TYPICAL ADJUSTMENTS
In addition to the normal external adjustment such as the speed potentiometer. there are a number of common internal adjustments that are used on simple small analog type SCR Drives. Some of these adjustments are as follows:
- Minimum Speed
- Maximum Speed
- Current Limit (Torque Limit) . IR Compensation
- Acceleration Time . Deceleration Time
The following is a description of the function that these individual adjustments serve and their typical use.
MINIMUM SPEED
In most cases when the control is initially installed the speed potentiometer can be turned down to its lowest point and the output voltage from the control will go to zero causing the motor to stop. There are many situations where this is not desirable. For example there are some machines that want to be kept running at a minimum speed and accelerated up to operating speed as necessary. There is also a possibility that an operator may use the speed potentiometer to stop the motor to work on the machine. This can be a dangerous situation since the motor has only been brought to a stop by zeroing the input signal voltage. A more desirable situation is when the motor is stopped by opening the circuit to the motor or power to the control using the on/off switch. By adjusting the minimum speed up to some point where the motor continues to run even with the speed potentiometer set to its lowest point, the operator must shut the control off to stop the motor. This adds a little safety into the system. The typical minimum speed adjustment is from 0 to 30% of motor base speed.
The maximum speed adjustment sets the maximum speed attainable either by raising the input signal to its maximum point or turning the potentiometer to the maximum point. For example on a typical DC motor the rated speed of the motor might 1750 RPM but the control might be capable of running it up to 1850 or 1900 RPM. In some cases it's desirable to limit the motor (and machine speed) to something less than would be available at this maximum setting. The maximum adjustment allows this to be done. By turning the internal potentiometer to a lower point the maximum output voltage from the control is limited. This limits the maximum speed available from the motor. In typical controls such as our BC140 the range of adjustment on the maximum speed is from 50 to 110% of motor base speed.
One very nice feature of electronic speed controls is that the current going to the motor is constantly monitored by the control. As mentioned previously, the current drawn by the armature of the DC motor is related to the torque that is required by the load. Since this monitoring and control is available an adjustment is provided in the control that limits the output current to a maximum value.
This function can be used to set a threshold point that will cause the motor to stall rather than putting out an excessive amount of torque. This capability gives the motor/control combination the ability to prevent damage that might otherwise occur if higher values of torque were available. This is handy on machines that might become jammed or otherwise stalled. It can also be used where the control is operating a device such as the center winder where the important thing becomes torque rather than the speed. In this case the current limit is set and the speed goes up or down to hold the tension 0 the material being wound. The current limit is normally factory set at 150% of the motor's rated current. This allows the motor to produce enough torque to start and accelerate the load and yet will not let the current (and torque) exceed 150% of its rated value when running. The range of adjustment is typically from 0 to 200% of the motor rated current.
IR compensation is a method used to adjust for the droop in a motor's speed due to armature resistance. As mentioned previously, IR compensation is positive feedback that causes the control output voltage to rise slightly with increasing output current. This will help stabilize the motor's speed from a no load to full load condition. If the motor happens to be driving a load where the torque is constant or nearly so, then this adjustment is usually unnecessary. However, if the motor is driving a load with a widely fluctuating torque requirement, and speed regulation is critical, then IR compensation can be adjusted to stabilize the speed from the light load to full load condition. One caution is that when IR compensation is adjusted too high it results in an increasing speed characteristic. This means that as the load is applied the motor is actually going to be forced to run faster. When this happens it increases the voltage and current to the motor which in turn increases the motor speed further. If this adjustment is set too high an unstable "hunting" or oscillating condition occurs that is undesirable.
ACCELERATION TIMEThe Acceleration Time adjustment performs the function that is indicated by its name. It will extend or shorten the amount of time for the motor to go from zero speed up to the set speed. It also regulates the time it takes to change speeds from one setting (say 50%) to another setting (perhaps 100%). So this setting has the ability to moderate the acceleration rate on the drive.
A couple notes are important: if an acceleration time that is too rapid is called for "acceleration time" will be overridden by the current limit. Acceleration will only occur at a rate that is allowed by the amount of current the control passes through to the motor. Also important to note is that on most small controls the acceleration time is not linear. What this means is that a change of 50 RPM may occur more rapidly when the motor is at low speed than it does when the motor is approaching the set point speed. This is important to know but usually not critical on simple applications where these drives are used.
This is an adjustment that allows loads to be slowed over an extended period of time. For example, if power is removed from the motor and the load stops in 3 seconds, then the decel time adjustment would allow you'to increase that time and "power down" the load over a period of 4, 5, 6 or more seconds. Note: On a conventional simple DC drive it will not allow for the shortening of the time below the "coast to rest" time.
The ability to adjust these six adjustments gives great flexibility to the typical inexpensive DC drive. In most cases the factory preset settings are adequate and need not be changed, but on other applications it may be desirable to tailor the characteristics of the control to the specific application. Many of these adjustments are available in other types of controls, such as variable frequency drives.
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