04-16-2011, 11:49 AM
|
#1 (permalink)
|
|
EV test pilot
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Oconomowoc, WI, USA
Posts: 4,435
Thanks: 17
Thanked 663 Times in 388 Posts
|
Just built my first MOTOR CONTROLLER!
Hey everyone!
For a long while now I have been hearing about how motor controllers work, but most of it has been over my head.
I'm currently (oh my, the puns...) er right now, I am in a non-credit electronics class. The night before last, I went to the Makerspace and started work on a really simple DC motor controller, to be used as an LED dimmer.
So here it is:
Yep, that's a motor controller!
12V, 200mA., and not much to look at, but it does work!
Read more at my blog entry:
First DIY Motor Controller
|
|
|
|
|
The Following User Says Thank You to bennelson For This Useful Post:
|
|
 Today
|
|
|
|
Other popular topics in this forum...
|
|
|
|
|
04-16-2011, 12:24 PM
|
#2 (permalink)
|
|
Ford Escort 2.0
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Alameda, CA
Posts: 240
Thanks: 6
Thanked 27 Times in 24 Posts
|
Congrats on making the controller! What's the next step in making it handle more amps?
__________________
|
|
|
|
|
The Following User Says Thank You to TomEV For This Useful Post:
|
|
|
04-16-2011, 02:43 PM
|
#3 (permalink)
|
|
EV test pilot
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Oconomowoc, WI, USA
Posts: 4,435
Thanks: 17
Thanked 663 Times in 388 Posts
|
The final intent of this project is to make an LED dimmer that can handle 6 watts.
It just so happens that a motor controller design will work just fine for the project.
The next step would be to have the output drive a transistor instead of an LED.
The transistor will handle the higher power and do the actual switching.
If I were building a full-scale EV motor controller from scratch, I would just go with the Open Revolt design.
This little project is as much to learn about electronics as anything.
|
|
|
|
|
The Following User Says Thank You to bennelson For This Useful Post:
|
|
|
04-17-2011, 09:31 AM
|
#4 (permalink)
|
|
Administrator
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 11,203
Thanks: 2,501
Thanked 2,587 Times in 1,554 Posts
|
Wooo, pretty cool Ben. I've been tinkering with a few things myself. Electronics are a lot of fun for nerdy guys like us! There is so much cool stuff you can do!
|
|
|
|
|
The Following User Says Thank You to Daox For This Useful Post:
|
|
|
04-17-2011, 06:13 PM
|
#5 (permalink)
|
|
PaulH
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Maricopa, AZ (sort of. Actually outside of town)
Posts: 3,832
Thanks: 1,362
Thanked 1,202 Times in 765 Posts
|
Awesome Ben! Is that a 555 timer?
|
|
|
|
|
The Following User Says Thank You to MPaulHolmes For This Useful Post:
|
|
|
04-17-2011, 10:31 PM
|
#6 (permalink)
|
|
EV test pilot
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Oconomowoc, WI, USA
Posts: 4,435
Thanks: 17
Thanked 663 Times in 388 Posts
|
Yeah, that's a 555 timer.
I had never used one before. When I started talking with the local guys about rigging up some sort of really basic PWM controller, I thought I might need some sort of micro-controller and everyone was like "Nah, just use one of these."
I followed THIS TUTORIAL. except that I replaced the mosphet with a resistor and LED.
I'm still new to all this and most of it is still a foreign language.
It was pretty exciting to hook everything together and make it work though!
This coming Thursday night, I plan on making it control a small motor and a larger array of LEDs. Then I can make a real circuit board and enclosure for it.
This is by no means anything close to an Open ReVolt controller, but I am actually learning things by doing this! |
|
|
|
|
The Following User Says Thank You to bennelson For This Useful Post:
|
|
|
04-22-2011, 01:07 AM
|
#7 (permalink)
|
|
EV test pilot
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Oconomowoc, WI, USA
Posts: 4,435
Thanks: 17
Thanked 663 Times in 388 Posts
|
Made it light up an array of LEDs with a MOSFET and also run a small DC motor.
|
|
|
|
|
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to bennelson For This Useful Post:
|
|
|
04-23-2011, 10:00 AM
|
#8 (permalink)
|
|
EV test pilot
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Oconomowoc, WI, USA
Posts: 4,435
Thanks: 17
Thanked 663 Times in 388 Posts
|
I just got the setup to dim a large white LED array (under cabinet light) yesterday.
That light is 1.8 watts. I think the MOSFET is rated for 50 watts.
|
|
|
|
|
The Following User Says Thank You to bennelson For This Useful Post:
|
|
|
04-24-2011, 06:02 PM
|
#9 (permalink)
|
|
EV test pilot
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Oconomowoc, WI, USA
Posts: 4,435
Thanks: 17
Thanked 663 Times in 388 Posts
|
PWM is basically a square wave - put it through a speaker and you get noise!
I did play a little bit with an audio speaker, varying the pitch. There was another guy there when I was working on it who makes weird electronic musical instruments and noisemakers for fun. He uses all sorts of old-fasioned analog circuits for that.
|
|
|
|
|
The Following User Says Thank You to bennelson For This Useful Post:
|
|
|
04-26-2011, 09:34 AM
|
#10 (permalink)
|
|
PaulH
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Maricopa, AZ (sort of. Actually outside of town)
Posts: 3,832
Thanks: 1,362
Thanked 1,202 Times in 765 Posts
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by LouMan
...and when the light clicks and just a idea can become reality you'll feel like a new father everytime a new idea come to life.
|
And when it blows up you will feel like the father of someone that just blew up. It's really quite sad actually.
|
|
|
|
|
