Author: Jan

PLC – Vibration concerns

Looking at my CCU board I have 4 components that are of concern related to vibrations! Top-Left I have a USB connector, but this is for development only so it will not be mounted in production. Top-Right I have DC/DC and connectors that might need support. And in the midle I have done a mistake…

Read the full article

Problems and solutions

In my last entry I wrote about challenges with sizes on opto-couplers. I have since discovered  isolated digital IO modules with twice the density compared to opto couplers. They also offer 100Mbps speed and bi-directional solutions. I recently used a version of this motor/gear with a Nema17 tor run the wheel on my mobile CNC…

Read the full article

Annoying Issue

One repetive issue I face is number of signals from MCU to/from IO that can be isolated. The the case below I want 7 digital signals and an isolated current sensor back, but I lack space for the 7th signal since one module is 25mm in width. One solution is to mount components on the…

Read the full article

Mobile PLC – CCU

CCU (Central Control Unit) is the name I give units that contain the core “brain” and only communication IO. The module below is an example of the core of a CCU with 3 external CAN ports, 8 internal module ports and 2 external Links. This is a fast MCU with a decent amount of speed, SRAM…

Read the full article

PLC – Project Box

Minimal project box to hold a small PSU and Motherboard with 3 CAN ports. Tested a few boxes already so this will work out fine, but it is a lot of details to get right.

Servo Position Feedback

As we move a servo it would be more than nice to have a position feedback! The servo itself have a potentiometer telling the absolute position, but a standard Servo only have a 3 pin interface Power and Position setting – it gives no feedback. This is a common issue with many available actuators –…

Read the full article

BSA Power Servo

Creating a module that can control a PowerServo is fine, but what about using it from BSA? What do we need to do? From a user perspective very little. In this example I just created a PLD State Diagram block with 3 input methods and one output method. It is this simple once the underlaying…

Read the full article

PLC Power Servo

I am quite found of using 60 to 150Kg Servo units, but driving those units is an issue as I need a RF Signal and a 12V PSU capable of 5A. The example board below contains a separate DC/DC so I can deliver 8V and 12V with a single cable for those larger servo’es –…

Read the full article

PLC Main Module

The “Main” or Central Computer if you like is basically a large MCU with 3 x CAN ports and 10 x Modul links. It only need a 5V PSU and can be used stand-alone or combined with other modules to form a larger entity. The central computer controls the entire system of both internal and…

Read the full article

PLC Power Modul

This is the 24V power modul. It uses a 3rd party isolated DC/DC to support 24V “as is” and 5V isolated. It has protective diodes and capacitance for the 24V side. I could have needed more connectors for power distribution, but these boards are very small. As this is a PLC design we use. This…

Read the full article