298. It plays a vital role in generating
high voltage and high current output for the stepper motor operation. A micro controller
or stepper motor controller can be used to activate the drive transistors in the right order,
and this will ease of operation making unipolar motors popular with hobbyists; this is the
cheapest way to get precise angular movements.

The L 298 driver circuit can control concurrently up to two stepping motors.
Only one stepper motor was used towards this motor driver circuits. It can handle
maximum of 4 amps, i.e., two amps per motor, however to get the maximum current
make sure to add a heat sink on the top of the body [12]. The L 298 has a large cooling
brim with a hole in it, making it easy to attach a metal heat sink to it. The motor driver
unit system primarily comprises of three significant components namely stepper driver,
indexer, and user interface as shown in stepper driver circuit diagram (Fig. 2.6). In this
research work 23LM C355 – 20 stepper motor and L 298 stepper motor driver is
produced by automation process. The L 298 is a 15 – pin multi watt and high power
monolithic integrated circuit. It is a high voltage, high current dual full-bridge driver
designed for TTL logic levels and drive inductive loads such as relays and stepping
motors. Two enable inputs are provided to enable or disable the device independently of
the input signals.

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Fig. 2.5 Circuit diagram of stepper driver photograph

Fig. 2.6 Stepper driver circuit diagram

44
 The stepper motor leads were connected in series for a higher inductance and
therefore attained higher performance with lower speed. The motor driver will be
efficiently able to control and drive a four phase unipolar stepper motor with continuous
output current ratings to 1.5 A per phase and 1.5 Ω [13]. The schematic diagram shows a
basic connection diagram for controlling motors using the L 298 motor bridge IC. There
are three input pins for each motor: Input1, Input2, and Enable1 controls Motor1. Input3,
Input4, and Enable2 controls Motor2. Table 2.1 describes the input and basic functions of
designed stepper driver circuit. In order to activate the motor, the enable1 line must be
high. To control the motor and its direction by applying a LOW or HIGH signal to the
Input1 and Input2 lines, as shown in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1 Stepper driver input and function

Enable Input-I Input-II Function

Low Low Low Off

Low High Low Off

Low Low High Off

Low High High Off

High Low Low Motor break

High High Low Motor run forward

High Low High Motor run backward

High High High Motor break

Stepper Motor

Stepper motors are brushless synchronous motors which perform a full rotation cycle
in a fixed number of steps. It is a specially designed DC motor that can be driven by
giving excitation pulses to the phase windings. They cannot be driven by just connecting
the positive and negative leads of the power supply. They are driven by a stepping
sequence which is generated by a microcontroller. The motor moves in steps according to
the sequence. Based on the type of construction stepper motors can be classified as

45
  Variable Reluctance (VR) stepper motor

 Permanent Magnet (PM) stepper motor

 Hybrid stepper motor

The variable reluctance stepper motors are those which have a rotor made of
ferromagnetic substances. Hence, when the stator is excited it becomes an electromagnet
and the rotor feels a pull in the desired direction. The ferromagnetic substance always
tries to align itself in the minimum reluctance path. By exciting the coils, a magnetic
field is procured and airgap reluctance is varied. Hence, it is called a variable reluctance
stepper motor. In this motor, the direction of the motor is independent of the direction of
the current flow in the windings [14].

The Permanent Magnet (PM) stepper motor rotor is permanently magnetized.

Hence, the movement of the motor is due to the attraction and repulsion between the
stator and rotor magnetic poles. The direction of the motor is dependent on the direction
of the current flow in the windings as the magnetic poles are reversed by changing the
direction of the current flowing through the rotor. The original stepper motor full view
and cut view is as shown in Fig. 2.7 (a) and (b).

Fig. 2.7 (a) Stepper motor full view and (b) cut view

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 The hybrid stepper motor, as the name suggest is a motor designed to provide
better efficiency by combining the process of both the permanent magnet stepper motor
and variable reluctance stepper motor [15]. These two stepper motors are the most
common type. The only difference is that, in the variable reluctance stepper motor, the
rotor is made up of a ferromagnetic substance and in the case of permanent magnet
stepper motor, the rotor is permanently magnetized.

2.5.2 Module II

Syringe Holder Unit or Spinneret Unit

Syringe pumps, also known as spinnerets, are small pumps precisely operated by
stepper motors. Microcontroller 16F877A drives the stepper motor using stepper driver to
generate necessary mechanical force [16]. The generated mechanical force is used to
move the syringe tap on either direction. During forward motion, the mechanical force
moves the plunger of the syringe in the forward direction resulting in pushing the Sol-Gel
to the syringe needle tip, where as in the reverse direction the mechanical force generated
by the stepper motor brings the plunger of the syringe to its initial position for refilling.
The microcontroller16F877A is programmed using “C” language to generate a controlled
forward and reverse mechanical force. This software enabled microcontroller accurately
generates controlled mechanical forces in forward and reverse direction. By varying
software code in the microcontroller the mechanical force duration can be varied. A
screw rod is connected in between the stepper motor and syringe needle, due to this set
up, the system requires a high power DC supply. The 5 Amps 12 Volt DC source is used
to energize the stepper motor via stepper driver circuit. Cooling fans are installed to
dissipate the enormous amount of heat generated during the generation of mechanical
force to move the plunger of the syringe and to keep the driver unit at optimal
temperature. Fig. 2.8 describes the block diagram of spinneret unit.

47
 DC power
supply unit
Nanofibers

Microcontroller
16F877A
Grounded
Stepper motor collector unit
driver unit
High voltage
Stepper motor (0-30KV)

Stainless-steel
Syringe holder
syringe

Fig 2.8 Block diagram of a syringe holder unit/spinneret unit

2.5.3 Module III

DC Input Power Source for MOSFET

It provides the supply voltage of 15V DC power to the Metal Oxide Semiconductor
Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET) unit. It consists of 0-24V step down transformer
5 Amps, bridge rectifier and voltage regulator (IC-7815). This 15 volts power supply is
used to energize the MOSFET switching circuit, which is used to generate switching
pulses to Line Output Transformer (LOT) and generate appropriate high voltage of
0-30 kV DC output for the fabrication of nanofibers.

Microcontroller 16F877A Controlled Circuit for High Voltage Power Supply Unit

The electrospinning nanofibers generator comprises of two important designs

namely hardware design and software design [17]. The hardware design primarily
consists of stepper motor driver board, a high DC voltage board, and a main control
mechanism board of original design is shown in Fig. 2.9. The user interface software on
microcontroller is developed using “C” language. The main board and stepper motor
driver board are controlled by a microcontroller 16F877A [18]. Communication between
the main board and the stepper motor driver boards use the integrated circuit, while
communicating between microcontroller and the main board uses a serial communication

48
at a baud rate in bps. The high DC voltage generator is designed to have an output of
0-30 kV. Polymer flow rate can be configured from microcontroller through “C”
programming. This research is focused towards emerging the first real-time semi-
automated electrospinning process that will enable greater control over critical nanofibers
manufacturing characteristics, thereby improving yield and production rate. Currently,
the electrospinning process is an open-loop with respect to the actual process states, and
there are large, unpredictable, time varying distributions of fiber diameter [19]. However,
emerging nanofibers applications for medical products and manufacturing carbon
nanotubes (CNTs) require nanofibers produced to tighter specifications. This research is
focused on understanding the process dynamics in order to develop the appropriate
sensing capabilities and control design that will yield effective real-time control for
electrospinning. The control design efforts will be directed to meet the requirements of
several advanced applications. Fig. 2.10 depicts the micro controller controlled high
voltage circuit diagram. The microcontroller and appropriate circuits are also shown in
Fig.2.10. The in-built Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) microcontroller generates appropriate
output waveforms, the detailed output waveforms are described in Fig 2.11(a-f).

Fig. 2.9 Microcontroller based high voltage power supply design photograph

49
Fig. 2.10 Circuit diagram of a microcontroller controlled flyback converter

50
Fig. 2.11 Microcontroller (PWM) output waveforms (a) 5KV, (b) 10KV, (c) 15 KV,
(d) 20KV, (e) 25KV, and (f) 30 KV

51
Flyback Transformer

The flyback transformer is a very fascinating transformer. Ordinary transformers

simply transforms energy from their inputs to their outputs. However, flyback transformers,
not only transfer the energy to their secondary winding, but they also store energy for a
considerable amount of time [20]. In fact, flyback transformers act as pure inductors
during half a cycle, and then they act as a pure transformer in the other half.
This behavior is made possible by an air gap in the ferrite core. This air gap increases the
reluctance of the core, which thereby increases its ability to store magnetic energy.
Flyback transformers are high frequency transformers, and their low power output and
small size make them very useful in generating high output voltages, at relatively low
currents [21]. The maximum attainable output voltage varies from transformer to
transformer, but it is possible to get voltages as high as 50 KV. The detailed circuit
design of high voltage power supply flyback transformer circuit is as shown in Fig. 2.12.
Using storage oscilloscope various input waveforms of line output transformers were
recorded. The recorded waveforms were analyzed and it is described in Fig. 2.13.

Fig. 2.12 Circuit diagram of flyback converter

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 Fig. 2.13 High voltage transformer input waveforms (a) 5 KV, (b) 10 KV,
(c) 15KV, (d) 20KV, (e) 25KV, and (f) 30KV

High Voltage Measurement

Testing for high DC voltage was conducted by connecting the microcontroller to

the input of the high DC voltage board and connecting Analog to Digital Converter
(ADC) channel 0 of microcontroller16F877A to the high DC voltage output via a voltage
53
divider. ADC readings display in LCD. Microcontroller and LCD design configuration is
shown in Fig. 2.9. High DC voltage output was configured from Liquid Crystal Display
(LCD) and interface software by changing the variable potentiometer. Measurements of
high DC voltage output are taken three times and the results are shown in Table 2.2 [22].

Table 2.2 High voltage power supply analog input and digital output

S.No PWM INPUT (mV) ADC (count) LCD output (KV)

1 0 0 0

2 166 8.5 1

3 830 42.5 5

4 1160 85 10

5 2490 127.5 15

6 3320 170 20

7 4150 212.5 25

8 500 255 30

Nanofibers Collector Unit

Numerous methods are adopted to collect the generated nanofibers. One of the
popular methods is by using a flat plate collector which generates nonaligned nanofibers.
Another popular method uses continuously revolving drum type collector which is used
to generate aligned continuous nanofibers [23]. The first method is cheaper and the
design is simpler than the second one. Both methods are made up of aluminum or
stainless steel materials that are connected to a high voltage negative potential. In the
drum type collector, both sides of the drum are attached to a rotating pulley in order to
make the drum rotate freely. The 12 Volt DC supply is used to energize the motor from
10 Revolutions per Minute (RPM) to 3000 RPM. During nanofibers generation the
collector must be grounded or maintained at high negative potential, a positive potential
is connected to the tip of syringe or spinneret. When a high voltage source and a
mechanical force are simultaneously applied, the electrostatic forces are exerted across
the spinneret and the collector. The collector draws the polymer solution from the
54
spinneret in the form of nanofibers and the generated nanofiber is coated on the surface
of the collector [24]. The Fig. 2.14 explicates the design of drum type of collector and
Fig. 2.15 shows the flat plate collector design.

Fig. 2.14 Nanofibers drum type collector design

Fig. 2.15 Nanofibers flat plate collector design

55
2.6 Practical Difficulties and Remedies

During the electrospinning process the following are the major difficulties and
their appropriate remedies are discussed below.

 It is better to use a black or dark background collector and sharp focusing light
source to see the fabricated nanofibers if there is trouble to view the fabricated
nanofibers.

 When a Sol-Gel dripping problems arises, i.e., the polymer solution is dripping
direct down on the surface with no attraction to the collector, always need to
check the high voltage positive potential at the tip of spinneret needle and high
voltage ground at the surface of the collector. If the drop of polymer solution at
the syringe tip is leaning in the position of collector but not reached at the
collector surface, increase the voltage. The quality of the fibers can be adjusted by
varying the distance and the voltage until a steady fibers is visible.

 If a large air blow sound is heard during the electrospinning process, check the
solution availability, if the polymer solution is not available refill the solution in
the syringe tube.

 Heavy wide nanofibers formed between the syringe needle tip and collector
surface, immediately adjust the collector to needle distance and ensure to obtain
proper nanofibers.

 If large globs are formed at the syringe tip, when the polymer solution begins to
collect and harden at the tip of the needle, swipe the glob away with a paper
towel.

 When the fabricated nanofibers is short and discontinuous, then immediately

increase the polymer solution, adding more slowly evaporating solvent, and
adjusting the voltage will improve the length and steadiness of the nanofibers.

 When fiber is wagging up and down rapidly, decrease the applied voltage or
increase the distance between the syringe tip and the collector. If the fiber
continues to wag use a higher concentration of polymer or add a little solvent with
a slower evaporation.

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2.7 Electrospinning Protocol

With much effort the electrospinning nanofibers generator was designed for all
sorts of research from diversified fields such as Engineering and Non-Engineering
(with or without electronics background). The end product is nano fibers of the materials,
due to the wrong operation and mishandling, the fibers can directly enter in to the body.
High voltage in the order of tens of thousands of the voltages are being generated and
applied across the needle and the collector unit. The user (researcher) should be aware
and cautious of the hazards in handling the unit. Having this in mind, list of instructions
were formulated and attached as the instructions to the user in the Appendix: C.

2.8 Software Design

2.8.1 Programming the Microcontroller

Significant software and hardware platforms are necessary to write a program for a
PIC microcontroller. ASCII editor, assembler, simulator and programmers are the essential
and powerful software code writers on a computers and microcontrollers. The first step for
software development is the writing of the program to use a text editor. After writing the
program, it must be saved in .asm type of file. In the second stage, this .asm file is
converted to hex file which the machine can understand. The last step is to send the hex
file to microcontroller by a device programmer and its software.

The microcontroller executes the program loaded in its flash memory. This is called
executable code comprised of seemingly pointless sequence of zeros and ones. It is organized
in 12, 14 or 16 bit wide words, depending on the microcontroller’s architecture. Every word
is considered by the CPU as a command being executed during the operation of the
microcontroller. For practical reasons, it is much easier for us to deal with hexadecimal
number system, the executable code is often represented as a sequence of hexadecimal
numbers called a Hex code, usually written by the programmer [25].

2.9 Conclusion

 Hardware and software design of DC power supply unit, microcontroller unit,

MOSFET switching circuit, high voltage power supply unit and spinneret unit
design has been completed.

57
 Electronic components and circuit boards needed in the proposed research have
been systematically identified and incorporated in this research.

 Microcontroller based high voltage power supply and syringe holder unit has been
designed by using PIC16F877A. A variable frequency from 250 Hz to 25 kHz can
be generated for the high voltage. Inbuilt PWM generator has been used to
generate pulse of high voltage with a variable frequency.

 The “C” language software works as expected. High DC voltage output can be
configured from PIC16F877A interface software via serial communication. The
observed output voltages were varied from 0- 30KV with the help of variable
potentiometer and its accurate results were displayed on liquid crystal display
screen (LCD).

 Two different metal collectors were initially designed and studied, both collectors
yield best results. It provides uniform fibers on the metal collector plate with good
morphological characteristics. It is also observed that there is no bead like
structure found in the fiber obtained with both type of collectors.

 Polymer flow rate can be configured from microcontroller interface software via
control circuits in the main board.

 The overall results show that voltage, frequency and duty cycle are controlled by
the resistance of the switching circuit, and the output voltage proportionally
changes by changing the resistance.

 The electrospinning generator design has been optimized and formulated.

 This improvised microcontroller controlled nanofibers generator has a number of

advantages over conventional techniques: Simple, cost effective, portable and
able to fabricate continuous nanofibers with small scale production.

58
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