The 3 x Analogue module below will get some siblings, The current module is experimental as I need to play around with analogue input a bit and see what I can achieve, The target is vibration sensors this time that is ok with 0-5V input. But, the module is so much more capable than this with a bit of altered design in front.
- 0-5V analogue input cover the most basic usage.
- 0-24mA loop receivers only need a special resistor added.
- 0-xxxV analogue only need divide resistor.
- Resolver also only need special filter in front.
- Encoder or hall sensor input can be computed from a robust analogue input.
The drawback is that these five usages probably need five different, but very similar boards. I will see what I can do. A higher density analogue module is planned, but I am not sure it is worth it yet. The module above is so strong and I lack Analogue components that will help increasing the density on the available space. Again I will see what I can do – making a high density analogue module is not difficult, making it with galvanic isolation at low cost is. The module above takes almost 6000V for one minute.
I have already talked about a Digital input module drafted below – this is as simple as it get – I use high speed isolater to take in 100Mhz digital signals and SSR to change the range between 5V to 24V. Isolation level is 5KV or something, meaning the input channels can handle 5000V for one minute.
Power Servo drives are on my plan. The Servo RF signals are easy, but delivering exact voltage of 8V and 12V etc from 24V is a bit of an issue. I do however think that I need to do a divide an conquer – feed motor voltage separate like I did for Digital Out and add specialised PSU’s on the outside.
Running electric motors are an important part of any modern automation project, so I will start adapting old motor drivers to the ECU project. But, with motor drivers come heat dissipation needs and I think I need to design new, specialized boxes for that. But, the concept should be the same because as you assemble a motor driver you assemble a node that need the same IO as we described above.
One of my main challenges is however production logistics. I can afford to experiment with design and blog about it, but yes it cost money – and to start production I will need a few pennies to avoid that hardware become to expensive. I think I need to set target volume to 1000 etc and make some calculations before I consider options.