Arduino Accelerometers: ADXL356, ADXL345 vs ADXL335

Mems accelerometers are simple, portable, and applicable but how do we get started? Which accelerometer is the most suitable for your next Arduino project? In this blog, I’ll get you started with a 3-axis accelerometer: ADXL356. A comparison; ADXL345 vs ADXL335 will be covered too!

Here at Seeed, we offer a wide range of 3-axis accelerometers to connect with Arduino boards, however, if you’re wondering how to pick a suitable one or looking for a buying guide, you can check out my article on it

ADXL356

The ADXL356 is an industrial grade, high stability, precision, and low powered ADI ADXL series three-axis accelerometer.

The analog output ADXL356 is a low noise density, low 0 g offset drift, low power 3-axis accelerometer with selectable measurement ranges. The ADXL356 offers industry-leading noise, minimal offset drift over temperature, and long-term stability, enabling precision applications with minimal calibration.

The ADXL356 offers two versions:

ADXL356B that supports ±10 g and ±20g range
ADXL356C that supports ±10g and ±40g range

The above accelerometer sensor that you see is the Grove – 3-Axis Analog Accelerometer ±40g that runs on an ADXL356C version. Its industrial-grade technology allows for a relatively accurate result with little calibration work to be done.

The integration of ADXL356C does bring performance advantages on the Grove-3-Axis Analog Accelerometer. Here’s why it’s great:

Industry-leading technology

Precisions applications with minimal calibration can be achieved with its Industry-leading noise, minimal offset drift over temperature, and long-term stability

Long-term temperature stability

Its hermetic package offers excellent long-term stability 0g offset vs. temperature (all axes): 0.75mg/
°C maximum

Ideal for wireless condition monitoring

The low noise of the ADXL356 over higher frequencies make it ideal for wireless condition monitoring

Ultra-low power consumption

Normal operation mode – 150 μA, with Standby mode being only 21 μA

What makes the Grove- 3-Axis Analog Accelerometer ±40g (ADXL356C) special?

The integrated Grove port on this accelerometer allows for plug-n-play usage by utilizing a 4-pin Grove interface, making it easy to connect with your standard Arduino device or Seeeduino (Seeed’s version of Arduino) instead of the conventional complicated and messy jumper wires.

Product Applications include:

Inertial measurement units (IMUs)/altitude and heading reference systems (ADHRs)
Platform stabilization systems
Condition monitoring
Seismic imaging
Tilt sensing
Robotics

ADXL series comparison: ADXL356 vs ADXL345 vs ADXL335

The main differences are covered in the table below, we’ll look into further details later on

	ADXL356	ADXL345	ADXL335
Range	±10g to ±40g	±16g	±3g, small range with precise readings
Interface	Analog	SPI, I²C	Analog
Power Consumption	Low Typical: 150µ	Low Typical: 140µ	Standard Typical: 350µ
Pricing	High	Low	Lowest
Bonus Features	Covered in the earlier section	Some inbuilt functions	No Bonus Features

ADXL356: Spec King

We can conclude that ADXL356 is the spec king, with better specs across the board due to its belonging to the higher end of the accelerometer spectrum. Hence, we’ll not dive further into its direct comparison with the other two models as it wouldn’t be the fairest.

ADXL335 vs ADXL345

The ADXL335 is a triple axis MEMS accelerometer with a low power consumption of 150 μA in the measurement mode! This analog accelerometer is a low g accelerometer with a minimum full-scale range of ±3 g. Grove ADXL335 can measure the acceleration with a minimum full-scale range of ±3 g. It can measure the static acceleration of gravity in tilt-sensing applications, as well as dynamic acceleration resulting from motion, shock, or vibration. With the onboard Grove connector, you can easily plug and play it with your Arduino board.

The ADXL345 is well suited for mobile device applications. It measures the static acceleration of gravity in tilt-sensing applications, as well as dynamic acceleration resulting from motion or shock. Its high resolution (3.9 mg/LSB) enables measurement of inclination changes less than 1.0°. Grove – ADXL345 is with the extreme low power consumption, as low as 23 μA in measurement mode and 0.1 μA in standby mode. The Low power modes enable intelligent motion-based power management with threshold sensing and active acceleration measurement at extremely low power dissipation. There is an onboard a 4-pin Grove interface (3-5VDC) for easily connect with Arduino boards and Seeeduino boards.

Applications:

The ADXL345 is more suited for mobile applications, opening for more potential projects due to its digital interface

Ease of Usage:

The ADXL335 would be easier to use due to its analog interface instead of SPI/I2C.

Overall comparison:

Overall, the ADXL335 is an older version of the accelerometer, losing out on the following advantages that ADXL345 possess:

Wider range
Better sensitivity
Bonus features such as:
- Inactivity detection
- Freefall detection activity
Angle measurement of less than 1°
Lower power consumption

These advantages fancy the ADXL345, making it a better cost-effective option but one thing to keep in mind of its ease of usage; complicated to use due to its SPI/I2C communication protocol.

Recommended Accelerometers

Despite the comparative advantages and more, you should discover the purpose of your project and select the most suitable one. I would recommend each accelerometer as follows:

Most cost-effective option: ADXL345
Beginners’/first-time user option: ADXL335
Best performance and widest usage applications: ADXL356

*Note: All accelerometers are Arduino compatible

If you do not have a preference for one, here’s my personal recommendation:

ADXL356, as despite its higher price tag, consider it as a long-term investment. Its ease of usage, widest possible applications allows for beginners to easily get started and advanced users to find it useful.

Getting started with the ADXL356

If you’re having thoughts on picking up the ADXL356, this section is for you. I’ll be walking you through on the pairing guide

What you’ll need:

*Seeeduino is Seeed version of the Arduino Board

Hardware connection

Step 1: Connect the Grove- 3-Axis Analog Accelerometer ±40g (ADXL356C) to the A0 port of the base shield
Step 2: Plug Grove – Base Shield into Seeeduino
Step 3: Connect Seeeduino to PC via a USB cable

Software configurations

If this is the first time you are working with Arduino, I recommend you to see Getting Started with Arduino before moving on

Step 1: Download the Seeed_ADXL_356.ino from Github or copy the following code:

#include <Arduino.h>

#ifdef ARDUINO_SAMD_VARIANT_COMPLIANCE
  #define SERIAL SerialUSB
  #define SYS_VOL   3.3
#else
  #define SERIAL Serial
  #define SYS_VOL   5
#endif

float cali_data_xy;
float cali_data_z;
int16_t scale;

#define MODUEL_RANGE           40

#define MODULE_VOL             1.8

#define CALI_BUF_LEN           15
#define CALI_INTERVAL_TIME     250

float cali_buf_xy[CALI_BUF_LEN];
float cali_buf_z[CALI_BUF_LEN];

#define XY_PIN   A0
#define Z_PIN    A1

float deal_cali_buf(float *buf)
{
    float cali_val = 0;

    for(int i = 0;i < CALI_BUF_LEN;i++)
    {
        cali_val += buf[i];
    }
    cali_val = cali_val/CALI_BUF_LEN;
    return (float)cali_val;
}


void calibration(void)
{
    SERIAL.println("Please Place the module horizontally!");
    delay(1000);
    SERIAL.println("Start calibration........");

    for(int i=0;i<CALI_BUF_LEN;i++)
    {
        cali_buf_xy[i] = analogRead(XY_PIN);;
        cali_buf_z[i] = analogRead(Z_PIN);
        delay(CALI_INTERVAL_TIME);
    }
    cali_data_xy =  deal_cali_buf(cali_buf_xy);
    cali_data_z =  (float)deal_cali_buf(cali_buf_z);
    SERIAL.println("Calibration OK!!");
    scale = (float)1000 / (cali_data_z - cali_data_xy);
    cali_data_z -= (float)980 / scale;
    SERIAL.println(cali_data_xy);
    SERIAL.println(cali_data_z);
    SERIAL.println(scale);

}



void AccMeasurement(void)
{
    int16_t val_xy = 0;
    int16_t val_z = 0;
    val_xy = analogRead(XY_PIN);
    val_z = analogRead(Z_PIN);

    SERIAL.print("Raw data xy  = ");
    SERIAL.println(val_xy);
    SERIAL.print("Raw data z  = ");
    SERIAL.println(val_z);
    SERIAL.println(" ");

    val_xy -= cali_data_xy;
    val_z -= cali_data_z;
    SERIAL.print("x or y position acc is ");
    SERIAL.print(val_xy * scale / 1000.0);
    SERIAL.println(" g ");
    SERIAL.print("z position acc is ");
    SERIAL.print(val_z * scale / 1000.0);
    SERIAL.println(" g ");
    SERIAL.println(" ");
    SERIAL.println(" ");
    SERIAL.println(" ");
    delay(1000);
}

void setup()
{
    SERIAL.begin(115200);
    #ifdef ARDUINO_SAMD_VARIANT_COMPLIANCE
    analogReadResolution(12);
    #endif
    calibration();
    SERIAL.print("Scale = ");
    SERIAL.println(scale);

}



void loop()
{
    AccMeasurement();
}

Step 2: Upload the demo. If you’re unsure on how to upload the code, please check How to upload code
Step 3: Open the Serial Monitor of Arduino IDE by click Tool-> Serial Monitor. Or tap the Ctrl+Shift+M key at the same time. Set the baud rate to 115200
Step 4: Calibration. Follow the calibration tips in the Serial Monitor. It’ll finish in a few steps.

Step 5: Sensor can now be used, the output will appear like this

Please Place the module horizontally!
Start calibration........
Calibration OK!!
184.93
185.03
121
Scale = 121
Raw data xy  = 185
Raw data z  = 193

x or y position acc is 0.00 g 
z position acc is 0.85 g 



Raw data xy  = 188
Raw data z  = 196

x or y position acc is 0.36 g 
z position acc is 1.21 g

Summary

Overall, with accelerometers being commonly seen in many day to day applications, consider picking up one today!

For more information on the Grove-3-Axis Analog Accelerometer ±40g (ADXL356C), you can head here

Once again, if you’re looking to find out more about accelerometers and its buying guide, you can check out my other blog post!

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Shawn

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Tags: Accelerometer, accelerometer arduino, accelerometer guide, ADXL335, ADXL356C, grove base shield, mems accelerometer, seeeduino v4.2