This thesis presents the development and validation of an interface for a wire feed rate sensor used in Procada’s directed energy deposition laser beam with wire additive manufacturing system. The interface is designed to be resilient in a highelectromagnetic- interference (EMI), high-noise industrial environment.

To enable communication via the sensor’s SPI protocol in a confined industrial setting near the material deposition process, the PCB was divided into a master and a slave unit. The compact slave PCB integrates the optical sensor and a USB-C connector, while the external master board incorporates a Renesas RZ/T2L MPU with native EtherCAT support to interface with the rest of Procada’s tool. Signal integrity between the boards is maintained using an Analog Devices LTC4332 SPI extender over a shielded, twisted-pair cable, along with optimized termination and grounding strategies.

Subsystem proof-of-concept tests included sensor communication with a microcontroller, LTC4332 loopback verification, and evaluation of the development board. A schematic and conceptual design for the slave PCB were made. Remaining work includes finalizing the PCB layout, fabrication, and comprehensive EMI stress testing. The proposed design and architecture provide a robust solution for reliable, highspeed wire feed monitoring in demanding additive manufacturing environments.