DC Motor Controller Explained

In an industrial production setting, such as in paper or rolling mills, speed control is necessary to keep motors running smoothly. Factories that use DC motors usually have to purchase a DC motor controller to keep both speed and torque under control during operation. The controller is necessary because motors rotate at such high speeds.

There are a number of direct and indirect benefits of using a speed control drive. It allows for the control of acceleration and stopping, which reduces product loss that usually results because of mechanical wear and tear or breakage of the product. Some provide energy savings due to less horsepower being used during operation. Other benefits include an adjustable operating speed and torque limit, lower power needed to start, and savings realized because the need for expensive mechanical drive components might be eliminated.

Speed controllers or drives work by detecting a signal that represents the needed speed. Drives that measure the actual speed of the motor are called feedback or closed loop speed controllers. Because motors often differ in design and size, DC motor controllers are available with various drive outputs.

Switching the Voltage

A controller can vary the motor's average voltage by quickly switching the dc motor supplier on and off. This switch occurs very quickly so the motor will not actually be affected by the change, but only the speed will be affected. A DC motor's speed is directly related to its supply voltage. So simply reducing the voltage to half the volts will also cut its speed in half. This simple voltage switching process can extend the life of a motor as well as help prevent mishaps when operating heavy-duty machinery.

There are several key elements that a controller needs to operate correctly. It needs a means to alter the motor's voltage and to measure the absolute speed of the shaft. It also needs software to help keep the motor's speed constant despite any type of interference.

How to Find the Appropriate Controller

The key to understanding what type of DC motor controller to use is to learn about the types of motors and what they require. The main types of motors include brushed, brushless, uncommulated (homopolar and ball bearing) and synchronous. It's also important to get to know what types of drives are available. There are nonregenerative and regenerative drives that support varying ranges of horsepower. One DC drive might have several models for flexibility to meet the end user's needs.

Look for a DC motor controller that's affordable and offers multiple options. If you need assistance, some distributors and DC Motor manufacturers provide one-on-one technical assistance to help determine the best product for your application. You can also browse brochures, manuals, etc. online to get ideas.  


Posted by novaking at 2012年10月29日12:44
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Pros of Switching Power Supply

A Switch mode power supply works on the principle of superior efficiency. The benefits of the switch mode is its lighter weight and reduced size. Saving weight and reducing size is crucial to lower shipping costs when they are distributed improving.

The Switch Mode Power is designed to be a more efficient Unit running much cooler and draws less current which is beneficial all round.

A switching power supply creates DC from the AC mains power using transistor switches and other components. As we know from experience of older power adapters, amps of high power tend to be quite heavy. One of the main factors in the increased weight is the iron in the transformer.

Older designed transformers had to be large to avoid saturation at the 50hz or 60hz frequency of the AC supply. That issue resulted in poor performance at that lower frequency range..

The switch mode power supply amplifier wastes very little power in the form of heat. Most of the incoming AC power is converted to amplifier output power.

How does that happen? Well, remember from Ohm's Law that voltage times current equals power. When the voltage or current in a device is zero, so is the power.

The switching or "chopping" transistors produce no current when they are switched off, and produce no voltage when switched on, so they generate very little power as heat. This results in a highly efficient power supply.

Therefore we have learned that the switch mode power adapter is the primary choice for most manufacturers. There is but one disadvantage for the end user. The switch mode power works on more complicated circuitry. If they fail there is not much likelihood of repair due to the specialized nature and costs. Most quality made PSU's are very reliable and can last for years so a small disadvantage for a superior product.

Thanks to switching power supplies, we can get clean efficient power for our Electronic items in a light and efficiently designed package.  


Posted by novaking at 2012年10月22日18:04
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Lightest Electric Transport

The Detective Conan sixteenth Ministry Movie to be released in the country. If you choose to have a Conan props, which one would you choose? I believe many people will choose his piece of maneuvering power skateboard. Recently, an entrepreneurial team in the United States to produce the closest "Conan skateboard" in the history of the lightest electric long board, take a look at the shell network reported:

You can imagine, it is the lightest and most convenient electric transport what is it? Electric bike? No, there is lighter, it is electric skateboard - that is the essential tool Conan students to go out their way to save people solve the case. Do not know if you have heard of the world's first electric skateboards the Zboard, today we want to take a look at the Boosted Boards launch a better design - lightweight battery of self-propelled long-board (longboard). The longboard skateboard variant, usually used for cruising, downhill competition, slalom, sliding, or as a means of transport, will generally be longer than normal skateboard.



This electric long board design power of 2000 watts, weighing about 5.4 kg, than ordinary long board weighs only 1.81 kg, is known in the history of the lightest electric transport up to 32.2 km / h maximum speed, battery life can be approximately 9.7 km long board traveling. The elongated plate is also equipped with a charging interface of handheld wireless controller to control the speed, using a standard, two hours can be fully charged.

This long board is designed to solve this problem daily commuter inconvenience, how many people work away only a few kilometers, but also hundreds of car, but also to consider factors such as traffic conditions, parking lots, gas stations. For excursions is also a good choice.

"Whenever you under the bus or subway, always the destination for some distance, these bits and away the most difficult to solve," said co-founder Sanjay Dastoor, "It's time this long board can come in handy can perfect public transport combined use. "Now, let us all look at this new electric long board.




Power and brake

This is a "shift" of skateboarding, you can control the speed of the upper limit, without worrying about power decreases uphill. Long board also joined the regenerative braking system, the brake can turn the kinetic energy into electrical energy. In other words, learn it easily, but also easy to control speed.

History of the lightest

The light has many advantages, easy to operate, fast speed, which is also more means will be more portable. You can put it into the classrooms, laboratories, offices, or bus, or even on the plane.



Powertrain technology change

A member of this team has a Stanford University mechanical, electrical and aerospace technical background, their own love snowboarding, wakeboarding, surfing, etc.. So no doubt they will this revolutionary prototype power transmission system added to their favorite long board components.

Larger blueprint yet to come: they want to change the world of transportation, subvert people for transport concept.


Technical Features

These technical looks modern electric cars and motorcycles are used somewhat similar, but lighter, smaller. Producers have patent.

Dual brushless motor: more expensive than traditional DC motor, harder to use, but also means that there will be a stronger output, and can travel farther.

High-performance lithium battery: compared to ordinary batteries, weight reduction, and optimize performance.

Custom electronic equipment: years of engineering experience to enable them to design and manufacture a proprietary onboard computer, motor controllers and new software. This will be more practical and powerful, and more quiet, simple, and easy to control.

Fast Charge: electronic equipment and batteries can support fast charging, can be filled in less than two hours.

Operating

It is very simple to operate, using a hand-held controller to control the brake and accelerator, the controller above battery power display. As for charging, charging is as simple as for mobile phones, laptops. Dead, it is a long board, you may also like with ordinary long board as to use it.

A year ago, John began the most original design. Since then, they do after another 10 prototype hardware and software used to test and get feedback from early users, with a promotional video, all skate in this video are real Oh.

The Boosted Boards need about $ 100,000 to carry out the production of the first batch of skateboarding, and they have been raised in Kickstater over 120 thousand U.S. dollars in start-up capital. Light long board first production will be sold in the next year phases. Who contributed $ 1,099 or more supporters long board to get the first batch of production in May next year, and for those people who want to use can not wait, they can spend $ 1,499 in full production before the two January first to experience the beta version.   


Posted by novaking at 2012年10月17日11:11
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Next Gen of Phone Control Tech

Within a few years, touch screen, gyroscope, voice control technology can be seen on mobile devices has revolutionized the way we use mobile phones and computers. According to to Sohu IT compile foreign media reports, this week, researchers from around the world showed the ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, a new creative computer interaction. Which have concentrated on getting the mobile device to the development of some new direction, they may soon touch screen like the iPhone or Android devices will become commonplace.

Microsoft shows off gesture control technology


Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) the General Assembly the main Xi Luobu • Miller (Rob Miller) said: "We see the new hardware, for example, rely on the tongue movement or muscle contraction activate the device, based on our existing equipment (such as the Kinect, Wii or existing phone's built-in sensor) to build a prototype device. "

In the exhibition, the most impressive and most have a creative potential by dithering wrist or twist your fingers to perform complex tasks.

This interface is called Digits, invention by Microsoft Research and the University of Newcastle, the British researcher David Kim (David Kim). It needs to be worn on the wrist by a motion sensor, an infrared light source and camera. Similar to the mobile version of the Microsoft Xbox Kinect movement sensing device, Digits can accurately follow the arm and finger movements and can reproduce them or controlled by a complex computer game screen. Kim said: "We imagine a smaller device, like a watch wearing user computing device communications equipment and personal with their surroundings by simple gesture."

Similar Digits such projects Glimpse the future of mobile computing. After all, before the iPhone was released, the multi-touch interface only appeared in such meetings. The researchers believe that the limitations of existing control methods continue to hinder the development of mobile computers do not have these limitations, mobile computers become more powerful.

"We expect more and more and the need to use their own computing devices anytime, anywhere", Kim said: "efficient input and interaction on mobile devices is still challenging, because of the size and input capabilities of the device so we have to weigh repeatedly."

The advances in mobile technology to provide researchers with a simple experiment. Some of the team at the conference shows the new features brought by modifying the existing mobile interface.

Purdue University Professor Hong Tan shows the control keys feel a touch screen to add buttons and other entities. He is currently also serving on Microsoft Research Asia. The method by vibrating the side of the ordinary screen mounted piezoelectric actuator when the finger contacts the frictional force is generated. The SlickFeel design a piece of ordinary glass can feel like you have a physical button, even with different resistance entity slider. This haptic feedback to help users find the right control key on smart phones and other compact equipment, or the user does not staring at the touch screen can also be used (for example, when driving).

Finger touch technology can identify different people


In another attempt to enhance the touch screen function, Disney Research, Chris Harrison (Chris Harrison) demonstrates the method of sliding and pressing a device to identify a specific person. The interface uses a capacitive touch screen panel equipped with a resistance sensor through a unique identifying human finger impedance characteristics. First use, users need to use your fingers to press and hold for a few seconds, after subsequent pressing operation can be identified. This allows the application to have some of the features, for example, the Tablet PC is passed between different people at the table, they can track document modifications. Harrison said: "This smartphone technology already profound game (no split-screen), and collaboration applications."

The current movement of the mobile phone and the touch sensor is another goal of the experiment. University of Washington doctoral student the Mayak • Gore (Mayank Goel) and colleagues modified the software to automatically identify which hand mobile phone on the Android phone. The software through the exact shape of the inclination angle and the pressure on the touch screen of the monitoring device to achieve this function, the inclination angle detected by the motion sensor of the device. Gore said, which allows the keyboard to automatically adjust according to the user is using the left or right hand. The experiments show that this adjustment input errors can be reduced by 30%.

Free to manipulate the deformation of the interface


The other prototype on display devices with the little people now use the device relationship. A plasticizer interface developed by the MIT Media Lab team, it like clay free deformation. The laboratory of Professor Hiroshi Ishii student Sean Follmer show a number of versions, including translucent curved touchscreen flat on the table. This is made by the glass beads and the oil-containing plastics material, the bottom with a projector and a 3D sensor. Kneading and distort this flexible screen can change the colors shown above.

Imagine this interface will be used on the devices people use every day. However, Desney Tan, there are a variety of interactive methods are available to select will be calculated have an important impact in the future. He said: "We will stop thinking about mobile devices, turned its attention to mobile computing, in my opinion, there is no input or output mode as visual display, mouse keyboard so far as to dominate." Desney Tan, in charge of Microsoft located computing user experience team in Washington and Beijing Human-Computer Interaction Group.  


Posted by novaking at 2012年10月13日10:20
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