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#11
RV Hardware / Re: Feeder controller board re...
Last post by Greasemonkey - December 19, 2024, 12:11:38 PMHi Trev,
Thats a good question.
I am thinking initialy I am after a few boards to try out and tinker with.
If this works out well then I would probably want to retrofit most of our feeders down the line.
I have a cache of chinese arduino megas collecting dust in my stores from old venture which would be ideal.
We still use our RV a lot for certain jobs and I am on a bit of a mission to fix or improve a number of the known issues we suffer with the feeders which prevent an operator walking away from the machine while it is running.
It would also be nice to add some features to the feeders which would make life easier.
Thats a good question.
I am thinking initialy I am after a few boards to try out and tinker with.
If this works out well then I would probably want to retrofit most of our feeders down the line.
I have a cache of chinese arduino megas collecting dust in my stores from old venture which would be ideal.
We still use our RV a lot for certain jobs and I am on a bit of a mission to fix or improve a number of the known issues we suffer with the feeders which prevent an operator walking away from the machine while it is running.
It would also be nice to add some features to the feeders which would make life easier.
#12
RV Hardware / Re: Feeder controller board re...
Last post by trev - December 19, 2024, 10:27:33 AMHi
I used the board on several feeders and it performs fantastically well. I think I placed 1000s of 0603 leds and jumping was greatly reduced. Some feeders have the pins at the front ( grey feeders ), some have them at the back ( blue feeders ). I found on the grey feeder some times the action of the pin would also contribute to the bouncing. So if you have blue feeders then I think it works better. It might be other things too but I think that's what I found.
The solution I used as I was investigating the problem and using the boards was to wire the transformer inside to power the control board but then I used an external supply to power the solenoids. This allowed me to monitor them and see what voltage worked best. Reducing the voltage to experiment with the pin impact. I think though in the end I settled on 24V and it was find for a lot. With the transformer, the voltage is all over the place and I think too high most of the time.
Also I found that when you start to slow the feed speed down, the solenoids are energised for longer and the transformer voltage is too high to turn the solenoid on for that long. 24V enables you to slow things down and not overheat the solenoids.
The software for the controller is Arduino based and had a menu to control everything. I ended up putting a panel mount usb connector on the back of the feeder and I would plug into that to configure it from a terminal programme.
It was always a work in progress but was at a stage where it was working. I do have some boards and would be happy to provide all the source code and schematics so you could modify/adapt it to your own needs.
How many boards would you be looking for?
I used the board on several feeders and it performs fantastically well. I think I placed 1000s of 0603 leds and jumping was greatly reduced. Some feeders have the pins at the front ( grey feeders ), some have them at the back ( blue feeders ). I found on the grey feeder some times the action of the pin would also contribute to the bouncing. So if you have blue feeders then I think it works better. It might be other things too but I think that's what I found.
The solution I used as I was investigating the problem and using the boards was to wire the transformer inside to power the control board but then I used an external supply to power the solenoids. This allowed me to monitor them and see what voltage worked best. Reducing the voltage to experiment with the pin impact. I think though in the end I settled on 24V and it was find for a lot. With the transformer, the voltage is all over the place and I think too high most of the time.
Also I found that when you start to slow the feed speed down, the solenoids are energised for longer and the transformer voltage is too high to turn the solenoid on for that long. 24V enables you to slow things down and not overheat the solenoids.
The software for the controller is Arduino based and had a menu to control everything. I ended up putting a panel mount usb connector on the back of the feeder and I would plug into that to configure it from a terminal programme.
It was always a work in progress but was at a stage where it was working. I do have some boards and would be happy to provide all the source code and schematics so you could modify/adapt it to your own needs.
How many boards would you be looking for?
#13
RV Hardware / Re: Feeder controller board re...
Last post by Greasemonkey - December 18, 2024, 12:06:01 PMHello Trev,
I was wondering what happened to your controller project.
I am interested in changing the drive boards in our old workhorse's feeders.
It would be good to have a drive board that does ramping or smooth as we do find certain components can jump around.
Did you have any plan to make these boards available to others or was it just a pet project?
I was wondering what happened to your controller project.
I am interested in changing the drive boards in our old workhorse's feeders.
It would be good to have a drive board that does ramping or smooth as we do find certain components can jump around.
Did you have any plan to make these boards available to others or was it just a pet project?
#14
RV Hardware / 3D printed spacer to convert 1...
Last post by Mike - November 06, 2024, 06:33:21 PMSimple spacer to allow 16mm lanes to be used with 12mm tape
#15
RV Hardware / Re: 3D printed PCB corner bloc...
Last post by Mike - November 06, 2024, 06:29:05 PMHere's a longer version of the corner for when the PCB is hanging over the left edge of the bed..
#16
For Sale/Wanted, Suppliers / Re: Sanyo Denki drivers
Last post by Mike - October 15, 2024, 05:58:45 PMI have a small stock of the hybrids on the Sanyo drivers if anyone needs them - they seem to be pretty reliable though - I had one die a long timne ago, possibly due to shorted wiring.
#17
RV Software / Re: windows95 / 98 drivers
Last post by Mike - October 15, 2024, 05:56:17 PMStorage limits updated - please upload any drivers etc. that might be useful.
#18
For Sale/Wanted, Suppliers / Sanyo Denki drivers
Last post by trev - October 11, 2024, 12:10:49 PMI have some of these available, make me an offer. All came from working systems.
#19
For Sale/Wanted, Suppliers / Main control box
Last post by trev - October 11, 2024, 12:09:38 PMHi have a control box for sale. This has 3 RSP-320-36 supplies in it. I have not used it for a while but I am sure this is the one I used as my daily driver for my machine. Having these supplies in it means you can do merge moves on placement without worry of voltage dips. I think it is one of the reasons placement was actually quite accurate for me.
The supplies themselves cost £50+VAT new alone.
I am sure it is all working but it is sold as seen. I cant upload any images as it says site if full, contact Mike. If you want to message me your email address I can send images.
The supplies themselves cost £50+VAT new alone.
I am sure it is all working but it is sold as seen. I cant upload any images as it says site if full, contact Mike. If you want to message me your email address I can send images.
#20
For Sale/Wanted, Suppliers / PC for sale with DSP and graph...
Last post by trev - October 11, 2024, 12:04:21 PMI have a PC for sale. It won't have a hard drive in it so it's a computer to setup from scratch but it has a DSP card and the graphics grabber card in it. Open to offers. Looks to be in good condition.
Make me an offer.
Make me an offer.