Hi All,
We have a machine that includes a stepper-driven linear actuator that moves a large vertical load. Most of the time the system works as intended, but every once in a while the stepper will slip when the brakes are released, causing the load to drop uncontrolled.
A ball screw is used...
Hi All,
I am reviewing functional safety requirements according to US and international standards. One question I have not been able to answer is whether there is a minimum allowed wire gauge for both single conductor and multiconductor cable scenarios. I vaguely recall being told years ago...
Hi Everyone,
We are having trouble getting three-phase sold-state relays. These are used to power a resistive heater load - in some instances a single heater is across two of the phases, and in others three heaters are distributed across the phases. I was able to find a single-phase SSR that...
Hello, I am looking for an analog input card or device that measures resistance, and interfaces with an Allen-Bradley PLC, preferably using Ethernet/IP. The measurement repetition rate should be less than 500ms or so, ideally less than 100ms. Resistance range is about 50-500Ω. We need 48...
Hello,
We have just got wind that a sensor we use may require individual annual calibration certificates from DAkkS, the German accreditation agency, for use in that country. I have so far been unable to uncover whether this is required in all industrial use cases or only in certain industries...
Hello,
We have a heater whose resistance increases substantially as it heats up, meaning its current draw decreases. If left on too long at full power (~8-12 s) it can get too hot and cause issues. Normally the heater is used in a PID loop to prevent this, but that cannot be counted on without...
Hello,
For a product we make we are looking into a single connector that provides RS-485 communications, 24VDC control power, and 120VAC heater power. The connector would be a Harting or Epic style connector (if you search "epic connector" the top images are representative). I am concerned with...
We are using a USB to RS485 interface, currently a Gearmo USA485422. We recently had a "thermal incident" i.e. fire on this device when one of the 485 lines was shorted to 24V for a sustained period. For the other devices on this network, the RS485 chips are resilient against such assaults, but...
I am looking for recommendations for training to advance my PCB design skills. I have done some fairly basic thru-hole board designs using ExpressPCB software. I am looking to learn a more fully fledged design software such as KiCad, and learn about things like surface mount, high frequency/EMC...
Hello, probably some easy questions but ones I'd like to have clarified nonetheless.
We plan on using the LED linked below for an application. The chip is comprised of three individual diodes. Simple on/off control of the entire chip, no pulsing. Sometimes the LEDs can remain on for long...
I'm looking for a plug and receptacle to use with RS-485 serial communication. From what I can tell there does not appear to be a standard connector. RS-485 half-duplex cable consists of a single twisted-pair w/ optional shield - I would prefer to include the shielding. The connector could be...
Hello,
We are developing a new product for use in industrial manufacturing environments in the United States. This product involves a metal housing containing a custom molded connector for powering an integrated 120VAC, 100W heater.
What standards and/or codes might apply here? Or, how might I...
We are developing a tungsten heater (50-100Ω) with an integral 2-wire tungsten RTD (80-120Ω) for closed loop control, with the control being done by a custom microcontroller board to-be-developed. It has occurred to me that, just like the RTD, the heater element itself will change resistance...
We are running a cyclical test that involves turning on a 12VDC 100W incandescent lamp (8A nominal, up to ~20A inrush) for 3s every 8s. The primary switch for this is a MOSFET inside a control board.
The lamp circuit resistance is measured in between cycles using a milliohm meter, which is done...
We will be using a linear potentiometer in an industrial application. The product this goes into may be used in a range of conditions, and we need to try to accommodate noisy environments.
The pot will be supplied with a 10VDC source and output to a (typically) 1MΩ analog input.
We plan on...
We use D-sub connectors on a few products we make. On one product the receptacles are mounted to a plastic plate with standard jack screws. However because of the thickness of the plastic plate the screws stick out proud of the surface of the connector shroud itself by about 0.07". Everything...
I'm not sure of the best subforum to post this...
We are looking for a comparator, preferably DIN-rail mountable, that will turn on a digital output when a 0-10V analog signal reaches a certain configurable threshold. The goal is to turn a linear potentiometer into a switch so that we can...
I'm looking for some options for a proportional output SSR that can power 480V heaters, up to 6A. Ideally it would be able to power 120V heaters as well, be driven by a 4-20mA current, and be DIN rail mountable. There seems to be very little out there, even disregarding my preferences; either...
It has recently come to our attention that a competitor is making presses that, while including a light curtain and emergency stop along with guarding, use single (i.e. no redundancy) un-monitored valves to actuate their presses. These are in the range of roughly 500-1000lb press force.
In the...
We have a servo press, directly coupled ball screw, that we would like to vibrate at 100+ Hz at a specified amplitude (0.010" range) and for a specified time (1-5s or so). I have been able to achieve up to about 30 Hz but the method I'm using performs a discrete move every scan of the PLC and so...
