DC motor drivers wanted (above 10A) kits or assembled

@Evan

chbright proposed in another thread this driver/controller.
http://www.applied-motion.com/products/ ... lx7080.php
I think they'd be too pricey for us, but I am sure, that he would be happy, if it would work with them as well...

I hope that it will be possible to connect all those linked drivers to it. So everybody could decide by himself, which driver would fit for his purpose/wallet.

I'd like to know now, what Sirnoname thinks about our suggestions

@ego

If Sirnoname has designed the Hydranite to output 2x PWM then a H-Bridge Driver should respond. How 2 PWM output will give fwd/rev and spd control to 2 motors is in my thoughts.

I like the ocean control board in that 0~2.5V controls speed and direction one way and 2.5V~5V the other. I guess 'braking' could be achieved with 2.5V. To avoid rapid directional change and therefore damage to motor or driver (back emf) a millisecond ramp down and up in the software would be ideal.

The way I set up my picaxe, the Simple H powers (FWD) spd and direction with PWM thru portA and to reverse spd (REV) you need to send a pwm signal thru portB instead.

So yeah, I too am very curious about the Hydranite and which H-Bridge motor controller would be ideal to use!

EvanF

@ego

Received response from Ocean Controls.

Can confirm: No braking feature.

Can confirm: Yes it is possible to use heavier wire in parallel from FETs to Output terminal for higher current usage, but bigger heatsink and temperature needs to be monitored.

evanF

@Evan

Thanks for the investigation. I think that disqualifies the ocean controls drivers.

I like the simple-h and the German RN-Mini H-Bridge.

But, the RN-Motor could be purchased for 28 euro as a kit.
The driver IC is a 30A model, but should be cooled well in order to pull this current continiously (if really needed at all ).
Perhaps a Peltier cooling pad could be used, if needed.
And the driver IC could be purchased separated there as well for 9 euro. If somthing happens while soldering

That means the half of the costs as for a simple-h.
But for those who are afraid of soldering, the simple-h should be a better choice.

Both interfaces support braking.

We should have to assure now, if it would be possible to get 4 pwm signals out of the hydranite.

ego

Nunja, wenn es schon ein VNH*Chip sein sollte, dann kann man auch gleich den RN-VN2 DualMotor Treiber nehmen (ich glaub jetzt haben wir alle RN Projekt durch...)

49 Euro als Fertigmodul
39 Euro als Kit

Ich glaube bei dem Preisunterschied würde niemand das Kit bestellen.

Ansteuerungsskizze des RN-VN2 DualMotor Treibers:
http://www.shop.robotikhardware.de/shop ... skizze.jpg

@Evan

The bi-directional driver for 2 motors above is available for 49 euro ready assembled. Up to 10A and more (30A) if cooled properly and supports braking.

Another point is, that we wouldnt need to pay high shipping and tax costs here in Germany.

ego

@ ego

That's awesome, now if both the RN-VN2 and the Simple-H motor controllers are compatible with sirnonames Hydranite Board then we would have supply of a controller available both sides of the world!

BTW. re: OceanControls board. Firmware code is not freely available.

Evan

Die pwm Ausgabe des K8055 funktioniert aber (noch) nicht mit X-Sim. Wenn sie das überhaupt einmal können sollte...

Aber zum Spielen kannst den Aufbau ja mal machen.

@Evan

Please have a look at this schematic.
http://www.shop.robotikhardware.de/shop ... skizze.jpg

Looks like this driver works with only one pwm signal for both directions per motor.
The direction can be changed by IN-A and IN-B.

@ ego

Without looking at the product specs I can only speculate.

But if you are correct how would 1 PWM signal control bi-direction and speed?

Perhaps the same way as the ocean controls ie: 2.5v~0v(1.5to1ms) for control one way and 2.5V~5V(1.5to2ms) for control the other?

Or maybe it is just a graphical error and IN-A and IN-B are where 2 PWM pulses go, and where it says PWM should actually be common?

BTW any news from sirnoname regarding the Hydranite, pwm output and the positional input (analogue pot too?)

evanF

The PWM only controls the speed, while IN-A and IN-B assign where the PWM signal has to go (direction).

IN-A and IN-B are the enable input. But 2 times.

And if IN-A and IN-B are both set to HIGH or LOW, then braking mode is acitve.

As the RN-Mini-Bridge has a similar schematic (one pwm for both directions), a graphical error can be excluded.

ego

@ ego
Pity I can't read German!
So there is a microcontroller built into the RNVN-H2 unit to toggle which way the H-Bridge is switched?
How would the Hydranite Board control the switching?
I would have to make up an intermediate board between the Hydranite and the Simple-H if this is the case ....unless sirnoname allows for multiple H-Bridge configurations.

evanF

No, there isnt any controller. Just the h-bridges.
If you scroll down this page, you can see the PCB at both sides. No PIC nor IC.
http://www.shop.robotikhardware.de/shop ... cts_id=112

Perhaps the simple-H has two pwm inputs, in case you want to drive two uni-directional motors with different speeds with it.
Maybe you could use one pwm signal splitted for both directions?

ego

@ ego

I will have to wait and see what output the Hydranite Board will have before proceeding. It would be nice though if I could use just the one H-Bridge (x3) setup for both Car sim and FPS gaming. Seeing as I already have the Simple-H's it would have been luck!

The RN-VN2 DualMotor current loading probably won't be adequate for my needs, I'd rather have overkill current capacity, as it stands I feel the simple-H @ 28V(24V)~30amps continuous is just minimum, plus my motors may demand more than 24Volts at times.

evanF

Hmm, the RN-VN2 driver IC (VNH2SP30) is rated for 40V and 30A. But as you can see there is no colling on the bord. So higher currents and voltages are supported if you'd put a adequate cooling on it.
On the driver are 2 of them.

@ego

oh okay, my German translation is not the best

thanks for the link now I can read the spec in English!

It appears the logic is integrated into the H-Bridge driver chip, so it's not exactly the basic H-Bridge config I thought sirnoname was after.

Wouldn't this mean the Hydranite would still need to provide multiple outputs per motor. Whether it is by way of 2 PWM signals per motor or 1 PWM and 2 hi/lo logic switches per motor.?

I can see no heatsink mount, is the casing made of metal, will a fan draw away enough heat from the chipset?

evanF

The PIC, which is currently mounted, is a PIC18F2450

Afair, there are only 2 pwm (osc) outputs available. More PWMs would require a second PIC.

There are some metal plates on the back side of the IC, and some big areas on the other side of the pcb. They seem to support the cooling. But you are right. No cooling mounts.

I do not say that the RN-VN2 driver is the best one can get. But for this price, it would be perfect for a first test
Compatiblity to other drivers should be a feature of the hydranite tough.

EDIT:
Weird. The PIC seems to have 2 different types of oscillators...

@Raceray

Ich glaube, die H-Brücke Abschalten kann nur der Controller. Das heißt es müsste wohl programmiert werden. Die H-Brücke liefert mit dem Temperatursensor nur die Vorraussetzung dafür.

ego